Duke Health Seeks State OK for $575M Hospital Near RTP

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke Health has asked North Carolina health regulators to let it build a $575 million hospital in southern Durham County near Research Triangle Park, setting up another big-ticket expansion in one of the state’s fastest-growing health care markets.

The request, known as a certificate of need, went to the state health department’s regulatory division, which must sign off on major hospital projects. A state log shows the application arrived Oct. 15 under project ID J-012880-26, with a proposed capital cost of $575,376,136 and a $50,000 filing fee. The review is not competitive, and Duke did not seek an expedited review.

The five-story building, to be called Duke University Hospital at RTP, would sit on Page Road across from the existing Duke Health Arringdon clinics. Construction would start in 2029, with completion targeted for July 2031.

Duke is not asking for new beds. Instead, the plan moves 50 existing acute care beds out of its flagship hospital and into the new building. In its filing, the system says rising admissions at its main hospital have pushed patients to Duke Regional Hospital, where inpatient days grew nearly 19% from fiscal 2019 through 2025 and occupancy climbed from 59.5% to 70.6%.

The new hospital would add an emergency department and serve as an access point for patients who live or work in southern Durham County. Two of its procedure rooms would be built so they could later serve as operating rooms, but surgery would not be offered at first and would need more state licensing.

The public can weigh in. Written comments are due by 5 p.m. Dec. 1 to the state Certificate of Need Section, and state officials will take public testimony at 11 a.m. Dec. 14 at a Durham County library branch, Southwest Regional Library, 3605 Shannon Road.

Competition in the area is heating up. UNC Health has already started work on its own hospital about four miles away, with an opening planned by 2032.

Filed under: Asheville NC Business News