Soleil Group | News | Press Release

ARTICLE:

42-story tower endorsed for Crabtree Building would be Raleigh's tallest

October 26, 2005

Media Contact:
Karen Angelino | 919 719 1020 | karenangelino@soleil-group.com
Patti Tyma | 919 719 1010 | pattityma@soleil-group.com

RALEIGH— Picture a building nearly the height of the Washington Monument standing next to Crabtree Valley Mall.

It would be Raleigh's tallest building by far at 480 feet, and it took a big step from drawing board toward reality Tuesday.

The city's Planning Commission gave a nearly unanimous blessing to a 42-story glass tower called Glen-Tree, which would house a luxury hotel and 4,700-square-foot condominiums that take up an entire floor apiece.

The building, developed by the Soleil Group of Cary, also would have offices, a ballroom and a spa. And if the City Council signs off, the building will reshape the Raleigh landscape, planting a landmark spire five miles from downtown.

"The Triangle does not have many exciting buildings," said Bee Weddington, who lives in the nearby Brookhaven neighborhood off Glenwood Avenue. "This offers us the chance to move into the 21st century."

About 100 people, including Weddington, showed up at the planning commission meeting to support Glen-Tree on Tuesday. No one spoke against it, and only commission member Betsy Kane voted against it.

Backers praised Glen-Tree for its big-city architecture and because it would be clustered with other hotels.

Still, there is hesitance about putting such a significant building so far from Raleigh's downtown.

"I'm a big fan of this project," said Russ Stephenson, a commission member who was recently elected to the City Council. But, he asked, "Does that suggest that anything can be built anywhere?"

Glen-Tree would sit at the corner of Creedmoor Road and Glenwood Avenue on the site of the gutted old Sheraton hotel.

It will face more scrutiny when it goes to the City Council, which could happen at the council's meeting Tuesday. Some on the council already are enthusiastic. "Anybody who is willing to invest $90 million to $100 million of their own money is owed a lot of latitude," council member Philip Isley said. "The infrastructure is there. The roads are there: Lead Mine, Creedmoor, Glenwood."

Mayor Charles Meeker said he is worried about the building's height but will keep an open mind.

Council member Thomas Crowder said he wants to move the project into a council committee for deeper study.

Crowder said the city's plans call for placing the densest development and tallest buildings into regional centers: downtown, Triangle Town Center and Brier Creek.

Still, many speakers Tuesday said Raleigh would benefit by having a four-star hotel with easy access to the RBC Center about four miles away.

Not having one has been an obstacle in attracting sports events such as the National Hockey League all-star game, said Steve Stroud, a Raleigh real estate executive who is chairman of the authority that oversees RBC.

At 480 feet, Glen-Tree would dwarf the 29-floor BB&T/Two Hannover Square building, Raleigh's tallest at 392 feet to its rooftop, 448 feet with antenna. No one in the audience spoke against the project during the public hearing -- a good sign, said Sanjay Mundra, one of the partners in the Soleil Group. Soleil Group has hotel and condominium projects across the Southeast, including the renovation of the Sheraton Chapel Hill.

"We have yet to find anybody against it," he said.

Kane, who voted against Glen-Tree, said it might undercut the need for a high-quality hotel downtown.

The commission gave a thumbs-up Tuesday to plans for a 400-room, four-star Marriott downtown.

Mundra said demolition of the old Crabtree Valley hotel and construction could start as soon as the City Council gave its approval.

The new building would have a transparent glass exterior with a triangular peak. It was designed by Ralph Johnson from the Perkins + Will Firm in Chicago, which designed the international terminal at the Chicago O'Hare airport.

Planners praised the building's energy-efficient design, which has been drafted to minimize flooding, a problem when Crabtree Creek overflows. Parking would be on the lower floors.

Residents who live near the proposed hotel have mixed feelings. "It would seem unusual that it would be out here," said Ed Alston, who has lived in Brookhaven for 20 years. "I would be more concerned about how they're going to get people in and out of it than anything else. With the creek there, it doesn't seem there's enough room there for all they are talking about." Chris Pittman, a Brookhaven resident for almost five years, said the area has been "beaten down" by luxury projects.

"I think it's going to be bad for congestion, but as far as the overall value of the area, I think it'll probably increase it," said Pittman, taking a break from dinner with his family Tuesday. "We like concrete and steel. It'll look a lot better than what's there."

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