Category / New Construction

by Leo Suarez

The Lofts NOT at Glenwood South

712 Tucker, discussed here, has now become ‘The Lofts at Glenwood South’. I had forgotten about this project so I went out last night to see the situation for myself. There is a reason this project has been quiet; nothing has been built. The old warehouse that stood in this spot, unused, has been demolished and cleared out, shown in the pic posted. My realtor mentioned that the developer here had some money problems and it has stalled The Lofts’ construction. Will it ever be built? Who knows. I thought it was a great idea to bring rental units to downtown, especially two blocks away from Glenwood South.

With the Peace Street Streetscape Project being done just down the street, this empty lot will slowly become more valuable. Perhaps someone will step in and build taller.

by Leo Suarez

Blount Street Commons

For some background information on this project, this post is required reading. Some of the information is slightly old but the end result is the same nonetheless.

The picture below shows the area I’m referring to. Construction fencing surrounds almost the entire block, the parking lots have been cleared, and some have even been scrapped away. This picture I copy and pasted together, (yeah I’ve got skill) shows the google view of the block next to the planned view from the livable streets website.

I like what I see, less pavement and more green, plus more dense residential development. This may not be high-rise condo living but it is still urban living, being so close to downtown. The Blount Street Commons area should really turn into its own community as it gets closer to completion.



by Leo Suarez

Another Hillsborough St. Tower

Hillsborough St. is on fire! The N&O reports of another tower in the works at the corner of West and Hillsborough.

A group including former Raleigh Mayor Smedes York wants to build an eight- to 10-story building including shops topped with offices, residences or both on the block southwest of the intersection of Hillsborough and West streets in downtown Raleigh.

HBS Properties, which is represented by York Properties, has assembled all but two of the 10 tracts on the 1.15-acre block.

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Once that’s settled, the single-story storefronts dating to the 1930s could meet with the wrecking ball.

HBS is considering street-level shops with offices and residences — likely rentals — on top. Or just shops and offices.

York hopes to begin building within a year. The project would take 18 months to finish.

Kind of sad to see the old shops get torn down but that area always seems dead and the shops continue to remain empty. Along with all the other announcements that are coming to Hillsborough St., it will become the link between Fayetteville St. and the Glenwood South area.

by Leo Suarez

Reynolds Tower

WRAL has an article on the newest plans for ‘The Hillsborough’ that will be at 301 Hillsborough St. This is the same project that has been going on since the Reynolds, who brought us the Quorum Center, purchased the lot back in 2001. It was earlier called ‘The Raleigh’ but I think ‘The Hillsborough’ is still not an original name. Watch the video for picks of the renderings. I mentioned this project before in this post but have to ask, will this finally be the end and we will start seeing construction?

Raleigh — Plans have been filed for a 23-story mix of retail shops, a hotel and condominiums at the corner of Dawson and Hillsborough streets in downtown Raleigh.

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Attorney Ted Reynolds is developing the $65 million project, which will include 17,500 square feet of retail space, a 136-room hotel and 26 condos on the top floors. He earlier proposed offices in the building but recast the project in recent months.

by Leo Suarez

Hue Showing Life

WRAL has an article on the new Hue condos being built at Dawson and Hargett St. The Hue is the most dense condo project yet for downtown and the prices start in the $160’s. Let’s hope they will stick to that selling point because I can easily think of one person that is interested. Check out the website for the project; it has been updated.

If all goes as planned, people will be living in more than 200 condos at The Hue, at 400 S. Dawson St., by spring of 2009. Developers said these condos will help make downtown more affordable. Prices at The Hue are about 57 percent less than the average downtown condo price.
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“Initially, in most downtowns, you see the higher end stuff being developed first because the developers are uncertain whether the market is there,” said David Diaz, director of Downtown Raleigh Alliance.
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“Our goal is to make the downtown a 24-hour downtown, and in order to do that you need a lot of people living downtown,” Diaz said.

by Leo Suarez

West Construction Update 8/07

The West at North condo tower in Glenwood South has been slowly rising up. It is starting to creep into view from other parts of downtown. The building is pretty wide compared to the others around it and will help give Glenwood South a more urban feel. Remember when there was just a parking lot there? I think this building will be great when completed. No word yet on the retail going in on the bottom floor. Hopefully soon, West St. will get a streetscape renovation, new sidewalks and buried power lines.

by Leo Suarez

Atrium Renovation

The Atrium consists of 112 and 114 Fayetteville St. Plans for this building are to expand the Fayetteville St. Tavern and renovate the top two floors into condos. There are six condos total at the two addresses; not much but they offer a more historical style compared to the newer condo buildings around downtown.

This project has been a slow one. Construction has been on-going all year and little progress has been seen until recently. The white bricks have been coming down and are being replaced with red bricks with the intention to match the adjacent building facade. There is still a lot to be done but here is what the building looks like so far.

Old white brick is being replaced by new red brick