In the news > Press releases > Archive > VA awards lease for research and administrative space to Legacy Tower in Durham
Anna Branly
(919) 667-9770 ext. 105
abranly@greenfiredevelopment.com
September 15th, 2008
The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded a lease for 36,404 square feet to Legacy Tower at 411 West Chapel Hill Street in downtown Durham. The 10-year lease will provide space for administrative and research functions that will move from the Durham VA Medical Center on Fulton Street to the new leased space.
In addition to fiscal and human resources staff, a major occupant of the space will be the Durham VA Medical Center’s Center for Health Services Research (HSR) in Primary Care and the Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC). These two centers of excellence conduct important research on topics including access and delivery of primary care to veterans, improving patient's self-management of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, arthritis, and designing best strategies to screen for and treat colorectal cancer. Center objectives are strategically pursued through support of research investigators, funded research, and teaching programs. The two centers maintain academic affiliations for teaching and research collaborations with Duke University in Durham and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“We are excited to enter into this lease agreement in one of Durham’s historic landmarks,” said VA Medical Center Director Ralph Gigliotti. “The additional space will allow us to move some administrative and research activities from our main hospital to free up space for direct patient care needs.” VA expects to take occupancy of the new space by early 2009.
The HSR Center Director, Dr. Eugene Oddone, said, “This new space will allow us to consolidate our research staff which is currently spread over multiple locations. We expect the move will promote interdisciplinary interactions among our research scientists and their teams, and help to facilitate our information capabilities and improve our research capacity.”
Fourteen-story Legacy Tower was built in 1966 as the headquarters for NC Mutual Life Insurance Company, which continues to operate from the building. With the Durham VA Medical Center commitment, the building is over 98% leased.
“With this lease, Class B space in downtown Durham submarket is essentially full, proving that this market continues to be one of the strongest submarkets in the region,” said Greenfire Partner Paul Smith. “The result of these leases is more than 200 new workers engaged in our downtown.”
Greenfire was represented by Arnold Siegmund of Grubb & Ellis|Thomas Linderman Graham and the Durham VA Medical Center was represented by Dennis W. Calkin, Contracting Officer and Brandi C. Miller, Project Manager, of Real Property Service in VA Central Office, and by John Friel of ISI Professional Services. .
About the Durham VA Medical Center
The Durham VA Medical Center is a 274 bed general medical and surgical tertiary care facility affiliated with Duke University School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry. The facility provides diagnostic and therapeutic services in medicine, surgery, neurology, psychiatry, and skilled nursing home care, as well as complete ambulatory care services including community based outpatient clinics located in Greenville, Morehead City, and Raleigh.
As one of eight facilities in the VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network, the facility serves as a major referral center for North Carolina, southern Virginia, northern South Carolina, and eastern Tennessee for subspecialty treatment, radiation therapy, neurological disorders, therapeutic endoscopy, high-risk open-heart surgery, and other special procedures. For more information about the Durham VA Medical Center, visit www.durham.va.gov.
About Greenfire Development
Greenfire Development is a Durham, North Carolina-based community development company. Its focus is on the revitalization of underutilized and historic inner-city properties. Greenfire owns and manages almost one million square feet of space in downtown Durham and is planning an additional million square feet of residential, hotel, and commercial space the City Center. For more information about the company, visit www.greenfiredevelopment.com.