The St. Albans at North Hills recently secured about $100 million in construction loans financing. The 6-story building will contain 410 apartments, “several pools”, a 48K square foot Harris Teeter, and about 52K square feet of retail. According to TBJ the complex will have a parking deck and a separate elevator that will take tenants to and from Harris Teeter. The apartment rents will start at $925 per month.

The complex is in all likelihood the building at the bottom of the photo featuring the scaled down North Hills East project. (scaled down when compared to the renderings on this page). The project was originally planned to be bigger, provided tax increment financing could be secured. (The TIF debate was a key topic with the Raleigh City Council last year, but ultimately did not receive support from many council members).

Currently under construction next to the Beltline at North Hills is the new Renaissance Hotel. The chain is a boutique line within the Marriott chain, and is a desperately needed addition to Raleigh’s underwhelming hotel portfolio. The hotel will likely open in early 2009, but already has two websites (corporate, local).

The rooms in the North Hills Renaissance will be outstanding. Each will have free wired and wireless high speed internet access, a 37″ high-def TV in the room (with jacks for accessory connectivity), a 15″ high def TV in the bathroom, refrigerator, safe, and 300 thread-count sheets. The hotel will have complimentary parking as well as 7,590 square feet of meeting space and a 5,430 square foot ballroom. Hotel guests will also have direct interior access to the adjacent Gold’s Gym Athletic Club, and to Natural Body Spa, a European-style day spa.

The exterior touches are coming together, and it appears that many of the Alexan’s features, such as window proportions, moldings, and colors, will be continued in the Renaissance. One welcome difference is the use of a textured, artificial stone. Hopefully the color selection and textures will prevent the complex from becoming a “beigemoth”. A material mockup of the exterior can be seen from the middle parking level of the old JCPenney deck.

Unconfirmed reports say that the penthouse level to this hotel will not only offer superior views of downtown, but will also feature short ceilings and countertops in an attempt to cater toward chic, wealthy dwarves. Word is that these rooms will actually carry no room charge, and will be referred to as the “Stayfree Mini-pads”.

The 2008 ASID Designer Showhouse opens today at 2611 and 2615 Rolston Drive. The show runs through June 1. Advance tickets are $15, Door $20, Run-of-Show $30. All proceeds go to Hospice of Wake County.

The article this morning by the News & Observer’s Jack Hagel mentions an early 2010 completion date for the Soleil Center. Work is currently being done on the supporting foundation for the 480-foot residential and hotel tower.

The much-anticipated opening of the new convention center is approaching (early September), and Billy Warden at the Raleigh Downtowner has done a good job of previewing the building (interactive .PDF file). The center will have a 150,000 square foot exhibit hall, 32,000 square foot ballroom, and 19 meeting rooms. The center’s website has a great animated tour of the facility.

The RBC Tower’s cap assembly will begin at 3 am this evening, and will extend into Saturday. The N&O’s Jack Hagel wrote a story this past week about the assembly process. (Warning: don’t write Hagel any emails that you don’t want published in the paper).

Last week I noticed that the artist’s rendering for the planned Crabtree Place project disappeared from the Weingarten website. A representative stated:

We no longer plan on building the shopping center as depicted on our website so we have removed rendering so we don’t mislead folks. We are reworking our site plan and elevations and will place a new picture when the time is appropriate.

map it

Here are some of the previous renderings for the project.

 

The City Council heard discussion last night surrounding a yet-to-be-named project headed by Gordon Smith (of Exploris fame). The property bounded by Hargett, East, Martin, and Bloodworth Streets once contained 15 small houses. Those have been cleared to make way for a 4-story mixed-use building. The complex will feature street level retail on all four facades, 220-230 units of market-rate rental units across 3 floors, and an internal parking structure. map it

Two representatives from the neighboring area spoke in favor of the project, which was originally proposed to by much larger. While complementing the developer’s willingness to engage neighborhood opinion, they outlined two distressing aspects. Neighbors want a small community grocery store to be included in the project. The developer has pledged to his best to address this concern.

The second issue regards the “market-rate rental” space that will occupy the residential areas of the complex. Lonnette Williams (Central CAC Chair) cited an 85% renter-occupancy rate in the immediate area, but seemed comforted by the long-term plan to convert the project to condominiums.

At this point the project, publicly known as Z-19-08, has minimal information online. WRAL covered this story the day of the CAC meeting. According to reports, the history of the neighbors’ opinions has been an enigma. The CAC meeting was apparently full of much dissent, yet the final vote was and emphatically FOR the rezoning that will allow the project’s construction. Keep checking here as more info comes about.

Later this year we’ll see the next addition to Raleigh’s skyline, Charter Square. The mixed-use complex will consist of two towers offering office space, condos, and retail space on a yet-to-be-opened block of Fayetteville Street. The North tower, standing at 358 feet with 20-stories will contain office and condo space. The 15-story South Tower will stand at 182 feet. (map it)

Charter Square is a key portion to Fayetteville Street’s renewal. Formerly known as “Site One”, the land used for the development was once the site of the eastern half of the Raleigh Civic Center. The location stands between Raleigh’s planned City Plaza and the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, so bridging the pedestrian experience between the two zones is a high priority for the project’s developers. Offering a large amount of easily accessible retail space is a key to the planned experience.

One of the challenges with this property is its long north/south exposure on Fayetteville St. Instead of creating a long, unbroken row of retail, designers separated the development into two buildings. The division creates more retail surface exposure and space for a pedestrian plaza between the two buildings. The plaza not only acts as a center of pedestrian activity, it is the focal point for one of the business lobby entrances and is a connector to Wilmington street via an outdoor stairway.

An additional plaza is planned between the North Tower and the Two Hannover (Bank of America) building. This plaza features entrances to both residential and business lobbies, but does not connect to Wilmington Street (there will be a staircases down to Wilmington Street in both plazas). The planned City Plaza is just next door, and developers hope to create a district somewhat reminiscent of Rockefeller Center.

As mentioned before on gogoraleigh, Wilmington St has been the unfortunate recipient of many projects’ service entrances. Charter Square is designed with Wilmington Street retail space which wraps around to Lenoir Street, preventing a large row of service entrances.

Above the North Tower’s street-level retail space is 280,000 square feet of office space, distributed among 14 floors. The first two office floors have large windows which allow people to relate to the events on the street below. The other office floors feature a unique experience in Raleigh: balconies which allow employees to still stay in touch with life in the plaza. Floors 15 thru 20 contain upscale condominiums. Because these floors are higher than Two Hannover Square and the South Tower, views are bound to be impressive.

The accompanying rendering shows the North Tower to the left. The developers anticipate some type of exterior interactive display, portrayed in the rendering as video at the near left corner above the second floor.

YouTube is currently hosting two videos from a while back showing possible residential and office lobbies, respectively. The design has changed since their creation, but the flythrus are still interesting.

Charter Square’s South Tower provides a unique offering above it’s retail and lobby areas. The first four floors contain 2-story townhouses on the east (Fayetteville Street) side. The west (Wilmington Street) side of these floors creatively contains a high-rise parking garage. Not only will these townhouses have a great relationship with Fayetteville Street events, they will have adjacent parking within the building.

Floors 6 thru 14 are all complete with condominiums. Unlike the North tower’s units, these are aimed at a more price-sensitive market, and feature access to the tower’s rooftop community areas and pool.

The option to not build as tall as possible at Site One has been questioned by some. By dividing the Charter Square project into two portions, pedestrians will be able to have a superior street level experience and have several different choices for living within the project. The building heights will create a graceful cascade from the nearby taller buildings down to the Progress Energy Center. Presumably the future developments one block south (at Sites 2 and 3) will continue this downward slope of the skyline..

As shown a couple of weeks ago, Site One is currently a large hole. Since the demolition of the Civic Center, the property has been used as a staging area for the construction of the Marriott hotel and its portion of the eventual two-site subterranean parking garage. Recently “the hole” was turned over to Charter Square’s development team, and construction has begun on the Square’s continuation of the subterranean parking garage. Footings are being poured this month, and the site is anticipated to grow above ground by next winter.

Charter Square is loosely anticipated to be completed in early 2011. When that day comes the south end of Fayetteville Street will contain several blocks to explore. The final building blocks to the Fayetteville Street Renaissance won’t be in place for several more years, but piece by piece, a great destination is coming together.

Plans have been submitted (.pdf file) to to the city’s planning offices for a new McDonald’s on Western Blvd. The new restaurant plans include a 4,026 square foot building with seating for 74, and 42 parking spaces. The current building is around 3,300 square feet. There will be a 2-feed, Y-shaped drive-thru line separate from pedestrians.

Site One, the former eastern half of the Raleigh Civic Center, is currently a hole in the ground. The hole will be filled with subterranean parking garage underneath the Site One complex. For the past two years the hole has been a staging area for the parking garage underneath the Convention Center Marriott, shown in the left side of the 3-photo panoramic picture. The hotel is scheduled to open in July.

The ledge in front of the Marriott is the future extension of Fayetteville Street. One block in the distance, and the space between the tall gray building and the brick building on the right is where the City Square will be located.

The proposed $226 million Clarence Lightner Public Safety Center will be the new 17-story home for the Raleigh Police Department, Raleigh Fire Department, and the Wake County Emergency Operations Center. Plans call for the current Police HQ to be razed. (map it)

A rendering is now available at WRAL’s site, and it shows the view from Martin and McDowell Streets, looking north. The rendering does not include the nearby planned Reynolds tower, but does sit nicely. There seem to be several different facade styles, using mostly dark glass, which is a welcome change to downtown Raleigh. Further information will be needed, however, to see what experience this building brings to pedestrians. The building currently sits in a brutal alley of faceless walls and pedestrian boredom.

Wake County unveiled plans for its new Justice Center project. The complex will replace rise at Salisbury and Martin Streets, and feature an 11-story tower. The $214 million complex will offer several new courtrooms, much-needed room for records, offices, and underground parking. (map it)

The famed Garland Jones building (former First Citizens Federal Bank above, left) building will be razed, raising much angst among the architectural community. The building is one of the few of its style in North Carolina, but is not registered as an historic place. The building’s neighboring parking deck and the 8-story brick building next to the safety center will also be removed.

The construction timeline extends to the project’s completion in 2013. The plan allows for completion of the county’s L-Building (including a parking deck) before demolition of the current courthouse parking deck. Once completed, the building will connect to the existing courthouse and safety center via underground tunnels.

While the project is a much needed improvement to an ever tightening supply of space for the county, the project has some design weaknesses that can still be overcome.

The property’s redevelopment is a long-awaited opportunity to correct one of Nash Square’s corners. The square is one of only two remaining squares in the Christmas plan for Raleigh, and provides a valuable place for its nearby community that should be the focus of its surroundings. The current parking garage at McDowell and Martin, instead, treats Nash as a seemingly random, undeveloped lot. Joe’s Place at Dawson and Martin, on the other hand, fabulously addresses the grand park across the street, as will the Hue condominium building.

The picture above, left is the projection from Nash Square. The picture on the right is in Washington, DC, and addresses the intersection with a very bold corner. The architects, to their credit, did put one of the Justice Center’s entrances on the McDowell/Martin corner, however it is way too understated and vague. Just as Progress II’s Wilmington St. corner fails to address this important urban intersection, the Justice Center’s offset entrance and smoker’s patio is no way to formally address Nash Square.

From the square, the eye finds its way back to the complexes central, stubby tower. Perhaps bringing the building’s exterior fully to the corner with a rounded, ascending front would give Nash Square what it deserves. Perhaps a coffee shop or a small restaurant much like The Dawson’s Borough would invite interaction between the square and the building.

Salisbury Street’s projection (above) misses an opportunity as well. The Justice Center’s base is planned to abut the Public Safety Center. The new building’s tower is not only inset from the Public Safety Center’s tower, it also sits back from Salisbury St. Unfortunately the complex’s facade sinks away from Salisbury, too, in order to create an outdoor plaza with a central fountain. Do we really need another outdoor plaza with no programming (other than smoking) in Raleigh? Wouldn’t it be more interesting to pedestrians to fill this space with another coffee shop or small food outlet? A pedestrian walking this stretch of Salisbury will be greeted with two plazas of people hanging around on the right and a blank wall on the left. We need to avoid cavernous, blank blocks.

Tonight’s session the building’s features and design was an unusual, welcome, open extension by building designers. There are three more planned, and each lasts from 5pm to 7pm:

• Feb 12: Northern Regional Center (NRC), 350 Holding Avenue, Wake Forest
• Feb 18: Knightdale Town Hall, 950 Steeple Square Court, Knightdale
• Feb 19: Wake County West Regional Library, 4000 Louis Stephens Road, Cary

Here are a few more of the plates shown at the presentation (even more) (2/15 update: The images are part of this .pdf file, which is now available).