Round and round we go with this project, which pre-dates Soleil Center 1, for those of us who care to remember… It is sad that so many years of stalling have not taught developers anything, be that the previous, or the new developers. Anyway, I hope they don’t scale down the project, or at least they make it more urban looking. Any more stalling and I am going to purchase that land and develop it, myself :LOL:

If I remember correctly, there have been lots of public complaints about this design – concerns about parking, maybe? This is a chance to correct those problems. I’d rather them go back to the drawing board and get it right than slap something together that doesn’t meet the area’s needs.

As I understand the plan, there is a ton of parking…all below at the Crabtree Valley Blvd elevation up to the retail level – like North Hills is.

I think that their concerns probably have to do with allocation of square footage in:
* A dying brick & mortar retail age,
* A sluggish condo market
* A strong apartment market

I wish that Soleil would alter their project to blend across Creedmoor into this project as well as Crabtree Village. The whole area could be a pretty cool, walkable, connected village and future rail stop if done right. The fear is that it becomes another disconnected South Square-type fiasco.

What an eyesore this area is. This has been going on for years. Another Raleigh project that never get’s off the ground. If anything, this design needs to have an urban flavor, something very different. If they do not break ground by Q408, the land should be “For Sale”.

I agree (that it’s an eyesore). Surely, though, the suffocating banks are putting enough pressure on Weingarten to get moving.

Don’t always rush to blam the developers. You know they are given an outline of what is needed by the city and their long range plan… Which is not always perfect. Disposal or no disposal? Anyone?

I think the issue on parking was not this project but the one down the street. I like the latest plan but I guess it will not be built. Too bad but I can not blame the developer. In this banking market, no way would this go forward, esepcially with condos in the mix.

I agree with both jbgraves and Subway Scoundrel… The developers are not to blame in this case. While other projects have fallen victim of their developers’ non-stop tweaking and changing, this project is more about meeting general market demand. Like Dana mentioned, a stronger rental market may “force” the developers to alter the scope of the project, and not necessarily the size.

On the other hand, lenders will soon find out that if they don’t loan money to developers with good reputation, they will soon suffer the consequences… In the future, they will beg for clients and bend over backwards to offer loans… It is a cycle and we’ve probably been sitting at its worst point.

Condos are scaring most everyone at this stage of the game so I have decided to call them stacked townhouses. That makes them easier to sell.