Pic of the Week

Raleigh Crossing, or more locally called the Pendo tower, is now officially open. Construction began on the building in late 2019 and the ever-expanding, local startup Pendo is the anchor tenant. This tower is part of a multi-phased project for the same block so there is plenty more development coming here in the near future. (hopefully)

This lot has been something that I’ve watched since the beginning of the blog in 2007. I have a post about the original building at 301 Hillsborough being demolished and plans for an even taller building. That never came to be as these things happen sometimes and a surface parking lot has been the holdover ever since.

The grand opening was quite unique as, in addition to the typical speeches and such, a midair performance took place alongside the building. You just got to see it. See the video below.

Pic of the Week

There’s a nice view coming together while heading into downtown Raleigh along Morgan Street. A good amount of glass is being placed up on Raleigh Crossing, downtown’s biggest office project under construction at the moment. The building should be done before the end of the year.

If you haven’t been following, Raleigh Crossing is actually a multi-phased project with other buildings planned on the block. Recently, the TBJ reported that plans have changed and the hotel component has been dropped. A 20-story building for apartments is planned for phase 2.

This makes sense as the future of the hotel market is hard to read. There may be a huge surge in travel demand but how long can that really be sustained? Only time will tell.

Pic of the Week

Shown above is Raleigh Crossing on a gray, Spring day. More and more glass is starting to appear on the largest office tower to be built in recent history. I’m loving that upward curve going along the eastern side!

Raleigh Crossing will primarily house Pendo, a local software firm that’s growing big time. The renderings show their name on the crown and with their primarily pink branding, might look quite nice when lit up a night.

Pic of the Week

Raleigh Crossing has been slowly rising up. The crews at 301 Hillsborough Street are still working on the parking deck portion of the office tower. You can’t help notice this project when walking or driving through the area as it is starting to show its presence.

There are some details that can be picked out from seeing the site. The lobby will have some nice tall ceilings. There will also be plenty of retail along Hillsborough and Dawson. The building should add some great sidewalk activity all around it.

This has been a great development to watch go up and while the office market has some question marks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m hoping Raleigh Crossing still commands some attention in the future.

Pic of the Week

These bare trees are giving us a good view of the tower crane that’s putting together the office tower at the corner of Hillsborough and Dawson Streets. The foundation seems to be in place and concrete is starting to rise out of the ground.

Named Raleigh Crossing, phase 1 is currently being built and will consist of an office tower along Dawson. When fully built out, the development may also have a hotel and residential units. See more about it here.

It’s been a long story for this block since the original buildings were demolished in 2007. You can track the past development proposals through the 301 Hillsborough tag.

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!

Next Phase for 301 Hillsborough Shows a 20-Story Office Tower

Rendering of the office tower at 301 Hillsborough.

301 Hillsborough should hold a special place in the hearts of longtime readers. Exactly 12 years ago, I had a blog post about plans for a 32-story tower at the site but the impending recession basically wrecked it.

The former buildings on this site were demolished in 2007 and when no development plans took place, the site was made into a surface parking lot years later. It’s remained ever since.

Surface parking at 301 Hillsborough in 2019.

Plans have come and gone and this time, the latest owners have submitted plans for a 20-story tower with 300,000 square feet of office space. The rendering, shown above, is of the first phase of the project as the owners own the majority of the block. (minus the southwest corner where The Flying Saucer runs out of)

Later phases could include a hotel and apartments but this first phase is planned to start later this year. With no rezoning needed, the process should move quicker especially with the developer planning to build on spec. (no tenants lined up)

With the DRA’s 2018 State of Downtown Raleigh report saying that the downtown office occupancy rate is at 94.7% that probably means we have a healthy office market and developers can take some risk here.

Great to see progress here on this block. It’s been a long-time coming.