Centennial Campus

Governor James B. Hunt gave a series of speeches about the importance of state funding for biotechnology, microelectronics, and a school of textiles for NC State.

North Carolina Governor (and NC State alumnus) James B. Hunt Jr. alloted the initial 355-acre parcel of land for the university's Centennial Campus. The land was previously part of the Dorothea Dix hospital.

An additional 450 acres was allocated from the State Farm Operations Commission by Governor Jim Martin's administration.

UNC Board of Governors approved the request of the NC State Board of Trustees for permission to hire a firm to develop a Master Plan for the new property.

The NC State Board of Trustees selected Carley Capital Group as the Master Planner and Development Adviser for the Centennial Campus project.

NC State helped charter the Association of University Related Research Parks (AURRP).

A 1.4 acre lot, formerly site of H. B. Harris house, was purchased by the NC State Endowment Board of Trustees for Centennial Campus.

After a site was selected in November 1986, ground-breaking began in January 1987.

The UNC Board of Governors approved Land Use Master Plan.

Faculty and administration of the College of Textiles voted unanimously against moving to Centennial Campus.

The NC State Endowment Board of Trustees purchased a 2.5 acre parcel of land from UNC-Greensboro.

Land totaling 118.9 acres was exchanged with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and reallocated by the Council of State.

The Governor and Council of State conducted a formal review of the Master Plan for the Centennial Campus. Both parties unanimously approved and adopted the plan.

An additional 75 acres was purchased by the NC State Endowment fund from the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh for $7.5 million. Other small purchases and land trades eventually raise the total to 1,000 acres.

In February 1988, staff first occupied the Precision Engineering Center in the Research I Building, the first Centennial Campus building. In April of the same year, the building was dedicated.

A site was selected for the Engineering Graduate Research Center in April 1988. The design contract and document for the Center was approved in June.

Claude E. McKinney left his post as dean of the School of Design and became the Special Assistant to the Chancellor for the Development of Centennial Campus.

As a part of the first phase for the Centennial Campus project, the Raleigh City Council and N.C. Council of State rezoned the campus as a “mixed-use thoroughfare district.”

The NC State Endowment Board of Trustees purchased 75 acres of land from the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh.

The NC State Endowment Board of Trustees purchased 2.1 acres of land from Eastman Development.

The Centennial Campus Management team was dissolved as the project grew.

After a site was selected in November 1988, ground was broken for Research Building II in February 1990.

Centennial Parkway was approved by NC State University, the NC Department of Agriculture, the NC Department of Transportation, the NC Division of Public Health, and the NC Department of Human Resources.

The Environmental Impact Assessment was approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) Power Transmission Technology Institute submitted a letter of intent to NC State.

After a site had been chosen in June, construction on the ABB building began in December 1990.

The National Weather Service confirmed the lease contract with Centennial Campus for the new Forecast Office in Research Building III.

The city of Raleigh annexed part of the Centennial Campus property and the adjoining Trailwood Knoll neighborhood in order to comply with new zoning needs.

At the corner of Western Boulevard and Gorman Street, the Alumni Centennial Gateway was a steel wall 18 feet high and 128 feet long. The gateway marked the entrance to the western part of campus.

Chancellor Larry Monteith ordered development of a new Master Plan in the face of slower than expected growth for Centennial Campus.

After the site was chosen in April 1992, construction on the building began in February 1993.

$310 million in university bonds was approved by North Carolina voters. $35 million was allocated for NC State's Engineering Graduate Research Center.

The National Weather Service established a Forecast Office in Research Building III and became the first government partner at Centennial Campus.

The Textile Protection and Comfort Center, within the College of Textiles on Centennial Campus, provided a facility for testing the performance of various textile materials.

After staff moved in January 1994, the building was dedicated in September.

Partners Building I construction began in August 1995, and staff moved into the building in January 1997.

The 1.9 miles Centennial Parkway access road opened at a cost of approximately $5 million.

Development of the North Shore condomium community began.

After construction began in 1997, the Centennial Magnet Middle School opened in August 2000.

The state of North Carolina transferred Spring Hill House (ca. 1820) and approximately 130 acres from Dorothea Dix Hospital to NC State. In February 2001, the Board of Trustees approved the addition of the Spring Hill District, or Precinct, to Centennial Campus. The Japan Center moved into Spring Hill House in June 2001.

This building was funded through the Bonds for Education program.

A history of the first 20 years of Centennial Campus was commissioned by the Centennial Campus Partnership Office.

The Engineering Graduate Research Center was renamed after Larry Monteith, chancellor of NC State from 1989 to 1998.

This building was funded through the Bonds for Education program.

The William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation moved into its new facility in November 2005. It was established in 2003.

The Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center opened on the southern shore of Lake Raleigh

The Golden LEAF Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) was established on Centennial Campus. The facility allowed for simulation of biopharmaceutical products and packaging in a sterile environment.

Centennial Campus was named "Top Research Science Park" by the Association of University Research Science Parks (AURP).

The Center, originally called the Centennial Science Center, housed the FREEDM Center, as well as office and lab space on Centennial Campus.

Poole was founder of Waste Industries USA, and he contributed $3 million to the project.

A groundbreaking ceremony initiated construction of the James B. Hunt Jr. Library.

This building was built with 80 labs and 2 wind tunnels, and it had the first green roof on Centennial Campus.

The new chancellor's residence replaced the one on Hillsborough Street, which then became the Gregg Museum.

The Innovation Cafe provided engineering and textiles students with a new eating option on Centennial Campus.

The library was named in honor of former four-term NC Governor and NC State alumnus James B. Hunt Jr. The new building housed the Institute for Emerging Issues.

Research Building I was renamed after Bruce Poulton, 10th chancellor of NC State (1982-1989). The university acquired Centennial Campus during his term in office.

LexisNexis moved its Business of Law Software Solutions Division to the former Red Hat building.

The six-building complex was built to accommodate approximately 1,200 graduate and upper-division students, and it was the first LEED-certified residence hall at the university.

Immediately after the dedication, the James B. Hunt Jr. Library won the AIA National Award and the AIA/ALA Library Building Award. In 2014, the library won the ALA Library Interior Design Award and the AIA Education Facility Design Award. It later garnered additional awards and was featured in Architecture magazine. Time magazine called it the "library of the future."

New development began in the North Shore condominium community.

The hotel opened with 90 king-sized rooms, 70 double-double rooms, 3 suites, a bar, a full-service restaurant, and eight meeting rooms.

The university announced a partnership between the College of Textiles, the Poole College of Management, and the VF Corporation to support student development and advance apparel and textiles innovation.

Fitts-Woolard Hall opened as a 225,000 square-foot engineering innovation building. Fitts-Woolard Hall brought the College of Engineering together on Centennial Campus by serving as the home for the Dean’s Administration; the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering; and the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and System Engineering.

The Oval, an open area on Centennial Campus surrounded by engineering buildings and the James B. Hunt Jr. Library, was designated as the university’s 10th hallowed place.