The county wants to use the new space to create a new headquarters for the Durham County Board of elections. The largest property being considered is a strip mall located a few miles north of Raleigh. The strip mall was put up in 2002 and is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. The strip mall has space or 25 storefronts and parking spaces for 590 cars. Kroger was the anchor tenant when the mall was first opened. Poster printing is a common feature at strip malls.
The shopping center space is owned by BC Wood Properties. Records show that the county has agreed on a contract worth $12.1 million. The developers have agreed that they will be tasked with replacing the HVAC systems as well as the roof before making the sale.
According to Derek Bowens, the county’s Director of Elections, the Board of Elections currently works out of two locations. One of them is the main office in downtown Durham, and the other is a warehouse located on South Alston Avenue. Bowens also said:
“What this will do is consolidate our spaces into one facility and also give us the additional space we need for our ever-expanding operations.”
If the county does take over the strip mall, there are no plans to make any changes to the rest of the shopping center.