Making the Broughton District: A Public-Private Partnership in Morganton, North Carolina
The hospital functions currently located in the Historic Broughton Hospital campus in Morganton and Burke County, North Carolina, are expected to move to a new facility on adjacent property. This will leave more than 600,000 square feet (SF) of vacant or underutilized space in well-maintained historic buildings, some of which are over a century old. Recognizing the scale of the challenge, the North Carolina General Assembly directed a study of potential uses of the historic campus and adjoining State property, 800 acres in total, to include analysis of the costs and benefits of different redevelopment approaches.
This Broughton District master plan was completed under the leadership of the Development Finance Initiative (DFI) at the UNC School of Government as an update to its original report, Reimagining Broughton: A Reuse Study of Historic Broughton Campus which was published in 2016 in accordance with Section 15.20 of Session Law 2014-100 enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly.
The updated Broughton District master plan is a 10-year public-private development strategy to attract $182-$192 million of private investment for the mixed-use development of five opportunity sites within the District. The private projects include hotels, retail, for-sale residential, rental apartments, and an active adult community. The full Broughton District is located within a designated Opportunity Zone.
The private investment is supported by phased public investment of $81 million in amenities, infrastructure and public facilities to support public goals while enabling and complementing the mix of private uses and enhancing the marketability of the District. Within this phasing strategy is the identification of some “early win” projects that can build momentum for larger investments in the District and can demonstrate the capacity of public agencies and private investors to execute a coordinated public-private partnership.
Since the completion of the Master Plan for the Broughton District in 2019, DFI has advised the local governments and State of North Carolina on advancing both the private and public development projects within the distrct, including the identified first phase at the Silo Ridge project site. Landscape Architecture Magazine profiled the Broughton District Master Development Plan in March 2021, highlighting the thorough analysis conducted during the master planning process as well as the partnerships and local commitment to realizing the project. To read the full feature from Landscape Architecture Magazine, click here.
