After several years of trying to figure out how to increase office space for the social services and health departments, Burke County officials are moving forward on a redesign and renovation of the current building on East Parker Road.
The county is requesting bids from companies for the design of a renovation of the human resources center, located at 700 E. Parker Road, ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. The deadline for bids is 2 p.m. Friday, April 18.
Burke County plans to renovate its human resources building on East Parker Road in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, which will include where the school system headquarters is currently housed. The school system is expected to move out of the building in June 2026.
The redesign of the building is intended to make it more efficient with the same amount of space, County Manager Brian Epley said. Over time, the way the building was used has changed multiple times. He said the building has become less efficient in its current design.
The county wants the design to allow all current day-to-day activities at the building to continue during construction. The social services department and the health department have a combined total of about 250 employees, according to county officials.
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The space available to the health and social services departments will grow when Burke County Public Schools administration moves to a new building. The department is currently housed in the human resources center building and takes up about 14,000 square feet, Epley said.
The school system’s headquarters is expected to move into the former home of Burke United Christian Ministries, located at 305 W. Union St., ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, after the building is renovated. Renovations on that building are expected to start in August. The school system plans to move in June 2026.
Renovations on the county human resources building will be on the entire building, 62,000 square feet, which includes the space the school system occupies. The renovations will include plumbing, mechanical, electrical and fire protection work.
Epley said the building can be gutted to a shell and redesigned completely.
“So the idea of the 62,000-square-foot remodel will allow us to examine how social services and public health are now operating in 2025,†Epley said, “and imagine a largely blank canvas to renovate the building, not only updating the components of the building and getting them up to speed, but also making sure that we’re designing it the most efficient layout for the workflow.â€
The redesign and renovations will also be designed to allow for future additions to the building, if needed, Epley said.
The estimated cost of the renovation is just under $10 million, Epley said. Epley said design of the renovations should take six months and then work on the building would start. He said renovations are expected to take between one and a half to two years.
