RALNATIVE

Noticed tonight that the Gilead sign is now up on the east side of the Allscripts building in NHE.

My guess is that the owner are locals who don't quite have the funding to develop anything, but rather will hold the property to capitalize on appreciation when a big NY firm comes along with deep pockets.

Bingo. These threads are full of armchair quarterback types who have rarely, or at least not in recent years, visited the cities that they profess to know so much about. All one has to do is review the statistics and publicly available data, rather than relying on subjective posts in a forum like urbanplanet for information, and you can easily understand how any city is growing and developing.

Despite its population and number of tall buildings, Charlotte is far from the urban destination that some would like to pretend that it is. I'll take Raleigh's culture and class any day over what's available in Charlotte.

You don't live here, but I do. Raleigh has one of the most active and vibrant downtowns in the state. Sometimes I think that you need your head examined, or maybe with you it's just an integrity issue.

You said..."I totally agree with you on both points." That was only ONE point.

You, strangely enough, would agree with anything that is negative towards Raleigh.

Seriously? Not sure where you're getting your information but you've clearly not visited Raleigh lately. Downtown, North Hills, Iron Works. I've counted at least 5 cranes today. There are probably more in areas that I rarely visit.

This hotel has a great infrastructure to work with. Including the top floor restaurant. An upgraded boutique hotel in that location will make a killing.

I agree. You don't destroy buildings that are considered landmarks, if you're smart. The best business move is to turn it into a high end hotel with upgraded finishes and amenities, and market it as a boutique Raleigh landmark hotel that is one of a kind.

Also corporations will lease units for their top executives that they relocate temporarily to the area.

I was out walking around downtown today and walked past tower two at Bloc[83] and saw the Envestnet sign on the building. I did some research online and discovered that they are consolidating their local headcount in that building. Furthermore the article I read referred to the area as "Silicon Raleigh." First time that i've ever heard that term, but maybe it will become more common for that strip bounded by Morgan and Hillsborough streets where a few high techs are already located. https://www.envestnet.com/press/envestnet-expand-footprint-further-silicon-raleigh-move-tower-two-bloc83

That is insane!!! Paying $14K per month in rent? To put this in perspective, that's equivalent to 7 or 8 mortgages on houses with the same sq footage.

Beautiful photos.

How is Raleigh paying the price? The development hasn't even really started.

I have been reading and posting in these threads for years, and things have not changed since i've started. I can understand how someone with a very very strong desire to see their city rapidly urbanize and develop an impressive skyline would be irritated by seeing all of the impressive development going on in other NC cities that isn't happening in their city. On the other hand, trying to push ridiculous ideas and making things seem like something other than what it is, is not the way to go. Furthermore posting delusions on a public forum doesn't help.

The building of high rises in any downtown is based on space needs...current and future. If there is no projection of long term future need for a huge amount of office, retail, or residential space in a downtown where land is scarce and expensive, you're not going to see skyscrapers being built. The only exception to this is situations where corporations want to build signature towers for branding purposes, like BOA and First Union did in Charlotte and Wachovia did in Winston-Salem. In a city the size of Greensboro with a small downtown and limited available land, most companies will opt to build out in the suburbs and outlying areas where land's readily available if they need a large amount of space, rather than build a skyscraper in downtown Greensboro just to build a skyscraper at a higher cost that really can't be financially justified. No sensible business is going to do that, and no lender with the money to lend would provide funding simply for ego projects. Again, there has got to be a need and justification.

Midtown Exchange video:

Very nicely done!

Three? I was only aware of 1 or 2 proposed for Durham.

To take it a bit further, if they have such an aggressive timeline and most likely financing already lined up, they must also have a major tenant already identified. 2022 should be an interesting year for announcements in Raleigh and the Triangle, as well as erection of cranes.

Now international firms are getting in on the action.

That list of unit amenities sounds very impressive. Floor-to-ceiling windows, frameless glass shower doors, blackout shades...i'm sure the price tag for these units are on the upper upper end for this market. These almost sound more like condos than rental apartments.

Went to lunch with a friend this afternoon at YardHouse and snapped this photo on my way out. Great view.

New renderings were apparently released but I cannot find them. Construction should start this summer. Plans for the 32-story residential tower call for 261 apartments, including a mix of 200 one-bedroom and 61 two-bedroom units. The other tower will feature 250,000 square feet of space across 20 stories and will include office uses. Both buildings will have ground-floor retail and stretch around the existing historic Creamery building.