CHAPEL HILL-UNC Health Care is preparing for several new endeavors over the course of the coming year—and they’ve just begun construction on the new Comprehensive Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Center in Chapel Hill’s former Border’s building on Fordham Boulevard.

Vice President For Facilities Planning and Development Ray Lafrenaye says the facility is slated to be used for research on brain injuries.

“Just in the past few days, we learned that we were awarded part of the NFL Research for Brain Injuries Award,” he says. “We were one of four finalists for that award.”

In the spring of 2011, the Border’s location on Fordham Boulevard permanently shut its doors. About a year later, UNC Health Care officials announced that they were in the final stages of leasing the building.

UNC Health Care is also working on opening a medical office building in Hillsborough, a wellness center in Cary, and an ophthalmology development at the corner of Farrington Road and Highway 54.

“That’s going to be an exciting development,” says Lafrenaye. “That’s about 24,000 square feet on the second and third floor of that building.”

In the meantime, the Comprehensive Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Center is set to begin operations over the next few months.