The Edison

[ChiefJoJo]

I am pretty sure it is the same developer (help Jojo). I do know the Dawson pushed forward even as the dotcom bubble burst and buying power went down. It turned out that when units were delivered, the economy was starting to improve. An internal adustment was made by carving some of the larger units into smaller units...something all of us could have told the developer was needed without any "market research" money being spent.

Sandreuter did indeed build the Dawson, and I do believe his initial concept was for a midrise, a la West at North (going up now).

IIRC, the initial articles said this project will start in 2009. With two towers, and one with both hotel & condos, they could begin on one and hold off on the other while the market corrects itself. I would think the taller hotel/condo building would be first.

[ChiefJoJo]

the parking deck is starting to go up (Stole this photo from cophead's blog):

Does anyone know if we'll be getting retail on both sides of the deck (Blount St & Wilmington)? The Edison site plan shows space on the Blount side, but not sure about Wilmington (not shown). The parking deck release by the city said 5,900sf of retail FWIW.

[Jones_]

Based on that siteplan I had assumed no retail on the Wilmington side. 6000 sqft isn't alot. The fact that several storefronts, even if they need some sprucing up, might have been a consideration in letting the deck not have any there, though a continous front of stores would nice....the 200 block of wilmington would be so much better without the Moore Sq deck entrance next to Slims.

[ncwebguy]

Looking at that site plan, it looks like there are entrances on Wilmington, Martin, and Blount, with the Davie side entrance free. Since this is Progress Energy's baby, that kinda makes sense to preserve that as a pedestrian-only corridor.

With handicap parking spaces close to Wilminton, it looks like there could be space for retail on Wilmington between the existing buildings on the Martin corner and either the deck's entrance or exit. But that is not part of the parking structure, which runs the lenght of the middle of the block from east to west. The retail space on the Blount side appears to part of the deck structure, and is the "deck's" 5900 sq ft of retail.

All of this is independent of the Edison's hotel lobby, restaurant, resident lobby and two retail parcels on Davie.

If the "mystery tower" on the NE Martin/Wilmington tower gets built, the Moore Square deck entrance will (hopefully) be less disruptive.

[BullDurhamer]

I believe there will be a 6 month gap between the completion of the deck and the start of construction on the towers.

Is this true?

This erector set parking deck is going up fast. It shouldn't take too long to get it built, judging by the rate of construction I'm seeing on the webcam.

Is there a time frame from the completion of the deck to the start of construction that's required or was this just speculation?

[ChiefJoJo]

^ this post helps:

FYI, the large parking deck was approved last week. The agreement has an impact on the Edison project:

Under the terms of the approval, construction on the buildings wrapping the northern and/or southern side of the parking deck [Edison] must be completed within two years after a certification of occupancy is issued for the parking deck.

Since some of the parking will go to RBC Plaza tenants, the deck must be completed by mid/late 2008. Sandreuter has two years to begin the Edison towers (from that date) before he'd have to start plantings and such to decorate the huge, blank deck walls, but Sandreuter said he hoped to begin construction in 2009, so it may not matter. There is no deadline that requires him to begin construction, but his site plan and permit approvals surely have sunset dates.

IMO the 38-story hotel/condo tower is more likely to be built sooner than the 24-story office tower, considering the latter is almost all spec and mostly dependant on a large corporate relocation, and will also compete with Site One's office space. The viability of this project will depend a lot on how the economy fares over the coming 12-18 months.

[Eastwestrob]

^ this post helps:

IMO the 38-story hotel/condo tower is more likely to be built sooner than the 24-story office tower, considering the latter is almost all spec and mostly dependant on a large corporate relocation, and will also compete with Site One's office space. The viability of this project will depend a lot on how the economy fares over the coming 12-18 months.

I agree. There is a possibility for a greater need for office space by then (My Hopes). It would be nice to see this portion of the project jump to 40 floors or more. Maybe something in the 600' plus range (not including a spire).

[BullDurhamer]

^ this post helps:

Since some of the parking will go to RBC Plaza tenants, the deck must be completed by mid/late 2008. Sandreuter has two years to begin the Edison towers (from that date) before he'd have to start plantings and such to decorate the huge, blank deck walls, but Sandreuter said he hoped to begin construction in 2009, so it may not matter. There is no deadline that requires him to begin construction, but his site plan and permit approvals surely have sunset dates.

IMO the 38-story hotel/condo tower is more likely to be built sooner than the 24-story office tower, considering the latter is almost all spec and mostly dependant on a large corporate relocation, and will also compete with Site One's office space. The viability of this project will depend a lot on how the economy fares over the coming 12-18 months.

The quote says construction must be completed within two years of the completion of the parking deck, yet you say it only has to begin by that date. Seems like a big difference there. If we're talking about the former, one might think that they would have to get cracking on the new buildings if they want to meet that deadline. I find it hard to imagine that this parking deck will take too long to complete.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

Could this be a tenant in the 24 story building?

http://www.wral.com/business/local_tech_wire/news/story/2149761/

[DanRNC]

^Probably not-the Raleigh Chamber and DRA have been relatively incompetent in attracting business downtown-more likely to go out near RTP, RBC area or Brier Creek.

[ChiefJoJo]

The quote says construction must be completed within two years of the completion of the parking deck, yet you say it only has to begin by that date. Seems like a big difference there. If we're talking about the former, one might think that they would have to get cracking on the new buildings if they want to meet that deadline. I find it hard to imagine that this parking deck will take too long to complete.

Here's what the city's release says:

Under the terms of the approval, construction on the buildings wrapping the northern and/or southern side of the parking deck must be completed within two years after a certification of occupancy is issued for the parking deck. If they are not completed, the facades on the northern and southern sides must be painted to match the finished facades on the western and eastern portions of the deck. Also, protective yard plantings must be installed along the site

[DanRNC]

A company that actually wants to relocate downtown-holy cow! So much for the Isleyites that claim downtown revitalization is a waste of money.

[Gard]

Not to keep carrying this further off topic, but the rest of the talk about Optimal is here.

According to Triangle Business Journal:

The company says it will move 18 employees to Raleigh and hire the rest. New hires will include managers, marketers, software programmers, engineers and designers of a highly specialized circuit known as ASIC. The average wage for the 325 Raleigh positions will be $71,250, excluding benefits, which is almost double the Wake County average of $40.092.

Adrienne Cole, who heads up Raleigh recruiting efforts with Wake County Economic Development, says Optimal Technologies is in talks to lease a floor at Progress Energy's Two Progress Plaza building on Davie Street. Pat Gilliard, an economic developer with Progress, says the two sides are "close to a deal" for 27,000 square feet.

Optimal Technologies CEO Roland Schottle said his company chose Raleigh as its North American headquarters in part to tap into the "wealth of talent" in the Triangle work force and coming out of the area's universities.

This company is a home run for downtown and could further push demand for condos and shopping in the downtown area.

http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/s...tml?jst=b_ln_hl

[Subway Scoundrel]

Not to keep carrying this further off topic, but the rest of the talk about Optimal is here.

According to Triangle Business Journal:

This company is a home run for downtown and could further push demand for condos and shopping in the downtown area.

http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/s...tml?jst=b_ln_hl

Not to mention that I would guess a company from Calgary does not have a problem buying a few club seats Season tickets to the Canes game.

[ChiefJoJo]

Here's a pic from Wednesday on Davie St of the Edison site with RBC Plaza in the background:

[NCMike1981]

thanks for the pic!

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

Does anyone know if the space between the new RBC parking deck and Wilmington st are park of the sale for the Edison? I know it isn't the exact space where the two buildings would go but it appears to be available land. It used to be one-two story buildings and is now graded land? I understand from the RBC parking deck pics that there will be a drive through lane on one side, but this does leave a space for something else? A high-rise complex maybe?

[ChiefJoJo]

Does anyone know if the space between the new RBC parking deck and Wilmington st are park of the sale for the Edison? I know it isn't the exact space where the two buildings would go but it appears to be available land. It used to be one-two story buildings and is now graded land? I understand from the RBC parking deck pics that there will be a drive through lane on one side, but this does leave a space for something else? A high-rise complex maybe?

The entire length from Wilmington to Blount st in the middle of the block is the parking deck's site. The two Edison towers will be built to the north and south of the parking deck. You can see the photo and a link to the site plan below:

the parking deck is starting to go up (Stole this photo from cophead's blog):

Does anyone know if we'll be getting retail on both sides of the deck (Blount St & Wilmington)? The Edison site plan shows space on the Blount side, but not sure about Wilmington (not shown). The parking deck release by the city said 5,900sf of retail FWIW.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

The entire length from Wilmington to Blount st in the middle of the block is the parking deck's site. The two Edison towers will be built to the north and south of the parking deck. You can see the photo and a link to the site plan below:

If I am reading the site plan correctly, it does show that area I am referring to does belong to the Edison site. But I haven't seen anything about the RBC parking deck. Do you have there site plan? It should show how far the parking deck comes out on to Wilmington. That area would be great for retail as well. Thank you in advance!

[ncwebguy]

Looking at that site plan, it looks like there are entrances on Wilmington, Martin, and Blount, with the Davie side entrance free. Since this is Progress Energy's baby, that kinda makes sense to preserve that as a pedestrian-only corridor.

With handicap parking spaces close to Wilminton, it looks like there could be space for retail on Wilmington between the existing buildings on the Martin corner and either the deck's entrance or exit. But that is not part of the parking structure, which runs the lenght of the middle of the block from east to west. The retail space on the Blount side appears to part of the deck structure, and is the "deck's" 5900 sq ft of retail.

All of this is independent of the Edison's hotel lobby, restaurant, resident lobby and two retail parcels on Davie.

Looking at the Edison's site plan, the "RBC deck" under construction will be built to the Wilmington street sidwalk, with a driveway on the south side of the under construction pieces and parking spaces that "face" the sidewalk. There looks like there could be space north of the deck on the Wilmington side, south of the two existing buildings, but that might be built until the Martin Street side of the Edison is under construction.

The Blount Street side of the deck appears to have a retail space (multi-story?) borded by the deck, the Blount street vehicle entrance, the Blount Street sidewalk, and the truck loading docks' (Edison grocery store? H&M? Target?) driveway.

[unique1rdu]

Saw this on WTVD, seems some people think the deck is going up to fast. here

[Jones_]

^ and to ancient cavemen, meteors were gods coming to earth....I suppose what you do not understand is scary....I guess the lady does not remember the cast in place deck at Crabtree that collapsed a year or more after the mall expanded 10 or 15 years ago.....the rebar was was not properly placed and an abutment sheared off.

[cophead567]

Saw this on WTVD, seems some people think the deck is going up to fast. here

Parking deck collapses are occurring more frequently across the nation and taking more lives per year thanks to these cheap decks.

uuhhhmm yyeaahh, quality reporting there WTVD.

[Captain Awesome]

Saw this on WTVD, seems some people think the deck is going up to fast. here

Seeing as they work on it well into the night every night and on the weekends and they start before the sun comes up, the pace at which it is going up is not surprising.

Typical downtown Raleigh reporting. I can't wait to see this story: "Are there too many businesses and jobs in downtown Raleigh? Some think there are. What does this mean to hog farmers down east."

[DanRNC]

I love the "moron on the street" interviews. I guess the 90 year old lady from Smithfield wasn't available but if she was it would have gone-"we done don't have no parking decks in our town and we done like it that way".