Downtown Raleigh's Future

[Green_man]

Not sure how official this one is, so I'll leave it in this "futures" topic for now.  

213 S Harrington Street

• 20 story building: residential with ground floor retail (Apple?!)
• currently  submitted to Raleigh Appearance Commission - Administrative Alternate Courtesy Review 

 

[KJHburg]

^^^ That would be great and be unique for sure.  There is a condo tower in Atlanta that was designed like that.  

[Jones_]

I'd love to see some really creative stuff on small lots. This has Hobgood written all over it...curious to see who actually designed it and if the market vs. price point ever allows it to get built. 

[Green_man]

2 hours ago, Jones_ said:

I'd love to see some really creative stuff on small lots. This has Hobgood written all over it...curious to see who actually designed it and if the market vs. price point ever allows it to get built. 

Architect is LOHA.  Out of LA.  Who is interestingly also the architect behind Five Horizon's S Saunders project master plan/ rezoning.

Below is the S Saunders master plan max allowable massing proposal from Five Horizons developers...  (looking south with Western Blvd in the foreground and Dix to the right).  And the website:  http://thefivehorizons.com/s-saunders/#welcome

Edited October 16, 2018 by Green_man
add website

[Jones_]

Excellent segway. I have been impressed enough with Five Horizons (another local developer stepping up big time along with Kane) to have high hopes for this. They stressed being friendly for pedestrians to get to Dix and to the greenway.  I have long term hopes that this will drive Western and the Dawson/McDowell connector towards being de constructed from their freeway-like states, and turned into city streets with proper urban features and connections. 

[po-boy]

I really like that rendering for 213 S Harrington. Would love for something like that to get built.  I often think that the  little infill projects like that add more real character to a city than the big, master-planned developments.

That being said, I also like the idea of extending the footprint of downtown onto South Saunders with that proposed development.  It is interesting that both proposed projects have the same LA-based architect.

[Jones_]

Chick-Fil-A Closing in downtown. I wonder what this could mean? Doesn't the Sir Walter have a new owner? The place is always super busy so that can't be it. As much as I don't want downtown to be a chain store downtown, Chick-Fil-A is sort of an institution in NC and important cheap, fast, tasty food in central downtown to boot. What the...

[KJHburg]

In a subscriber article in the Triangle Business Journal Highwoods announces plans for a 20 story office tower on E Martin next to the Skyhouse.

Finally some good height downtown.

""Highwoods Properties is reviving plans to build a 20-story mixed-use office tower on a downtown parcel that the publicly-traded real estate company acquired two years ago. Senior Highwoods officials say final development plans are in the hands of Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio. The Atlanta-based architecture firm is modifying the plans originally submitted by the previous owner of the 0.7-acre site, Edison Land LLC, an affiliate of Beacon Partners.  Those plans have already been approved by the city and call for a 20-story tower totaling about 300,000 square feet, according to documents filed with the city. The property, currently a parking lot, is at the corner of Wilmington and Martin streets, next to the Skyhouse Raleigh high-rise apartment building and across the street from the 33-story PNC Tower, the city’s tallest building. Highwoods bought the property in two separate transactions totaling more than $7.5 million.""

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/12/04/highwoods-plots-20-story-building-near-moore.html?ana=e_du_prem&s=article_du&ed=2018-12-04&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1543964180&j=85353911

[Merthecat]

2 hours ago, KJHburg said:

In a subscriber article in the Triangle Business Journal Highwoods announces plans for a 20 story office tower on E Martin next to the Skyhouse.

Finally some good height downtown.

""Highwoods Properties is reviving plans to build a 20-story mixed-use office tower on a downtown parcel that the publicly-traded real estate company acquired two years ago. Senior Highwoods officials say final development plans are in the hands of Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio. The Atlanta-based architecture firm is modifying the plans originally submitted by the previous owner of the 0.7-acre site, Edison Land LLC, an affiliate of Beacon Partners.  Those plans have already been approved by the city and call for a 20-story tower totaling about 300,000 square feet, according to documents filed with the city. The property, currently a parking lot, is at the corner of Wilmington and Martin streets, next to the Skyhouse Raleigh high-rise apartment building and across the street from the 33-story PNC Tower, the city’s tallest building. Highwoods bought the property in two separate transactions totaling more than $7.5 million.""

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/12/04/highwoods-plots-20-story-building-near-moore.html?ana=e_du_prem&s=article_du&ed=2018-12-04&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1543964180&j=85353911

There was an item on the City Council agenda for today dealing with a contract between the City and Highwoods, which would give Highwoods 297 parking spaces in the Blount St. garage.  According to the agenda, the agreement is slated to expire later this month, but Highwoods has made it clear they won't be able to commence construction before that date.  The extension would last until June of 2019, so it would not be surprising to see movement on this site before then, especially given the announcement in the article you linked.

[RALNATIVE]

2 hours ago, KJHburg said:

In a subscriber article in the Triangle Business Journal Highwoods announces plans for a 20 story office tower on E Martin next to the Skyhouse.

Finally some good height downtown.

""Highwoods Properties is reviving plans to build a 20-story mixed-use office tower on a downtown parcel that the publicly-traded real estate company acquired two years ago. Senior Highwoods officials say final development plans are in the hands of Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio. The Atlanta-based architecture firm is modifying the plans originally submitted by the previous owner of the 0.7-acre site, Edison Land LLC, an affiliate of Beacon Partners.  Those plans have already been approved by the city and call for a 20-story tower totaling about 300,000 square feet, according to documents filed with the city. The property, currently a parking lot, is at the corner of Wilmington and Martin streets, next to the Skyhouse Raleigh high-rise apartment building and across the street from the 33-story PNC Tower, the city’s tallest building. Highwoods bought the property in two separate transactions totaling more than $7.5 million.""

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/12/04/highwoods-plots-20-story-building-near-moore.html?ana=e_du_prem&s=article_du&ed=2018-12-04&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1543964180&j=85353911

While almost any tower announcement is good news for downtown, I really wish some developer would step up, push the limits, and propose something 30+ stories. At this rate it feels like 40+ is only a dream. For a city with as much demand and low vacancy rates as Raleigh has in its core, you would think that the city would become a lot more scrutinizing over the available parcels of land.

[KJHburg]

^^^ I agree someone should build a 30 story tower in downtown Raleigh with office demand however the bigger the tower the more an anchor tenant is needed to prelease.  Pendo wants a 100,000 sq ft building why not be an anchor in a tower like this or taller and have your name of the top!  Dittos for Advanced Auto. 

anyway with this Highwoods announcement in the article there was mention of parking  here is the quote:

""Highwoods’ latest project includes office and retail space, as well as 6 stories dedicated to parking, providing 330 spaces accessed through the fourth floor of the neighboring Blount Street parking deck.That amount of parking is sufficient to meet city code, but not enough to appease lenders, according to documents filed with the city. “Highwoods has indicated that lenders typically require approximately 2-3 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of usable square footage,” a summary of the project attached to a City Council agenda states.  Because of the building’s size, the total parking requirement from the lender is about 600 spaces. Highwoods is planning to make up the difference using 297 spaces in the city’s portion of the Blount Street parking deck.""

I am guessing the city needed to approve of using 297 spaces in that parking deck 

[Jones_]

This is the first time I have ever heard that lenders demand a certain amount of parking in what they lend for....mixed thoughts about this...it increases the cost of the project they are sinking their money in and possibly results in more, smaller buildings rather than fewer, larger buildings...they are subverting any local attempts to accomplish anything other than a certain amount of car dependency...anyone else just learning this is how it works or is it just me? 

[KJHburg]

Peace University sells Seaboard Station center and $250 Million mixed use project will be built.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/12/13/developer-plans-250m-project-in-downtown-raleigh.html

[DeleteMe]

On 12/4/2018 at 9:41 PM, Jones_ said:

This is the first time I have ever heard that lenders demand a certain amount of parking in what they lend for....mixed thoughts about this...it increases the cost of the project they are sinking their money in and possibly results in more, smaller buildings rather than fewer, larger buildings...they are subverting any local attempts to accomplish anything other than a certain amount of car dependency...anyone else just learning this is how it works or is it just me? 

 

I've heard about this in suburban / green-field locations, but not in urban cores.  Typically, they will consider "shared" or "public" parking access.  Banks have not been known to be progressives when it comes to development so it wouldn't surprise me if this were a "new" requirement.  It's ridiculous.  

[DanRNC]

On 12/13/2018 at 5:40 PM, KJHburg said:

Peace University sells Seaboard Station center and $250 Million mixed use project will be built.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/12/13/developer-plans-250m-project-in-downtown-raleigh.html

$250 million? - this has got to be a typo or delusion. 

[paytonc]

2 hours ago, DanRNC said:

$250 million? - this has got to be a typo or delusion. 

It's legit; 800,000 sq. ft. at $312 per sounds about right for 5-over-1. The same developer just wrapped up a $2 billion project a block away from where I live. The urban design is impeccable, but the retail mix is heavily tilted towards pricey restaurants.

On 12/4/2018 at 9:41 PM, Jones_ said:

This is the first time I have ever heard that lenders demand a certain amount of parking in what they lend for....

That's definitely how the world works, and it's why repealing parking requirements doesn't mean that many car-free buildings will get built. (When LA removed parking requirements for adaptive reuse downtown, new parking spaces built fell by 60%, not 100%.) 

A bank's office-tower construction loan is only for maybe three years; they expect that it'll be built, leased up, and refinanced in that time period. If they think a lack of parking will hinder leasing, they'll say so up front. One office developer I talked to in Portland (!) was required to add parking spaces by his bank; even though they leased spaces next door, that wasn't enough for the bank.

Edited December 17, 2018 by paytonc

[KJHburg]

from the Triangle Business Journal this morning.

    
""A Wisconsin developer with plans for a hotel overlooking Nash Square has made a significant commitment to the project by closing on less than an acre of property at the corner of West Martin and South Dawson streets for $6.7 million.  The Raymond Group bought the land earlier this month, after submitting plans in October to the city for a 9-story hotel on the property.""

subscriber article  https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/12/18/hotel-developer-buys-land-overlooking-nash-square.html?ana=e_mc_prem&s=newsletter&ed=2018-12-18&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1545160357&j=85605181

[DanRNC]

 

7 hours ago, KJHburg said:

from the Triangle Business Journal this morning.

    
""A Wisconsin developer with plans for a hotel overlooking Nash Square has made a significant commitment to the project by closing on less than an acre of property at the corner of West Martin and South Dawson streets for $6.7 million.  The Raymond Group bought the land earlier this month, after submitting plans in October to the city for a 9-story hotel on the property.""

subscriber article  https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/12/18/hotel-developer-buys-land-overlooking-nash-square.html?ana=e_mc_prem&s=newsletter&ed=2018-12-18&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1545160357&j=85605181

Another schlock hotel developer based on their portfolio. 

[KJHburg]

Good news for the residents and downtown in general.  The Sir Walter apartments are sold and will be renovated and the existing tenants can stay.

""Capital Realty Group, of New York, bought the 10-story building for $16.8 million on Dec. 21, according to county records, after securing a low-income tax credit housing bond that will help fund renovations at the 95-year-old complex.  “Their hope is to pretty much complete it by the end of 2019,” says Larry Jarvis, the city of Raleigh's director of housing and neighborhoods.  In May, City Council agreed to put $3 million toward Capital Realty Group’s bid to acquire and renovate the building, a project that involves converting the second-floor ballroom into offices and a common area for residents. New units will be added on the 10th floor, pushing the complex's total up to 158 units, from the current 140.""

from subscriber article https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/12/31/sold-downtown-raleighs-sir-walter-apartments.html?ana=e_du_prem&s=article_du&ed=2018-12-31&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1546289031&j=85781221

[RALBOI]

2 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Good news for the residents and downtown in general.  The Sir Walter apartments are sold and will be renovated and the existing tenants can stay.

""Capital Realty Group, of New York, bought the 10-story building for $16.8 million on Dec. 21, according to county records, after securing a low-income tax credit housing bond that will help fund renovations at the 95-year-old complex.  “Their hope is to pretty much complete it by the end of 2019,” says Larry Jarvis, the city of Raleigh's director of housing and neighborhoods.  In May, City Council agreed to put $3 million toward Capital Realty Group’s bid to acquire and renovate the building, a project that involves converting the second-floor ballroom into offices and a common area for residents. New units will be added on the 10th floor, pushing the complex's total up to 158 units, from the current 140.""

from subscriber article https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/12/31/sold-downtown-raleighs-sir-walter-apartments.html?ana=e_du_prem&s=article_du&ed=2018-12-31&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1546289031&j=85781221

 

Edited December 31, 2018 by RALBOI

[DanRNC]

17 hours ago, KJHburg said:

project that involves converting the second-floor ballroom into offices and a common area for residents.

That sounds like a disaster! Wasn't the ballroom the standout feature of this building?

[KJHburg]

11 minutes ago, DanRNC said:

That sounds like a disaster! Wasn't the ballroom the standout feature of this building?

It is about saving this building and keeping the senior citizens there.  The ballroom probably was a standout feature but the whole building could have been lost as that was the other proposals.  Happy new year. 

[Jones_]

14 hours ago, KJHburg said:

It is about saving this building and keeping the senior citizens there.  The ballroom probably was a standout feature but the whole building could have been lost as that was the other proposals.  Happy new year. 

Can you link to, or provide any info on these other proposals? I'm not aware of anything else publicly disclosed. 

[KJHburg]

9 hours ago, Jones_ said:

Can you link to, or provide any info on these other proposals? I'm not aware of anything else publicly disclosed. 

in 2017 a developer proposed turning it back into the hotel thus removing all the residents

""An Ohio real estate investment group that specializes in complicated tax credit and historical rehabilitation projects has the former Sir Walter Hotel on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh under contract and has plans to turn it back into its high-class glory.  David Swentor, president of real estate for Cleveland-based Global X Tax Asset Solutions, says they still have a lot of work to do before any purchase of the property can be finalized, but he says they can see its potential. “We know what we’re getting into – I think,” he says.""

from a 2017 business journal article  https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2017/06/20/investor-who-wants-to-buy-historic-sir-walter.html

[DanRNC]

Capital Realty Group appear to be modern day slum lords specializing in government-subsidized housing - far from a win for Raleigh.