The council voted 6-to-2, with members David Cox and Stef Mendell opting against the project.
Both said they wondered about maintenance costs for a 20-story building to compared to current costs. They also wanted to know how much it would cost to have several government buildings throughout the city.
Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article217075785.html#storylink=cpy
I’m really impressed that they selected the 20 story tower over the cheaper 14 and 17 story versions. Room for growth! 420,000 square feet in 20 stories will be pretty massive. And the location off Nash Square will move the center of gravity more west toward The Dillon. A skyline changer for sure.
Mendell’s comments in that article are so tone-deaf and anti-urban that I don’t even know where to start.
We need an iconic city hall. That doesn’t mean we need to concentrate so many jobs downtown. I think a more thorough cost/benefit analysis should have included dispersed services in cheaper areas.
I’m open to the idea that a giant complex on the most expensive property in Raleigh is the most cost-effective option open to us - but I don’t think the city’s study has shown that. If it is not, we should be up front about how much extra we’re willing to spend to have a showcase city property.
There are two Dwight’s replying on this site now ! I’m nipper.dwight ! Wanted to share this ! Thanks !
Shoot, they should have combined satellite city service centers with regional transit nodes. Say, one at Triangle Town Center, one at Crabtree and one downtown.
With land DT at a premium, it makes sense to have municipal/government consolidation into towers.
As for this tower, at 20 floors of commercial space, it will exceed the 250’ prescribed in the UDO. It could exceed FNB on Fayetteville St., which has many residential floors with a shorter slab to slab distance.
I remember that the planned 17 story Lightner Tower Project was a little over 300 feet ! I think it was 312 feet height !
Lol! Thanks ! Dwight ! Something tells me we would know! Which one you are !
J/K !
So, YOU are the Dwight? Formally of the City of Raleigh? 
Hey CanesFan & DowntownRaleighGuy ! Oh Yes ! I love downtown High Rise Projects !
wait, so was SOM only contracted for the masterplan study? That’s disappointing; I was so relieved that we’d finally have an important project being headed by a world-renowned firm. Hopefully the architect that’s ultimately selected doesn’t eff it up.
The city council meeting for next Tuesday 9-18-18 has agenda on approving for the master plans to start on the option # 1 20 story tower ! This information also states that two more 20 story towers could be possible at a later date , which would be phase 2 & phase 3 of central city plaza !
Thank you so much for the update!
Good news imho 
Wow, 60 storeys worth of towers on one block in Raleigh? This could be quite the plaza!
I assume the other 2 towers would be for private developers? I can’t imagine the city needing 60 stories of office space. Or maybe they’d rent space in some parts of them as needed? In any event, 3 tall buildings right there instead of the eyesore that currently exists would be quite something!
Here’s the latest master plan.
@dtraleigh
Thank you!
It’s interesting. Nothing surprising. Nothing special. Gave us what we paid them to tell us. Given the chosen firm, I was expecting “outside the box” and not three boxes…
For me this is the most important slide on the master plan. Even so if it’s just a box building, designing the street level experience to further connect downtown districts and integrate with Nash square as a public space will make this a successful redev. project.
I’m with you on the street level experience. It’s how I measure the city’s progress: feet on the ground!
I thought it was interesting to see their slides on population vs. city staff vs. municipal housed staff. One chart showed Raleigh proper hitting 750,000 prior to 2050. That one blew me away.
BTW, does anyone know what Municipal GFA means? I see it on the charts, but can’t find it in the document (not that I’ve read every word!).
