Downtown Raleigh’s skyline will change dramatically in the next several years with the addition of new towers, particularly in the southern end. Are you excited?
UPDATE 10/08/2008:
First of the Edison updates:
UPDATE 07/20/2007:
He is an updated version of the future Raleigh Skyline rendering. It reflects a more current version of what we might see in 2008 and beyond.
Closer:
The current version of Raleigh (2006):
The future rendering of Raleigh:
A less cartoony look at the rendering:
Discuss!
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Created
on Sunday, October 29th, 2006 in the category Illustrations.
June 17th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I tell you what…Soleil Center should have just been built on the site of some old building that nobody uses anymore, it would really contribute to the skyline.
June 17th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Whoops, sorry Ernest, I didn’t read your post before posting myself.
June 18th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Regarding the Soleil Center location, it’s my understanding (and I think I read this in one of Ernest’s posts some time ago) that the Soleil Group would have liked to built downtown, but it was the hotel chain that insisted on the Crabtree location. I believe once the current project is done, they may take a look at a downtown project (and hopefully something even bigger). Not to be a pessimist, but current hotel project has seen it’s share of obstacles, so I don’t know how eager they’d be to jump right into another large scale tower project. I would hope that the problems associated with the Soleil Center were due more to location and not so much the project execution (sales, design, construction, etc). It would have been GREAT to see that building downtown though – I don’t think anyone would argue that. Especially now, with the lack of downtown hotel rooms!
June 18th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Matt K., this is correct, but let add something: Soleil Group is still interested in DT Raleigh
Once the two Soleil Center towers are built, watch for their next move. So far they have pre-sold most units, but modifications were necessary, hence the 9-10 extra units. No need for new plans was there, but a delay was the outcome.
June 18th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I would just like to share that tomorrow, I will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to climb to the spire of RBC Plaza, with my job at the Fire Dept.!! I can’t wait for that view!
June 19th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Matt, you do understand that you need to take some photos from up there… I mean, it is a rare opportunity to enjoy the view, but I am sure you wouldn’t mind take some nice pics for us… Don’t wait for Matt Robinson to do everything :LOL:
June 27th, 2008 at 8:12 am
can anyone tell me when in the hell they are planning to break ground on the reynolds, lafayette, or site one? has anybody seen what the reynolds tower looks like at least?
June 27th, 2008 at 8:13 am
…. and what is going on with the soileil center i heard they stopped building it!
June 27th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Laryea, it was something about uneven soil, thats what caused the delays.
July 1st, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Interesting day in downtown news. Visit all the news websites to find out why!
July 1st, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Hey Guys, Ya’ll miss me..
July 1st, 2008 at 2:41 pm
again, very interesting day indeed.
July 1st, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Sorry Al, but we have Mongo Slade now… We don’t need you anymore :LOL:
As for the news, Erik Cole going to Edmonton definitely came as a big shock to me – I assume that is what we are talking about, right? :LOL: On a serious note, it was indeed an interesting day. I am a big supporter of the City Plaza, but the condemnation decision was a bit pre-mature. If the plaza cannot open until August of 2009, then why can’t we wait a little longer? Why taking the ugly road when the problem lies in the amount of oversight that the land owner wants to have? Isn’t his property that will be involved? It makes sense to me that the property owner wants to have more saying over the plaza, especially when he supports this project. What happened to the owner’s rights? We stood to gain more by negotiating harder than taking legal action.
Good news for Lafayette: Empire Properties received an extension until November 1st, but it will be the last one. I spoke briefly to the developer, right after the decision was made, and he was very upbeat about the financing prospects and the future of Lafayette. As per our conversation, the lenders across the nation are reluctant, even though the market is there and the buyers are waiting to purchase their condos. Let’s hope that this project faces no more challenges.
July 1st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Yea, Im ready for that block to “arrive.” Sucks for initial convention guests.
July 1st, 2008 at 5:34 pm
The Lafayette is one of those projects that I’ve eagerly awaited, partially because it’s been on the table for so long, but also because it will be a key part of the “face” of the Raleigh skyline – at least from the Saunders street view, unless I’m mistaken. I’ll be glad to see this lending crisis pass, because once it does, many of these projrcts should take off and start physically taking shape.
I know the Reynolds project at Hillsborough/Dawson is stalled due to lending issues – does anyone know of the current status of the Winston? I’ve always kept these two projects tied together in my own mind due to their close proximity to each other. Just to see either building start going up would be a good shot in the arm for that stretch of Hillsborough Street.
July 1st, 2008 at 11:06 pm
This might make me look stupid, but have any of you seen the new google earth where you can see cities in 3d. I was amazed, it blew me away!
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Indeed, Lafayette will be critical for adding height and density in the South End section of downtown. I heard something about building this high-rise in two phases: first the hotel and then the condos. I am not ecstatic about this, although I understand that the current situation with the lenders may not allow for more, anyway
I would take the comments about the interest by other developers with a grain of salt… There may be interested parties, but are they well financed, or they only speculate? Even if another developer wins the bid for Site 4, there is little to guarantee a better and bigger project. I would not like to see anything less than Lafayette.
The Hillsborough is yet-another thorn in our downtown’s future, at this point. There is some good news about the developers actually being close to finalizing a loan with Regions Bank, but until I see crews and cranes moving in that site, I will remain reserved. Not that I doubt the developers, but the lenders can pull out of this deal the last second. Let’s hope that progress will be made, otherwise the end of this month will not be pleasant for the Reynoldses
As for the Winston Tower, I have nothing to report
Your guess is as good as mine, but since the merger took place, Winston Hotels remained silent on this project. On one side we have the stupid lenders, who create an artificial crisis, and on the other hand we have the new boss – the Chicago-based partner/owner of Winston Hotels, who may not put this project on the front burner. I have a theory, though: Winston Hotels may be one of those interested developers who hope that Site 4 will be up for redevelopment. Let’s keep in mind that they were interested in doing the convention hotel – or was it Site 1? – but didn’t meet the deadlines. Maybe they are pushing the City Manager behind the scenes… Just a speculation, so please don’t quote me on this.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Someone explain how this can be done in two phases or has Empire purchased more land? Just get rid of the condo piece. We need a signature hotel and a signature office tower in downtown. We do not need Empire building two small buildings, they have already wasted prime property in downtown Raleigh with that low rise “L”. City Council should have indicated that this building cannot be reduced in size and must reach over 30 floors minimum since that is prime real estate (enough low rise – we are wasting valuable property – no matter what the climate)
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Let me step back a moment to Matt’s recent comment about the Soliel Center. Matt says he heard: “…it was something about uneven soil, thats what caused the delays.”
There are sandy soils, silty soils, clayey soils and a zillion other variations. Soils of greatly varying kinds are present at many major construction sites everywhere. There are a half-zillion other subsurface geologic and hydrogeolic conditions to deal with at many major construction sites everywhere. Sometimes, these complexities cause engineers to work quite hard for solutions. But there are remedies for virtually any challenge of this type. The remedies, some calling for a mix of innovation with conventional approaches to meet particular conditions, address the matter of foundation desisgn – which, as you might imagine, is of some importance. Conditions sometimes call for foundation designs that are much costlier to implment than others. However, even the costliest are a relative drop in the bucket in the overall costs of a major project such as the Soliel. It would be extremely unlikely that what Matt heard was called “uneven soils” would stand in the way of such a project. If soil challenges in Crabtree Valley are challenging foundation design for this site, rest assured that’s a problem that should be overcome in very little time.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I never really thought of it that way…I just want the tower to be done, haha
BTW, Ernest, I have more tall building pix
I went to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse recently and took a ton of pix…lemme know if you are interested, Ernest.