BRUNSWICK COUNTY — The county’s plan to replace its aging health and human services and emergency operations facilities with a modern, disaster-resilient center is moving closer to construction.
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The building will cost around $100 million, as stated by county engineering services director Bill Pinnix at Monday’s Brunswick County commissioners’ meeting. The design and build is the first foundational project of the county’s Government Complex Master Plan, approved in 2021. It will be four-stories, 140,000 square feet, and will consolidate several county services, including from health, social services, and veterans departments. The project also provides a new, disaster-resilient emergency operations center on the top floor, with the complex scheduled for completion in February 2028.
Edifice, LLC is currently in the construction documents preparation phase, which means the company is finalizing the detailed blueprints and specifications. Key upcoming milestones include a guaranteed maximum price review — when the county and the contractor agree on the absolute maximum cost of construction — set for mid-May of 2026. This will be followed by the notice to proceed for construction, anticipated for late May or early June 2026.
According to county communications manager Meagan Kascsak, $68 million in capital reserves has been set aside for the project by Pay-Go funding since the Master Plan’s inception in 2021. Pay-Go funding is when the county pays for a large project using cash it has saved over time, allowing the government to avoid substantial debt and pay as the construction progresses.
The remaining $28 million is planned to be financed through limited obligations bonds — a form of debt paid back using the county’s existing cash flow and funds, rather than implementing new taxes or referendums.
Overall funding for the project was supported by an additional $10-million budget amendment, unanimously approved by commissioners at the Oct. 7 meeting. The amendment is intended to supplement the overall cost of the project.
Chair Mike Forte questioned the escalating costs. It was projected to be $75 million in 2021.
“When are we putting a shovel in the ground before the project reaches $200 million,” Forte said. “Every month this just keeps going up and up — this project started at half this cost.”
County manager Steve Stone clarified the overall price has increased from earlier projections due to identifying the need for an additional floor for the emergency operations, but the price per-square-foot has decreased by nearly $100.
Edifice, LLC, a commercial general contractor based in Charlotte, was awarded the project’s design-build phase in November of 2024. To date, the county has paid the firm $1.7 million. The total estimated contract amount with Edifice is $81 million, covering all costs from the initial site plans, permitting, and preconstruction work to the actual labor and materials required to complete the facility.
The new HHS building will centralize several departments — including Health Services, Social Services, Veterans Services, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children — into a single location at the Brunswick government complex. Deputy county manager David Stanley told Port City Daily it will benefit both residents and staff, specifically by addressing the challenges staff face working across decentralized departments.
“Hopefully, with this new building we will be able to combine where you have common staff and people can function in two programs at once,” Stanley stated, noting the building will act as a “one-stop shop.”
It will feature expanded health clinic space, allowing the county to serve a higher volume. This includes more exam rooms, a larger on-site pharmacy, and dedicated space for specific public health clinics, such as immunization, women’s health, and disease testing/management.
The county plans to repurpose the buildings currently housing the relocated departments at the Bolivia Government Complex, The oldest, the health services structure — built in the late 1970s — is slated for removal to create additional parking spaces.
The new facility is fit to house roughly 308 employees. Port City Daily has asked the county for a breakdown of historical employee counts and client service numbers for the Health and Human Services department and this article will be updated upon response.
Commissioner Pat Sykes told Port City Daily after the meeting the upgrade is necessary to keep up with the growth of the county.
“DSS has so many employees up there and they’re all crammed into that building,” Sykes said. “Since we’ve grown, we need to expand — we have more people now that need health and social services.”
The EOC component is designed to be a large space for emergency personnel and partner agencies, providing a secure hub for coordinating hurricane response, law enforcement, and utility services during major emergencies.
Enhanced durability and size are key to accelerating post-disaster recovery efforts compared to the current, outdated facilities. Specifically, the new EOC is being constructed to modern high-wind and seismic standards so the structure can remain operational during severe weather events.
Pinnix said there were previous concerns among staff that the new building could be susceptible to flooding. Although he noted the site has never had substantial flooding, the building’s foundation is slightly elevated by a few feet just in case. The EOC will also be located on the fourth floor, so in the event of serious flooding, EOC staff can continue to coordinate an emergency response.
It will ensure continuous operation through on-site backup generators and multiple, independent communication systems, so county leadership can maintain control immediately following a major storm.
Commissioner Marty Cooke asked Pinnix if the backup generators were protected from the elements. Pinnix confirmed shielding would be installed but added the design team could consider a more robust enclosure. Additionally, he explained should the primary backup system ever fail, the new facility will have an exterior connection point allowing a portable, drive-up generator to be immediately attached to the building.
In regards to its role during weather events, Commissioner Frank Williams wanted the center to have broadcasting or livestreaming capabilities so the county could effectively communicate its emergency response to Brunswick residents.
“I think moving forward, we can’t rely on the TV station that’s covering about 10 counties to give us thirty seconds,” Williams said. “We’ve got to be able to put it up on our website.”
Pinnix confirmed it would have those communications abilities.
Cooke also questioned Pinnix about the security of the building and access to sensitive areas, expressing concern about people simply walking into the EOC. But the facility is only accessible with key card access points.
The project moves into its final design phase. Edifice and commissioners will meet in May of 2026 to discuss the guaranteed maximum price for the facility, intending to meet the goal of construction in June 2026.
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