RALEIGH— Is Raleigh ready to soar?

Yes, say two Wake County developers with two different proposals to push Raleigh skyward.

But others question whether the projects -- one for a 32-story tower, the other for a 40-story skyscraper -- are aesthetically reasonable and economically feasible.

The two proposals have a lot in common and one big difference -- location.

Ted Reynolds, a lawyer and developer, wants to build a 32-story tower with offices on the lower levels, a 60-room boutique hotel in the middle and 25 residential condos on top. It will be near downtown in the 300 block of Hillsborough Street.

Meanwhile, the Soleil Group of Cary wants to build, next to Crabtree Valley Mall, a 40-story glass tower called Glen-Tree, with parking and offices on the lower levels, a four-star Westin hotel in the middle and luxury condos on top.

“It's a building of exceptional design quality which really speaks to the future of Raleigh as a leader in the region,” said Marvin Malecha, dean of N.C. State University's college of design. “It's a step up, no doubt about it.”

Plans will be submitted to the city Thursday. Approval won't be decided until the fall. The early word: it's a mite tall for the site.

“We need high-quality architecture but that doesn't mean buildings that overshadow surrounding areas,” said Mayor Charles Meeker. “A 40-story building would be tall for downtown but it's out of scale for a suburban location.” He said Reynolds' 32-story building would fit in downtown.

But the Glen-Tree project has its supporters.

“Raleigh has got to decide if it wants to be a city or Columbia, South Carolina's poor sister,” said developer Neal Coker. “It's a refreshing change from more of the same.”

Four years ago, Coker ignited a rezoning battle when he proposed more than 1 million square feet of shops, theaters and residences for 15 acres on Oberlin Road. The project eventually was scaled back and Coker sold most of the land.

Malecha said Glen-Tree would raise the city a notch in architectural sophistication. “The quality of the architecture being proposed is really wonderful,” Malecha said.

Malecha supports Reynolds' condo-office-hotel project.

“The new convention center will demand a new boutique hotel and you have people like me saying 'I don't like mowing the lawn anymore' and like being able to walk to Cafe Luna.'”

Others are worried less about scale and more about sales.

“Can this market bear all this luxury product? Not anytime soon,” said Risa Clark, Marriott Hotels' Raleigh-based regional director of market strategy. “”There's too much of it [proposed].”

FOUR-STAR HOTEL PLANS

Wake County has no four-star hotels, but at least four are in the works, including the Westin, which will seek those ratings or higher.

Ann Goodnight, wife of SAS founder Jim Goodnight, is building a $70 million, 150-room hotel in Cary called The Umstead. Concord Hospitality Enterprises of Raleigh is planning to build a 240-room Renaissance Hotel at North Hills by 2007. And a 400-room Marriott is scheduled to open next to the new downtown convention center in 2008.

Those hotels would add 1,100 rooms to the market -- and that doesn't include the latest proposals for another boutique hotel downtown. All of this for a market that hasn't completely rebounded from the slump that followed the economic downturn.

The average daily occupancy rate in 124 Wake County hotels is 65.4 percent, compared to a 66 percent in 2000. Average daily room rates in May were $69 but prices at the new hotels are expected to be much higher.

Rates at the Westin will be $150 to $200 and daily prices at The Umstead will be more than $300.

“I'd be very skeptical this market could carry this many high-end hotels,” said Bob Winston, president and chief executive of Winston Hotels, a Raleigh hotel real estate investment trust. ”I'm skeptical [the market] is really deep, mostly because it's a government town.”

“Not all of them will come to fruition,” said Sheraton Raleigh general manager Suzanne Hinde. “They'll see demand isn't there.”

But now, travelers asking for four-star rooms are taking their business to Orange and Durham counties, where the luxury Siena Hotel, Carolina Inn and Washington Duke can fill their needs.

“Wake County has lacked four-star and five-star properties that many times are requested by our corporate clients,” said Dave Heinl, head of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.

No one is saying the newest projects won't get built -- if they get approved -- but both developers concede that moving ahead depends on presales.

Reynolds has said he needs to pre-lease half the 150,000 square feet of offices before the project can begin, and expects to announce the start of the $65 million project this summer.

Soleil must presell 20 condos to get the financing needed for Glen-Tree, said Soleil co-owner Dicky Walia. Forty to 60 condos, priced at $800,000 to $3 million, are planned. Ten have been presold, he said. “It's time to think outside the box,” Walia said.

“We're stepping into a new time zone and Raleigh is ready to be equated with cities such as Charlotte and Atlanta. It's going to happen.”

© copyright 2005 by The News & Observer Pub. Co.