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North Hills / Midtown area developments


DigitalSky

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Buckhead take two. (if you lived in Atlanta, ...)

 

I was thinking the same thing. The article indicates that the tower lll could be home to a corporate headquarters. 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/real-estate/2014/09/north-hills-raleigh-apartments-tower-three.html

 

It would be great if Kane would consider building this downtown instead of NH. He has proven that he has the ability to deliver something impressive, and downtown needs much more large corporate presence.

Edited by RALNATIVE
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He's still too butthurt over not getting a free parking deck in NH....I could be wrong but I doubt he'd ever do anything to benefit downtown. What sales pitch does he keep using to win out over downtown anyway? "We have retail here unlike downtown...". While we may not, and the City many not, I get the feeling he must be leveraging any angle he has against downtown and RTP for that matter...

Edited by Jones_
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He does do developments elsewhere. The Stanhope Village project on Hillsborough Street near NCSU is being developed by Kane.

 

He certainly seems to be our local "superstar" developer, the one who gets big things done quickly. I agree, it would be nice if he would look towards downtown proper though.

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Yes in the sense of style and height, but it's inside the city limits of Raleigh. Of course, Raleigh made sure that it annexed Brier Creek which has some significant square footage of office buildings now. Atlanta's last large annexation was in 1952 when Buckhead (ta-da) came in.

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I think he should certainly be entitled to that option... once something taller exists downtown.

 

It's just a matter of principle, but I don't like the tallest building in a city being somewhere other than the CBD. I'll admit that my reasoning is purely aesthetic. Suppose the Empire State Building had been built in Yonkers, instead of Manhattan. Midtown NYC wouldn't be as attractive as it is, and the ESB wouldn't be the icon that it is without the context of the city around it. Looking at Houston and Atlanta, cities that have embraced this type of model, I can't help but think they'd be better places if they'd developed in a more centralized manner. It's all relative.

 

If Raleigh had Charlotte's level of business downtown, and a Charlotte-sized skyline, I'd have no qualms about 40 floor buildings in the suburbs. What's a 40 floor building here or there in a city that has 50-60 floor buildings? Raleigh's not in the same sort of shape though, and much like Durham and Greensboro were reeling after their tallest buildings got built in the suburbs, I've been firmly against the same thing happening in Raleigh ever since--though it has been threatened more than once.

 

I get the feeling this is a uniquely southern phenomenon: developers who don't want to build downtown lest their tenants have to encounter those 'frightening negroes' on the way to work. Instead they like to make their own downtowns for rich white people away from all the unsightly minorities and poors, so we have Buckhead Atlanta and Uptown Houston, and soon-to-be midtown Raleigh I guess.

Edited by Spatula
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I think that there is more to this type of development than escaping "frightening negroes." Keep in mind that land prices are higher and land is more scarce downtown than it is in other parts of most cities. As I always say, if a city's council allows it, developers will build it.

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There should be no height restriction downtown. 

 

Suspect the restriction is motivated in part by the water and sewer situation downtown. Pipe capacity is finite, without a very expensive and disruptive program for replacement. Raleigh Fire Dept. is probably not keen on buildings taller than 40 floors, either. In Charlotte the banks were so powerful that they were able to get whatever they wanted. No single company in Raleigh, not even Kane, has that kind of clout.

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I was thinking Kane was going to get creative to max out his last little bits of NH. On the one hand it is weird to have somewhat competing high-rise areas and frustrating even. On the other hand though, I am sort of ok with there being an area for people who prefer their life sterilized and predictable. I doubt Kane ever gets a Red Hat out there...if he lands insurance companies and ultra conservative banks then I'm not heartbroken. Given our physically small downtown, I prefer it not be dominated by Panera, Five Guys and Bone Fish. I realize there's more to it than that but thats the tilt. I would reluctantly let him have a 40 story limit....reluctant because I am admitting that predictable disney land culture wins out in scale over what I consider creative, different and interesting....but I suppose by definition, "different" stuff there is less of. 

I don't know the exact reasoning for the limitation, but think it is fire protection related. Utilities can be a limitation too but Raleigh has reversible pipes downtown that can send sewer to Crabtree's main lines or Rocky Branch/Walnut Creek. Office's don't use that much water or sewer really. At one time electricity was becoming a limitation but that was fixed with new sub station at Lenoir/Harrington. 

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His reasoning is that west of Six Forks he is limited to 20 stories whereas he has a 35 story limit east of Six Forks. He just wants to be able to build what he wants on both sides of the road. It doesn't mean he will actually build a 40 story building, but a 28 story building like the proposed tower 3, yes.

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