You're both in for a real treat! This isn't the only "secret" research center they are working on.
I have confirmed the Neuroscience Research Center is happening. They are about seven-and-a-half months into the search for the director. In other cities, on this forum, neuroscience research centers are often sizable buildings and major anchors for their innovation districts. They are looking for a noteworthy researcher and when they find this person, that person will begin creating the research center and making their own hires. I'm "guessing" it will be officially announced when they find this researcher to become the director, since that person will shape what the Neuroscience Research Center becomes? It may take a year just to find the director and will take time for them to structure the new research center and then work on a new building. With that in mind, a building for this research center is not happening soon, but the process that could lead to a new building is finally in motion and confirms a lot of what I was told a year ago. The same person who told me about the Neuroscience Research Center last year also said it was the proposed use for that building. It will be interesting to see if they move-around the buildings or try to build one massive building with multiple research centers, which I recall an article reporting. I would think they would want this and the Eye Institute in their own separate buildings, but I guess we shall see.
This reminds me of when I broke the news on the downtown medical school. It was very similar. They spoke as if there weren't any plans for that building and no firm date for anything to happen. They said they didn't know what their next project would be. And behind the scenes, they were working on the downtown medical school. By the time it was announced, I had already released much of the information at the old WSTB Forum.
So much happens behind closed doors in Winston-Salem. It does lead to people getting frustrated and just wanting to give-up or assuming whatever project isn't happening, as they look at what appears to be no movement and efforts to hide what is being discussed. According to a high-level person at Atrium Health WFBMC, they are secretly hiring 40+ high-level researchers in Winston-Salem and launching or expanding multiple research centers in Winston-Salem.