Category / New Construction

by Leo Suarez

Pushing it to the Limit on new height in downtown Raleigh

Downtown Raleigh. September 2019.

2019 is shaping up to be a pretty active year for development in downtown Raleigh. New projects have been announced and ground breakings took place throughout the year. One thing that kind of jumped out to me is the possibility for some taller structures in our future.

I put “possibility” in emphasis as there is a big window related to the height restrictions set in our development code. At the tallest end of the spectrum, we have the following zonings:

  • 12-story height limits
  • 20-story height limits
  • 40-story height limits

It’s a bit of a jump if a project wants to do something with 20-30 floors but you have to ask for permission to do as high as 40. Just to level set, downtown Raleigh’s tallest three towers (all shown in the header photo above) include:

  1. PNC Plaza with 32 floors (538′ to the tip of the spire)
  2. Two Hannover Square with 29 floors (431′ tall)
  3. Wells Fargo Capital Center with 30 floors (400′ tall)

Density is typically a more important factor for me personally but if height is what you are interested in then you probably want to follow along these new projects we’re tracking over on the Community.

121 Fayetteville

121 Fayetteville is planned to be a 30-story office tower right on Fayetteville Street. Sitting on the 100-block, on top of (or partially replacing) the Alexander Square parking deck, this new tower will be adding parking space as well multiple terraces on different floors.

For the zoning geeks in the house, the block already has a 40-story maximum, meaning this project probably just needs tenants to sign on before construction begins.

Find out more at 121fayettevilleraleigh.com

RUS Bus

The Raleigh Union Station Bus Facility (RUS bus) will be along West Street between Hargett and Martin Streets. This year, GoTriangle has received approval from the city for a rezoning with a height of up to 40-stories.

The bus station with a tower on top is planned to have a mix of housing, market-rate and affordable, as well possibly office and hotel uses. The tower portion is being worked on now but it seems that a 20-story height limit was limiting in possibilities here.

We expect more details on this project next year but you can find out more here: rusbusnc.com

Smoky Hollow Phase 3

Future site of Smoky Hollow Phase 3. September 2019.

You must be new if you haven’t heard of Smoky Hollow so please jump back to the tagged posts and catch up. Phase 3 was formerly zoned for a maximum of 12-stories but a request for the 40-story maximum was approved this year.

Those behind the project shared details of a mixed-use building with housing on the lower floors and a tower for offices. The development may have active uses along Harrington, Peace, and Johnson Streets as it’ll further build out the fabric of the Smoky Hollow developments nearby.

You can see more about the nearby projects delivered by the same developer here:

506 Capital Boulevard

Opposite of Smoky Hollow Phase 3 over Capital Boulevard, another 12-story zoned property is seeking a rezoning for a 40-story maximum. The developer wants to get the rezoning set for a possible large tenant in the future and could build a tall office tower on this 1.5 acre property.

Currently, the rezoning ( Z-17-19) is working its way through the process and may hit the city council for discussion early next year.

From conversation on the Community, the location wasn’t so clear. The site is located on Peace and alongside Capital. Below is an aerial with some labels to help orient readers.

Aerial shot by @xtremetoonz. Edits made by Leo Suarez.

Like I stated earlier, it is a big window in height between 20 and 40 stories. 121 Fayetteville is advertising a 30-story tower but, pending rezoning approval in some cases, the others may be 20-somethings or closer to new heights up and around 40.

As always, this new trend will be interesting to watch play out!

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

The surface parking lot at 301 Hillsborough has now been closed. That’s because construction will be starting on Raleigh Crossing, the new building planned for this site. This is the same one we’ve seen renderings of throughout the year.

There was a ground-breaking ceremony last week which included folks from Pendo, the Raleigh-based company that will primarily occupy the office space of Raleigh Crossing.

We’ve been following this site for years, practically since the beginning of the blog so I’m pretty excited to see something rise out of the ground at this space. Plan to watch it rise throughout 2020!

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Steel framing of the office building coming to Smokey Hollow phase 2.

Steel is rising up on Harrington Street for the office tower component of Smoky Hollow. It seems like it was only weeks ago that the site was flat. At this rate, the nine-story tower will be topped out sometime in the Fall.

It’s such a dramatic difference compared to how the area was built up before. Surface parking in front of one-story office buildings lined Harrington Street for years. Traffic was nonexistent.

Now, with a little imagination, you can envision the street with a lot more life and active uses. Harrington has been connected to Peace Street and there will be a lot more residential and office space in the area.

There’s a lot to look forward to with Smoky Hollow!

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Photo by @oakcitydylan

Demolition is taking place on the western half of the site named Bloc 83. By the time you read this, the site along the southern side of the 600 block of Hillsborough Street may already be cleared out.

This is the second-half development that will pair up with the already open One Glenwood. For a refresher of what is to come here, jump back to this November 2018 post about the development named Two Hillsborough.

I’m certainly missing the Esso Gas Station that stood at the corner and had one of my favorite bars, Dram and Draught. However, I’m happy to see new urban-style development that should be a part of the Raleigh of the future which makes transit-use more feasible and even brings about even more retail and restaurant space.

Dram and Draught has moved into One Glenwood and should re-open soon.

Finally, for nostalgia’s sake, I’ve got a snap of the Esso Gas Station in 2015 after it was renovated but before the bar set up shop in it.

Corner of Hillsborough and Boylan. August 2015.
by Leo Suarez

Seaboard Station Plans for new Apartments and Hotel

Corner of Halifax and Peace Streets. January 2019.

The latest submitted plans (SR-034-19) for new development at Seaboard Station have been submitted. The plans are for a new 7-story building at the northwest corner of Peace and Halifax. Currently here is the building with the Sunflower’s cafe and other surface parking.

Apartments and a hotel would take up this entire block, named Seaboard Station Block A for now, which is bounded by Peace and Seaboard Avenue, Halifax and Seaboard Station Drive.

Aerial of Block A from Google maps.

The new building would be 7-stories and include parking with some spaces partially underground. It’s interesting to see the development proposing 236 parking spaces rather than the required 171. However, with 96 apartments and 150 hotel rooms, that may leave plenty for residents, overnight visitors and daytime, nighttime restaurant-goers.

The plans don’t list any retail or restaurant space other than the hotel bar and kitchen. The ground-floor spaces may be used for parking instead.

Cline Design, architects behind Peace and The Link, are working on the design for the new building.

Finally, the northern side of the block has a very generous sidewalk and converts the striped “turn in” parking to off-street, urban style spaces. The northern side may be the “front-facing” side as it supports the Seaboard Station area. The site plans suggests some public art here as well.

The plans are currently under review by the city so no real timeline is out there yet. When news hit about developing these sites, there was mention of sooner rather than later so hopefully, we’ll see things move soon on what is currently an under-used portion along Peace Street.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Photo by Jeff Gimondo

The buildings are starting to come down to make way for The Willard hotel. Located at the corner of Glenwood Avenue and Willard Place, the brick buildings formerly used as office space and the surface parking lot will have a new hotel in the future.

At one point, the planners suggested condos on the upper floors but it’s been awhile since so it’ll be great to get an update on the plans. The lots are zoned for a maximum of 7 stories.