Artist rendering of $136.7 million science building being built on the N.C. State University campus.
N.C. State University picked multinational contractor Skanska to build the $136.7 million Integrative Sciences Building, marking one of the biggest UNC system projects of the year.
The 164,947-square foot building will be used to promote STEM teaching and research as part of the university’s efforts to expand science education. It will include classrooms, teaching and research labs, faculty spaces and a cafe.
Departments using the building will include chemistry, biochemistry and biotechnology research.
The buildingwill “revitalize the marquee Brickyard, one of the nine hallowed places on the north campus,” said Mark Balling, Skanska’s executive vice president for North Carolina and Virginia building operations, in a release. Richmond, Virginia-based Moseley Architects is the building designer.
The project is expected to be completed in September 2026.
Skanska, which is based in Stockholm, Sweden, has previously built several N.C. State structures, including Fitts-Woolard Hall; the Golden LEAF Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center; the James B. Hunt Jr. Library; and Engineering Building III at N.C. State.
Aerial view of Well-Spring. (Courtesy of Well-Spring)
A former resident of a senior living community in Greensboro made a $24 million bequest that will support benevolence care for its residents. Florence H. Phillips, who died in August at age 100, was one of the first residents of Well-Spring.
Her bequest is the largest gift to Well-Spring in its history, according to the parent organization, Kintura. It is also believed to be one of the biggest bequests nationally to a retirement community.
Florence Phillips
“Florence was a beloved member of our community starting within six months of our opening in 1993,” says K. Alan Tutterow, co-chief financial officer of Kintura, in a release. “She cared deeply about those who live here, appreciating the challenges that older adults face, and wanted to leave something significant to help ensure their lives here are secure in a meaningful way. We are deeply grateful for her incredible generosity.”
The gift stipulated that proceeds were to go solely to the Well-Spring life plan community; no other entity within the broader Kintura organization may benefit from the gift.
Proceeds will endow Well-Spring’s Residents Benevolence Assistance Fund, which supports Well-Spring residents who have outlived their assets by providing for uninterrupted care until the end of life. By endowing the fund with Phillips’ gift, the annual payout from the endowment should cover benevolence care at the current and foreseeable level of need, says Tutterow, who knew Phillips for more than three decades.
“Being fortunate enough to live at Well-Spring does not make any of us immune to the unexpected twists and turns life can offer,” said resident Jean Davison, president of the community’s Residents Association. “Any one of us could find ourselves in a situation in which this gift would make a tremendous difference in our final years.”
Older adults can outlive their resources for a number of reasons, says Tutterow, including that people are living longer. Odds of living to 100 are improving, according to the National Institute on Aging. Worldwide, the number of centenarians will increase by a factor of 10 from 2010 to 2050.
In a 2023 series titled “Dying Broke,” The New York Times reported on the inadequacy of the private insurance market — specifically, the offerings of long-term care insurance — writing, “the industry severely underestimated how many policyholders would use their coverage, how long they would live and how much their care would cost.” The article also pointed out that federal estimates found that “70% of people 65 and older will need critical care services before they die.”
Well-Spring is home to 487 residents. Of these, roughly 75% continue to live independently, while the balance of residents have transitioned to the assisted living, skilled nursing care and memory support areas of the community.
A longtime North Carolina resident, Phillips worked briefly as an attorney in her younger years, according to a release. She had a passion for dancing and once underwrote ballroom dance lessons for Well-Spring residents. She was an active member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Greensboro and had celebrated her 100th birthday in May 2024.
Well-Spring opened following the efforts of nine Greensboro-area faith organizations to create a continuing care retirement community. Kintura was formed on Oct. 1, 2024, upon the closing of an agreement between the former Brightspire and former Well-Spring Group organizations to come together as Kintura. Well-Spring had assets of $42.1 million the year before the merger, according to IRS records related to nonprofit organizations.
Kintura serves nearly 3,000 residents of continuing care retirement communities and employs more than 2,100 people in North Carolina. Its portfolio includes five continuing care communities: Glenaire in Cary; River Landing at Sandy Ridge in High Point; Scotia Village in Laurinburg; The Village at Brookwood in Burlington; and Well-Spring in Greensboro. It also has home- and community-based services for older adults, a partnership in two affordable housing communities in Raleigh, A one-fifth ownership stake in Trinity Rehab, based in Dunn, and the majority partnership in PACE of the Triad, a Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly serving Forsyth, Guilford, Rockingham, Stokes and Surry counties.
Kintura also continues its long-time management of the retirement community Friends Homes in Greensboro.
NCDOT estimates it will cost $2.6 billion to repair 90 miles of Western North Carolina highways damaged by Tropical Storm Helene. The most expensive project is a 12-mile stretch of I-40 in Haywood County, priced at $1 billion. Construction has begun on some projects, with most major work slated for late 2025.
Gov. Josh Stein is requesting an additional $890 million in state funding for Hurricane Helene recovery, citing slow and insufficient federal aid. The request targets small business support, infrastructure, housing, natural resources and matching funds for federal grants. Lawmakers have already approved $1.6 billion, far short of the $60 billion in estimated damage.
At a Raleigh roundtable hosted by the John Locke Foundation, former Vice President Mike Pence joined North Carolina business leaders in warning that President Trump’s tariffs will raise prices and hurt working-class Americans. Retailer Art Pope and industrialist Bob Luddy said the tariffs threaten profitability, quality and economic stability.
Greensboro-based chipmaker Qorvo has agreed to nominate Peter Feld of Starboard Value LP to its board, potentially expanding the board from nine to 10 members. The move comes amid pressure from the activist hedge fund, which has increasingly influenced corporate governance in its portfolio companies.
Firearms maker OA Defense is moving its headquarters and manufacturing operations from Nevada to Robbins, in Moore County. The company will open a 25,000-square-foot facility by August, hiring 22 new workers. President Paul Ross cited the region’s skilled labor pool, family values and workforce pipeline as key reasons for relocating.
Dr. S. Keith Hargrove, a veteran HBCU leader and former Tuskegee University provost, has been named chancellor of Elizabeth City State University. His appointment follows a five-month national search and was unanimously approved by the UNC Board of Governors. Hargrove brings enrollment growth, strategic planning and aviation expertise to ECSU’s next chapter.
Mooresville Mayor Chris Carney is challenging new U.S. Census estimates showing the Lake Norman town lost nearly 2% of its population last year. Citing rising utility accounts and continued in-migration, Carney says the town is still growing despite efforts to curb overdevelopment. The Census Bureau says the estimate could be revised if better local data is submitted.
The Outer Banks expects 5 million summer visitors — but has just one 21-bed hospital in Nags Head, and no mental health beds across the region. Emergency evacuations by helicopter or ferry are common, and staffing shortages, housing costs and funding cuts make year-round care difficult for residents and seasonal workers alike.
During this year’s PGA Championship at Charlotte’s Quail Hollow Club, the “Championship+” ticket included unlimited food and nonalcoholic drinks — part of a growing strategy to keep fans on-site and engaged. Delaware North oversaw a 700,000-square-foot kitchen operation, serving more than 130,000 burgers and 90,000 hot dogs with more than 1,000 staff on hand.
