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.
July 27th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
BREAKING NEWS: Ari is a dork.
July 27th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
BREAKING NEWS: jrd is a jerk.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Haha! Sorry
July 30th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
So, the only thing the Reynolds seem to have accomplish is to tear down a building that was said to be a fine example of some sort of architecture. The leaning crane next to the BOA building seems to be still deeply; that is, subsurfacely engaged only in an underground parking garage. The Lafayette may be history before its time, or very short, and sure won’t help the new convention center for years.
A major dt restaurant and music venue seems to have closed. A number of people seem to think the Edison isn’t much more than wishful thinking. The visions of high rises at Hillsborough and Glennwood seem to have faded into dust. The only thing of late that seems certain on this site is that jrd and Ari think of each other as a dork and a jerk, respectively.
How I long for the exciting days of yesteryear, way back there in the misty past, a year or two ago.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
It’s all good, I just don’t enjoy peeps calling me names. OK I’m bored now. L8trs.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I think there will be a clearer picture of Raleigh Downtown Development by the end of this year. Like all city’s Raleigh was hit hard by the lending industriess ineptitude to quailify a willing customer. The Reynolds will have to turn some sort of plan in by August and Hatem will have to do the same by November.
July 31st, 2008 at 4:34 am
I wonder what the skyline would look like when the Edison is built. Forgive me if someone has already asked this same question. Also, at nearly 40 storeys and LEED certified, the two tallest towers could be closer to 700ft as opposed to the 600ft range mentioned here before. Very impressive!!! Are there any plans to improve infrastructure to support such a large project like this? Also, will it need any tax breaks or incentives from the city or county before the first shovel hits the ground? I say “who cares” about the current economy. Let’s build it now instead of a decade down the road. The cost of building this thing in 2008 dollars is certainly cheaper than waiting to build it with 2018 dollars.
July 31st, 2008 at 7:57 am
James: Your right. That will be the next excuse in 2-3 years when they break ground for The Edison, the cost of material (thus, the whinning starts “we will have to scale back due to material costs” – and yet again, we end up with an ugly project – example – “The Dawson”)”.
Break ground today! There is a demand for hotels, office space, signature buildings and much more retail. That is the problem with downtown Raleigh development, takes much too long (“project not completed until 2018″, are you kidding me, build them all at once or sell the land)
July 31st, 2008 at 8:05 am
yea 2018 is too damn long… at the most all should be built by about 2012. i dont think they will scale it back because progress energy has the money… they arent like alot of the others who dont have deep pockets. when progress say they are gona do something they usually do it!
July 31st, 2008 at 9:49 am
Sounds like the shorter building at Charter Square maybe taller than the 20 story building. They are having conversations to include hotel rooms and condos in this building. A 20 and 10 story development for this prime location does not make sense (again, lack of vision). It would be acceptable if the 20 story building (Northern most location) is next to a 25-35 story building (I believe on of the two buildings should be 40 stories minimum – again, wasting prime real estate in downtown Raleigh – the market demands more office space)
July 31st, 2008 at 9:14 pm
WTF is charter square?
August 1st, 2008 at 12:31 am
Charter Square is the new name for Site One.
August 4th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
As an outsider, I must say I love Raleigh. It has the potential of being a GREAT city with the pefect balance of Metro Life and Suburban life. I love this site and a few others. I found these sites while searching for a place to buy a home. I’ve viewed a lot of the old archives with pics of your city 5 years ago and today and you guys are on the right track. Hopefully some thing 2-3 times the height of Lafayette will replace it. Does anyone know where I can view the current progress at North Hills East?
August 6th, 2008 at 12:13 am
What!!!! A smaller tower to replace Lafayette? Only 14 stories? Why did City Council amend their agreement with Empire? We need at least a 30 story TOWER in that lot!!
August 6th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I am all with you, Anonymous, but the problem lies elsewhere… The original plan, before the RFP was released and based on some consultants’ recommendations, called for an 8-story boutique hotel (80 rooms) with about 40 condos. After the RFPs were published and replies came to the city from various developers, we went to 12 floors, and shortly after that to 15-16 floors. Technically, it is still above the city’s initial requirements, I believe. Now, if our local officials had asked for a 300-room hotel, then we could tell the developers to take a hike if they didn’t deliver what is asked, but then again the Marriott Hotel proposal would not have materialized, either, as it fell below minimum requirements.
Regarding the height, I will be VERY disappointed with anything less than 20 floors, even as a first phase. It is unfortunate that the image of our skyline gets little attention by the local officials. Sure, we can’t always focus on the image, but this section of downtown lacks just that. Without image we’ll end up with a large parking deck – already exists – and a convention center, hardly the pedestrian experience we wish to achieve for the South End. The ONLY thing we can do is bring more people to that area and create a better image via a building that will overwhelm that Marriott Hotel eyesore. If we expect Sites 2 and 3 to do this, we’ll be in trouble.
I am glad Greg Hatem gets some support from the City Council, but I can’t help expressing my disappointment for the scale down. Unless Greg places another 7-10 floors above that building, or build a much taller one adjacent to his new proposal, I will be very unhappy about the turn this project took. Ideally, we can end up with two buildings, If one is 14 floors and the other 25 floors, it will not be as bad, but as is it’s a bit disappointing
Of course, we have seen what is proposed, and that is two buildings, but since we have no further details it is almost impossible to get excited. One thing is for sure: we’ll get more than we asked, and that, alone, will force the City Council to play along.
Maybe we should consider writing to Greg Hatem and encourage him to increase the size of the hotel – or should I say convince the hotel developer to put another 100 rooms? – thus boosting the height, as well. Raleigh will be desperate for hotel rooms, soon, therefore it makes sense to put more. Maybe something similar to Winston Tower, which is envisioned as a mix of high-end and affordable hotel rooms. Just a thought…
August 6th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Ernest: Great idea, send a letter to Hatem (we as tax paying citizens should not stand for this ugly architecture or small town thinking, it’s time for density, tall buildings and 21st century architecture) anything less than 22 stories is unacceptable, these type of developers are ruining Raleigh (no vision what-so-ever). We will end up with two small boxes (just like that ugly “L” building he is developing – enough of these local developers and architects – RFP’s should only be sent to out-of-state developers and architects).
Council needs to grow some (you know what). Two architects on the council with no clout or vision.
Time to replace every member and bring in some yourng blood with vsiion
All local developers and architects are making Raleigh look like a pile of blocks on top of each other (no character at all – even that convention center – looks like a big block – they should not be to proud of that facility – just shows their ignorance – nothing associated with that convention center say “Raleigh” – not to mention that ugly Marriott – Site One needs a signature building to hide that Marriott)
August 6th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
NSCU Urban Design Center: Must be many uneducated professors with no city influence over there, if they are allowing this ugly architecture to continue in our Downtown. Site One will be another disappointment (along with the Marriott, convention center, The Dawson and that pathetic “L” building – 21st century city, please!)
August 6th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I don’t want to get you all worked up and upset. Two things we need to keep in mind: 1) Greg Hatem (the developer) wants to make Lafayette as tall as possible. 2) It doesn’t depend on architects and respectable professors at NCSU to place the most elegant buildings in DT Raleigh. In the first case, we can only blame most lenders for not being able to recognize that the DT Raleigh market is very different, and far more stable than most cities that keep sending all the wrong messages. Sure, the returns may not be as high as they are in Miami and Las Vegas, but neither are the risks. In the second case, very rarely experts are asked about what is best.
Regarding the City Council, they are up against time. The lack of hotel space will present one of the biggest obstacles in getting future conventions. Our motto will become “Raleigh: We are open, but please come back later”. This is most discouraging, to say the least. There is no quick fix, even if Lafayette was twice the size and broke ground tomorrow. In 1-2 years, we stand to lose several of the conventions, at least the ones that involve a lot of out-of-towners. I hope to be proven wrong, but I am afraid I won’t be.
Just thought of one more thing: how about the second tower including condos AND additional hotel space. It can be another hotel chain, more affordable, but elegant enough. I wonder if Winston Hotels (now Inland American Winston) could potentially place something there. After all, Winston Hotels is a local business, regardless of the fact they were acquired by a Chicago-based company. Sure, they stalled their Winston Tower, but it may be a great opportunity to do something more this time. Unless they are not in good terms with Greg Hatem, in which case I can understand.
If at least one of Sites 2 and 3 does not get something inspiring and iconic, I will scream. I’d like to believe that we have learned from the most recent experiences with The Hillsborough and Lafayette, and we won’t repeat similar mistakes. That is, make sure the developers are well financed prior to selecting them. If they keep on missing deadlines, pull out of the deal.
August 6th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
One also has to remember that unless a major player comes around, then the chances of a 40+ story building is never going to happen. In Charlotte its BOA that built the building. We don’t have that – at least yet! Maybe the Raleigh city council needs to start glad handing and trying to persuade some National company to come and make downtown home, and start appealing to the Banks themselves to get the money issues out of the way and the buildings going. Especially the Hotels.
August 6th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
It is not even just BOA in CHarlotte. A Major reason they are where they are is the fact that Nationsbank and First Union were in a competition, right in the same town, for national prominence and how that was expressed in their buildings. ALso, they both were massivly growing and expanding by merger, so they needed lots of space and knew they would need more in a couple of years, so they built up.
As far as big stuff here, I would love it if we would get something taller than what is proposed, but we could certainly use a good base of 10-15 story buildings also to build critical mass away from just Salisbury, Fayetteville and Wilmington streets.
Also, lets not overlook the lending climate. It is very difficult to get anything at all going right now, much less something that requires vision. The City and All of us can pound our fists as much as we want, but unless the city or someone else (can we pass the hat here or start an investment fund
)is willing to step up and lend the money or provide some guarantee, I doubt much will happen for at least another year.