Key Takeaways
- • The Duke Endowment has committed a $100 million grant to fund the North Carolina Children's Hospital (NC Children's), the largest philanthropic commitment to the hospital to date, according to Carolina Journal.
- • The grant follows a $424.7 million appropriation from the North Carolina General Assembly, which the Carolina Journal notes comprises about $216.2 million appropriated in the 2023 budget toward a project authorized at $319.7 million.
- • Groundbreaking is planned for early 2027, with the hospital opening in the early 2030s; the 500-bed facility is projected to create around 8,000 jobs in Apex and surrounding Wake County.
- • The grant was described by a John Locke Foundation official as filling a gap after the state funding tied to the 2025 budget never materialized.
- • NC Children's is a joint initiative of Duke Health and UNC Health, formed in January 2025 to build the state's first freestanding children's hospital.
Summary
The Duke Endowment has committed a $100 million grant to fund the North Carolina Children's Hospital, with groundbreaking planned for early 2027 and opening in the early 2030s, according to the Carolina Journal. The grant is the largest philanthropic commitment to the hospital to date and follows a $424.7 million investment from the North Carolina General Assembly. The state funding comprises about $216.2 million appropriated in the 2023 budget toward a project authorized at $319.7 million, according to the Joint Conference Report on the Current Appropriations Act of 2023. The state budget signed earlier this year appropriated $208.5 million in nonrecurring funding for fiscal year 2026-2027.
Brian Balfour, senior vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal that the additional $100 million for the hospital was one of the sticking points holding up the 2025 state budget. He said that state funding never materialized, so private philanthropy stepped in to fill the gap.
The Duke Endowment, founded by James B. Duke in 1924 as an independent private foundation distinct from Duke University and Duke University Health System, framed the grant as a continuation of Duke's priorities of improving lives across the Carolinas through healthcare, higher education, rural communities and child and family well-being. Chair Charles C. Lucas III said in a press release that the investment supports collaboration among institutions with deep ties to the Endowment.
NC Children's was formed in January 2025 as a partnership between Duke Health and UNC Health. Dr. Thomas A. Owens, lead administrator of NC Children's and executive vice president and chief clinical executive at Duke Health, said the investment is a major step toward a children's health system that strengthens care across North Carolina. Dr. Ian Buchanan, chief operating officer of NC Children's, said the funding helps lay the groundwork for a comprehensive pediatric health system. The hospital will be the first freestanding children's hospital of its kind in the state and is intended to be comparable clinically and academically to top children's hospitals nationwide. A child and adolescent psychiatric hospital will also be located within it.
The campus will occupy approximately 230 acres at the intersection of US 1 and NC 540 and is integrated into Veridea, a more than 1,000-acre mixed-use community developed by RXR. Veridea is planned to include 8,000 new homes, 3.5 million square feet of retail and dining space, 12 million square feet of office and research facilities, and a new Wake Tech Community College campus. The facility will feature 103 behavioral health beds for children and adolescents and a research and education hub supported by both UNC and Duke schools of medicine. Morgan Abbott, president of the NC Children's Foundation, said the grant is intended to encourage others across the Carolinas to contribute.
Brian Balfour, senior vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal that the additional $100 million for the hospital was one of the sticking points holding up the 2025 state budget. He said that state funding never materialized, so private philanthropy stepped in to fill the gap.
The Duke Endowment, founded by James B. Duke in 1924 as an independent private foundation distinct from Duke University and Duke University Health System, framed the grant as a continuation of Duke's priorities of improving lives across the Carolinas through healthcare, higher education, rural communities and child and family well-being. Chair Charles C. Lucas III said in a press release that the investment supports collaboration among institutions with deep ties to the Endowment.
NC Children's was formed in January 2025 as a partnership between Duke Health and UNC Health. Dr. Thomas A. Owens, lead administrator of NC Children's and executive vice president and chief clinical executive at Duke Health, said the investment is a major step toward a children's health system that strengthens care across North Carolina. Dr. Ian Buchanan, chief operating officer of NC Children's, said the funding helps lay the groundwork for a comprehensive pediatric health system. The hospital will be the first freestanding children's hospital of its kind in the state and is intended to be comparable clinically and academically to top children's hospitals nationwide. A child and adolescent psychiatric hospital will also be located within it.
The campus will occupy approximately 230 acres at the intersection of US 1 and NC 540 and is integrated into Veridea, a more than 1,000-acre mixed-use community developed by RXR. Veridea is planned to include 8,000 new homes, 3.5 million square feet of retail and dining space, 12 million square feet of office and research facilities, and a new Wake Tech Community College campus. The facility will feature 103 behavioral health beds for children and adolescents and a research and education hub supported by both UNC and Duke schools of medicine. Morgan Abbott, president of the NC Children's Foundation, said the grant is intended to encourage others across the Carolinas to contribute.
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