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The Lafayette (Site 4)


avery

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looks like the site remediation for three of the four city development sites will cost several hundred thousand according to this brownfields report.

A 30% contingency for unknown factors has been applied to the base estimates for each site. Including the 30% contingency, the estimated costs for the recommended alternative, excluding costs for the passive barrier systems and capping is approximately $81,000 to $128,000; $104,000 to $173,000, and $74,000 to $113,000 for Sites Two, Three, and Four, respectively.

This remediation is due to former repair shops, gas stations, and dry cleaners that operated on those sites. I believe the city will add half the cost of remediation to the purchase price Empire will pay for the site to build the Lafayette.

Hopefully, the city will be able to either remove the contaminants from sites 2 & 3 now, or at least add some of the cost to the eventual sale of the properties via the future RFP for those sites, which I believe is expected next year.

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  • 3 months later...

The hotel would have valet and concierge services and a 200-seat restaurant, rooftop swimming pool, bar and glass elevator. Some suites will be able to accommodate 35-person cocktail parties. Condos, which go on sale in November, would cost $450,000 to $1.8 million. They range from 950 to 3,500 square feet.

The $85 million project will break ground next summer and open in 2010. It is the Raleigh developer's most ambitious.

Empire has become downtown's biggest landlord, in total properties owned, by snapping up and renovating dozens of the small buildings that line downtown's streets.

The Lafayette would be one of the company's first from-the-ground-up projects. It would compete with dozens of other hotel, condo and office projects being built or planned downtown.

I'm a bit disappointed with the schedule, since I believe a 2009 opening was mentioned for this project fairly recently... I suspect it was the site remediation that's holding it up. Very pricey condos... will compete for buyers with the larger tower at Site One.

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The hotel would have valet and concierge services and a 200-seat restaurant, rooftop swimming pool, bar and glass elevator. Some suites will be able to accommodate 35-person cocktail parties. Condos, which go on sale in November, would cost $450,000 to $1.8 million. They range from 950 to 3,500 square feet.

The $85 million project will break ground next summer and open in 2010. It is the Raleigh developer's most ambitious.

Empire has become downtown's biggest landlord, in total properties owned, by snapping up and renovating dozens of the small buildings that line downtown's streets.

The Lafayette would be one of the company's first from-the-ground-up projects. It would compete with dozens of other hotel, condo and office projects being built or planned downtown.

I'm a bit disappointed with the schedule, since I believe a 2009 opening was mentioned for this project fairly recently... I suspect it was the site remediation that's holding it up. Very pricey condos... will compete for buyers with the larger tower at Site One.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

I don't know if this has been posted, but the Lafayette now has its own website, www.thelafayette-raleigh.com.

It's only one page, but you can also get a brief description of the hotel itself when the details tab is clicked. Hopefully this is a sign of progress on a quiet project that is vital to downtown Raleigh.

http://www.thelafayette-raleigh.com/

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I don't know if this has been posted, but the Lafayette now has its own website, www.thelafayette-raleigh.com.

It's only one page, but you can also get a brief description of the hotel itself when the details tab is clicked. Hopefully this is a sign of progress on a quiet project that is vital to downtown Raleigh.

http://www.thelafayette-raleigh.com/

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I don't know if this has been posted, but the Lafayette now has its own website, www.thelafayette-raleigh.com.

It's only one page, but you can also get a brief description of the hotel itself when the details tab is clicked. Hopefully this is a sign of progress on a quiet project that is vital to downtown Raleigh.

http://www.thelafayette-raleigh.com/

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Thanks Rufus for posting that. There's not a whole lot new there, but we do know the site plan has been submitted to the city, so the basics of the design should be basically done, pending changes. I hope we'll see this go before the PC and city council soon. An earlier article said they will break ground in summer 2008 and will be complete in 2010.

image_big.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

agreed. its not like the absence of a handful of millionaires downtown is what will make or break things. Actually, I prefer the market driven message that says "hey, most of us can't afford this crap. how about some stuff for us regular people?" I was surprised Hatem even went for this price point in the first place.

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The city wants to make the district around Raleigh Memorial and the new Convention Center the A-1, most expensive real estate per square foot in downtown, if not the whole city. Building a high end retail/hotel/condo building helps set the tone for development on sites 2 and 3 (the two blocks east of here) and the rest of the area -- west of Raleigh Memorial/south of the parking deck, west of the deck across McDowell, etc.

Reducing the number of condos makes the ones that remain even more exclusive/rare. The article says environmental testing on the former gas station site is taking longer than expected, which is not a good sign. Is there a question of depth? How much dirt needs to be pulled out? Can Empire get Cherokee involved? The city unfortunately has had a history of giving extensions to the Reynolds project on Hillsborough St, but it looks like Meeker wants more hotel rooms there ASAP since the convention center will already be open at least a year without the potential rooms across Lenoir Street.

There will be more affordable housing options downtown, just not on Site 4.

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I have to ask the question---"Is anyone really surprised by this ?"

Nice to see Meeker questioning this in a somewhat matter. I bet nothing will happen in 1 year from now and we will reading the latest update on what this could be. Sorry for being skeptical.

I am OK with more hotel rooms and I think it is better than condos as I am not sure who wants to live on that end but maybe so.

Again, I am not a naysayer or don't want to be but I will believe in this project when I see someone digging in that parking lot.

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  • 3 months later...

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