Hotel Possibly Planned for Glenwood South

According to the agenda for an upcoming Board of Adjustment meeting, a 9-story hotel is being planned for the corner of Glenwood and West Johnson Streets in downtown Raleigh. The lot is currently occupied by the Abbey Carpet store, across Johnson Street from Red Room. The variance is being requested because of an appeal by the property owners for a variance to the 1|1 stepback for buildings in excess of 40 feet. Plans for this 80-foot building call for no stepback. While mixed-use has been a commonly used development scheme for lots this size, Raleigh certainly needs more downtown hotel space, and rumors point this way. The meeting takes place on Monday morning, June 8.

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7 Comments

• Ernest Said:
  June 3rd, 2009 at 9:22 am

  EXCELLENT!!! Hopefully there will be retail on the ground floor, but I am happy, regardless.

• John Said:
  June 4th, 2009 at 12:48 am

  Love the idea! Let’s hope for a solid execution of the it. I am worried about the variance though. Glenwood South needs architectural interest instead of an eventual row of buildings the create a narrow alley through the district.

• Mike Said:
  June 7th, 2009 at 9:26 am

  Really though, they could tear down the building and put a few hot dog carts there and it would be an upgrade to that horribly out-of-place carpet store on Glenwood. I understand the owner of it was probably trying to get the best sweetheart deal he could, but a place like that is an eyesore in a vibrant nightlife scene and is probably not the kind of retail folks are looking for in downtown.

• Jenna Said:
  June 9th, 2009 at 8:47 am

  Any updates? What happened in yesterday’s meeting?

• Ernest Said:
  June 9th, 2009 at 3:56 pm

  Mike, I agree with your comments. The current building appears architecturally unattractive to me, or at least nothing I would miss, unless they turn it into a parking lot. I was a bit surprised with the height of the proposed hotel, though. The 7-story Hue is 100ft tall, while this 9-story hotel is rumored to be 80ft. Something doesn’t sound right to me. Hopefully, it will not be an eyesore. Maybe this is a bargaining chip: “We can make the building look better, but you have to let us go higher than 100ft.”

  Anyway, I was wondering what happened in the meeting, too. I will look for updates, but I have a feeling that Dana will supply the answer before we do

• Dana Said:
  June 9th, 2009 at 10:13 pm

  I should clarify that the 80ft number is what is firm here, not the number of stories. However if the first floor is 12′ and the others are 9′, then we get around 8-9 stories or so. Hotel floors are shorter than condo floors.

• Ernest Said:
  July 23rd, 2009 at 11:07 am

  I guess we got the answer today:

  http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1617951.html

  A 7-story/79ft, 157-room Hampton Inn with shops!!! More customers for Glenwood South’s destinations, and not only.

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