20 Stories for 20 Years: The Project That Sparked Thomas’s Behavioral Health Focus
As we continue to celebrate 20 years of Thomas, we’re excited to look back at a project that kicked off our behavioral health portfolio and deepened our commitment to building facilities that heal the communities around us. This project is especially significant to reflect on this month since May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
In 2008, Thomas Construction Group completed the Carolina Dunes Behavioral Health facility, our very first behavioral healthcare project. Located just across the bridge from Wilmington in Leland, NC, the 50,500 SF residential treatment and adolescent acute center remains the largest of its kind in the state, now expanded to over 62,000 SF with an additional 21,000 SF currently under construction.
Originally designed as a 92-bed child and adolescent psychiatric facility, Carolina Dunes now has 112 patient beds providing critical inpatient psychiatric hospitalization for residential treatment services, and a dedicated 20-bed senior adult (geriatric) unit for patients aged 50 and older. The facility delivers a full range of services, including group counseling, family and recreational therapy, educational services, and vocational training.
This project was a turning point for Thomas and our entry into the behavioral health sector. It also created a long-standing relationship with Strategic Behavioral Health (SBH), the healthcare provider that previously ran the facility. What began in Leland grew into a trusted partnership, with Thomas traveling across the country to deliver more than 20 behavioral health facilities for SBH in Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Tennessee, and beyond.
Through Carolina Dunes, we discovered how meaningful it is to help build facilities that directly support the health of the communities around us. During Mental Health Awareness Month, we reflect on the importance of accessible, high-quality mental health care, and we are proud to contribute to that mission through our ongoing work at places like Carolina Dunes, ensuring that individuals have the resources they need for healing and recovery.
One project can grow a relationship, a reputation, and a lasting impact.
