Expanding Reach & Opportunities in North Carolina

We believe every student deserves an excellent school today, and making progress toward that goal requires the tenacity to keep building. As part of this work, Civic Builders is expanding our real estate development footprint with our first project outside the Northeast. This intentional growth into North Carolina will support even more schools and communities.

The state’s promising charter sector, combined with mission-aligned partners like Great Schools North Carolina (GSNC), creates meaningful opportunities to remove barriers to success for both existing and new public charter schools. We know that the most impactful work happens through trusted partnership, and we’re grateful to be working alongside GSNC to advance our mission.

We are hitting the ground running with our new real estate project: Carolina Collegiate High School in Durham, NC. In December 2025, we closed on financing for the 65,000-square-foot facility, which will be renovated into a permanent home for 650 students. This school opening comes at a critical time for the local community, where the existing high schools are operating above capacity and demand for college-prep and STEM-focused education continues to grow.

“Congratulations to Carolina Collegiate High School on securing a strong facilities and financing partner in Civic Builders,” said Madeline Hannigan, Executive Director of Great Schools North Carolina. “A stable, sustainable facility is one of the most important foundations a school can have because it protects program dollars and helps leaders keep resources focused where they belong: on students and learning. We are proud to celebrate this milestone with the Carolina Collegiate team, and we are excited to partner with Civic Builders to help remove barriers that keep high-quality public school options out of reach for too many families in North Carolina.”

When complete in fall 2026, the school building will include a makerspace, engineering lab, four science labs, a black box theater, and dedicated dance and art studios, all to foster deep learning, creativity, and connection.

This is just the beginning, and we are eager to continue this work in North Carolina. Because we don’t wait for change, we build it.

“Carolina Collegiate High School stood out to us for its commitment to expanding access to transformative education for underserved communities in Durham,” said Katiana Anglade-Ogwueleka, Vice President of Real Estate, Civic Builders. That mission alignment made this an important first project as we partner with GSNC to expand into North Carolina, and we’re honored to create a space that will serve students for years to come.”