'This is not an ending': University advances Carrington Hall demolitions

In September, UNC began the demolition of Carrington Hall at the UNC School of Nursing as part of a project to build a newly redesigned Nursing Education Building. 

The new facility will include amenities such as larger class sizes, three floors of simulation lab space to recreate clinical environments and newer mannequins to accommodate this year's cohort of 342 nursing students — which dean of the School of Nursing Valerie Howard said was one of the largest in the program's history.

Carrington Hall had been the primary nursing facility for the school since its construction in 1969, but the building had since developed health and safety issues with reports of leaking classrooms, leeching asbestos, faulty electrical systems and overcrowding. Howard said the hall was vacated between August 2023 and January 2024 to accommodate for the construction project.

The construction project, which began in fall 2023, comes during a nursing shortage in North Carolina. The state is expected to face a deficit of approximately 12,500 registered nurses by 2033. 

Howard said that due to the shortage, North Carolina committed resources to expand the school’s nursing facilities to increase enrollment by 50 percent. 

“We have already started to do small steps incrementally, and once the doors to the building open in 2026, we will be able to really expand the nursing program,” Howard said. 

Mia Sabin, a junior at UNC in her first year as a nursing student, said that while most nursing classes had previously been held in Carrington Hall, her cohort has been relocated to classes in buildings such as Bondurant Hall, ITS Manning and the Medical Biomolecular Research Building due to the demolition project. 

While Sabin said she has not personally taken a class in Carrington Hall as a nursing student, she said the inside of the building felt old. 

“I don’t think that Carrington would have hindered my education, but I don't think it would have furthered it to the level that they were hoping for with these new renovations,” Sabin said.

An estimated budget of $94 million was proposed for the project, with funding partially coming from North Carolina's state budget and the North Carolina General Assembly. Howard said that there is still a funding gap of $10 million, which the school aims to cover through private donations, trusts and philanthropic means.

The new nursing facility will officially begin construction after a Groundbreaking Ceremony planned for Oct. 25 at the Blue Zone in Kenan Stadium. 

Sabin said that having a renovated building with more space and technological accommodations such as power outlets were important. She said that her current lectures often last up to three hours with her entire cohort in one classroom. 

“I think the renovations will be really good, especially with how much hands-on stuff we have to do for our on campus clinicals,” Sabin said. 

Janelle Brantley, a nurse for UNC Hospitals, said being able to infuse new technologies like AI to the school would be game-changing, adding that the mannequins and resources she used during her own time in nursing school were outdated.

“Nurses, I feel like, are the backbones of the hospital,” Brantley said. “We are kind of like the middleman — we are the ones who are in the patient rooms all day for twelve hours.”

Professor at the School of Nursing G. Rumah Alexander said the construction reflects the current health care needs of both the community and the nation because they cannot run without nurses. She said UNC will need the capability to educate and produce more nurses due to the ongoing shortage. 

“You have to think about the symbolism of a building coming down. And I always say that this is not an ending,” Alexander said. “It's another beginning.”

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