Administrative Alternate Shows Rendering of Nash Square Hotel

Rendering of the Nash Square hotel. (AAD-4-19) Click for larger.

The hotel planned for the southeast corner of Martin and Dawson is working its way through the approval process. Posted to the city’s website is an Administrative Alternative Request, see AAD-4-19, which shows a nice rendering of the hotel.

The request shows off the setbacks planned above the third floor and suggests some outdoor terrace, possibly for a restaurant or lounge.

Dive in to the request for more details.

Pic of the Week

Firestone’s downtown Raleigh location has now closed and plans for a hotel are in the works at this location. At this time, the building is being emptied out and no demolition has taken place.

This brings it up to three proposed hotels for this block. The “Firestone hotel” will go here, in the southwest corner of the block. We’ve heard for years about a possible Hilton Garden Inn for the southeast corner but still, nothing has taken place. Last, a hotel was proposed for the northwest corner of the block earlier this year. 

This cluster of hotels would be great to meet the demand in downtown. Let’s hope construction starts soon rather than being the same-old news of proposals that never happen.

Plans Submitted for 9-Story Hotel Overlooking Nash Square

Corner of Martin and Dawson Streets. October 2018.

Plans popped up on the city’s website for a nine-story building that will be used for a hotel with ground-floor restaurant space. It’s planned for the southeast corner of Dawson and Martin Streets giving it a nice location across the street from Nash Square.

The development would replace a variety of the one and two-story buildings and surface parking on this corner. In addition to the photos in this post, here are the parcels identified to be removed.

Properties involved in the development mapped. October 2018.

The site plan submitted shows 190 rooms and 137 parking spaces with lobby and restaurant space on the ground floor. A driveway for pulling into the hotel would be on Martin Street as well as the dropoff zone being on Martin. That seems more desirable compared to a busier Dawson Street.

Below is a screenshot of one of the preliminary site plans.

Preliminary site plans for a hotel across from Nash Square on Martin Street.

When looking at the developer, the Raymond Group, and their previous projects, we typically see hotels built under national brands. That’s what I’m expecting here until more information comes out.

Hopefully, this developer can deliver as there are quite a few other hotels that seem to have been delayed in downtown.

Municipography: Rezoning on Peace Street for a Boutique Hotel

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

I recommend email readers click through to the website to see the embedded video.

Discussion continues over a potential new development on Peace Street where a developer wants to build a boutique hotel. 615 West Peace Street, mentioned on the blog before, is zoned for 3-stories but after an initial application of 5-stories, negotiation with neighbors have dropped it to 4.

Shown above is the public hearing around this issue that took place this week and I think it’s important for readers to watch. It gives you a sense of the council on density and rezoning cases.

On a positive note, I actually do think there is a sense of approving this but the council seemed to get into the weeds about the rooftop bar. A lot of the discussion focused on what can be done on a roof and some feel that a 4-story height limit in addition to a rooftop deck is basically the same as a 5-story building.

Here are the highlights if you don’t want to watch the whole thing:

  • First few minutes re-introduces the issue as this is not the first public hearing. A history of the issue is given and an update on the latest conditions compared to current zoning.
  • During the support portion of the public hearing, I recommended jumping to 13:20, Sunny Miller speaks in the support of the nearby businesses.
  • At 17:38, a lawyer representing The Paramount HOA seems to show most concern over the rooftop amenities.
  • At 45:10, you can really get a sense of the possible frustration in the development community as the applicant tries to close with some final words about how long and costly the process has been.
  • At 46:45, enthusiastic support from Councilor Stewart.

For me, I find myself repeating myself when I say that I want the council to focus on bigger issues but instead are diving into the weeds of each case that’s presented in front of them. I don’t want to go off here but it just seems that if a council meeting wants to spend time on what the railings are going to look like, something is wrong.

Watch the video and decide for yourself. The conversation continues on April 17 as the council voted 7-1 (Stewart opposing) to delay a decision by two weeks.

2018 Downtown Raleigh Hotel Roundup

Marriott Hotel on Fayetteville Street

Marriott Hotel on Fayetteville Street.

I recently was having a conversation about downtown Raleigh hotels with some out-of-town coworkers. That got me thinking that it’s a good time to take a look at the current and upcoming hotel options to see how things are coming along. This is more of a wrapup post and I don’t have anything new to share.

Here’s the TLDR. Let me know if I’m missing something so we can make this list complete.

Currently open – 1310 rooms:

Under Construction – 134 Rooms:

Upcoming – *837 rooms:

On the radar:

Of the currently open list, the Residence Inn opened as recently as Fall 2017. In the last ten years, we’ve watched the Marriott and Hampton Inn go up. Can any readers date the Sheraton and Holiday Inn? Days Inn? They predate the blog as well as predate the downtown Raleigh revitalization of the 2000s that came from the Livable Streets plan of 2003.

Construction of The Origin Hotel on Morgan Street. March 2018.

Construction of The Origin Hotel on Morgan Street. March 2018.

Across the street from One Glenwood is the construction site, seen above, for the building’s parking deck. Plans call for an Origin hotel on top of the deck. I put this in the Under Construction category but I certainly could be wrong as the parking deck is certainly underway. I’m not sure if the hotel may come later or crews are planning for it now.

Renovation taking place at Guest House Raleigh on Bloodworth Street. March 2018.

Renovation taking place at Guest House Raleigh on Bloodworth Street. March 2018.

I know that I’d love to see boutique hotels popping up around the periphery of downtown Raleigh so am excited to see Guest House Raleigh come along on Bloodworth Street. If successful, hopefully, others try their own take on the smaller, more personal stay in downtown.

Most of the upcoming hotel projects have been quiet, some for over a year now. The Willard seems to be moving through the process and the rezoning case for the boutique hotel on Peace is currently going through a public hearing. (at the developer’s request)

Let me know if I missed anything.

Renderings of The Willard Hotel in Glenwood South

Future site of The Willard hotel on Glenwood Avenue. February 2018.

Future site of The Willard hotel on Glenwood Avenue. February 2018.

On the city’s website, a submitted Administrative Alternate for Design (AAD-1-18) shows renderings of The Willard, a planned hotel and condo building for Glenwood South. Taking a peak, I wanted to share those renderings here on the blog.

As a refresher, The Willard will be an AC hotel by Marriott brand hotel on the southwest corner of Willard Place and Glenwood Avenue. The building will have hotel rooms and some residential units. Shown in the photo above is the site of the project which will see the demolition of two brick office buildings and the surface parking lot in between.

This particular AAD case seems to deal with the placement of the building and how far set back it is. I see a proposal for an outdoor amenity area which sits a little farther back than is required. Seems like a minor issue.

Either way, here are the renderings.

Rendering of The Willard hotel, AAD-1-18.

Rendering of The Willard hotel, AAD-1-18. Click for larger

Rendering of The Willard hotel, AAD-1-18.

Rendering of The Willard hotel, AAD-1-18. Click for larger

Rendering of The Willard hotel, AAD-1-18.

Rendering of The Willard hotel, AAD-1-18. Click for larger

Rendering of The Willard hotel, AAD-1-18.

Rendering of The Willard hotel, AAD-1-18. Click for larger

Rendering of The Willard hotel, AAD-1-18.

Rendering of The Willard hotel, AAD-1-18. Click for larger