Momentum Builds for Carrington Hall Funding

On Monday, June 8, the School of Nursing welcomed a dozen members and aids of the NC House of Representatives, including Speaker Tim Moore, Chair of the Appropriations Committee Chuck McGrady, and Representative Kelly Hastings, for a tour of the physical conditions of Carrington Hall.

Carrington, the School’s home since it was built in 1969, was originally slated for renovation in the University’s 2006 Biennial Plan when most of its primary systems, including electrical, HVAC, plumbing, roofing, were determined to be “beyond useful life” by facilities personnel. To date, that renovation is still pending.

In 2018, the building was again reviewed by the University’s Office of Facilities Planning and Design and the State Construction Office’s Facility Condition Assessment Program. Both reported significant issues, eight of which were deemed “life safety issues” including asbestos, the structural system, the envelope and enclosure system, and the HVAC system. The building likewise has significant ADA access issues throughout.

At present, Carrington Hall has 16 spaces that are closed due to environmental and health safety concerns — each of which was toured by the legislators. They likewise learned that due to Carrington’s outdated systems, replacement parts must be hand-crafted when a break occurs, as replacement parts are no longer available from the original manufacturers.

Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz attended the June 8 tour, and has been a vocal champion with Dean Peragallo Montano for the renovation or rebuild of Carrington Hall, a project estimated to cost ~$45 million.

On Thursday, June 18, the NC House of Representatives voted to pass a $3.1B bond package to go before the voters in November that includes funding for the UNC System. Immediately after the visit Speaker Moore shared photos of his visit in social media, saying “North Carolina is in a strong position to leverage our smart financial management with future investments in our state’s medical education system and economy. In a story reported by WRAL News, he expressed his support for including SON needs in the bond package: “one such project is the UNC School of Nursing, where the need for asbestos remediation has left much of the office space unusable.”

“We know the proposed bond package faces an uphill fight in the Senate, but we are incredibly encouraged by the heightened awareness and understanding of the needs of the School in Raleigh,” said Dean Peragallo. “We appreciate the legislators’ attention — they asked great questions and really took their time to become informed advocates for us. We are grateful and very hopeful we’ll see a new or renovated Carrington become a reality soon!”