# Former Rex Hospital site (700 Wade Ave) **URL:** \ **Category:** New Construction\ **Created:** [October 17, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638 "2018-10-17T18:34:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/John)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2026, 4:46pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/21 "2026-08-28T16:46:01Z")
Oh, that’s interesting for sure. ---
**Author:** ![CivilFuture](https://community.dtraleigh.com/user_avatar/community.dtraleigh.com/civilfuture/32/36220_2.png) [@CivilFuture](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/CivilFuture)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2026, 5:09pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/22 "2026-08-28T17:09:24Z")
Watch Hayes Barton lose their shit and we end up getting some watered-down development like Birney Park. ---
**Author:** ![John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/John)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/23 "2026-08-29T01:28:57Z")
Oh, it’s going to be pricy for sure: no matter what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://community.dtraleigh.com/user_avatar/community.dtraleigh.com/jake/32/34692_2.png) [@Jake](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 12:43pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/24 "2026-08-31T12:43:02Z")
…hopefully pricey enough that whoever buys it CANNOT AFFORD to curtail to the Hayes-Barton NIMBY demands lol ---
**Author:** ![John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/John)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/25 "2026-08-31T17:04:06Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns into another Birney Park type of development. ---
**Author:** ![pBeez](https://community.dtraleigh.com/user_avatar/community.dtraleigh.com/pbeez/32/2461_2.png) [@pBeez](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/pBeez)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/26 "2026-08-31T17:23:03Z")
> [@John](#): > > Birney Park That wouldn’t be the worst outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Speck](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@Speck](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/Speck)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/27 "2026-08-31T17:24:05Z")
I would prefer more density… but given the neighborhood here I can’t imagine someone could get a 20 story rezoning ---
**Author:** ![John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/John)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/28 "2026-08-31T17:42:54Z")
Personally, I don’t want 20 stories here. I want 20 stories in more walkable locations. If this was on the other side of Wade and much closer to the Village District/NC State, I’d be all for it. ---
**Author:** ![CTT](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CTT](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/CTT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/29 "2026-08-31T19:44:44Z")
Yeah I feel like there’s something to being very intentional with your plans for this site. Going in and putting in 20 story mammoth plans is asking for lengthy lawsuits/issues with council approval that would likely end in nothing getting built for years. A Birney park type development here would bring hundreds to thousands of new housing. Front Wade with a 6-8 story apartment tiered back to some condos in the 4ish floor level, and then townhomes at the rear of the property. This likely would be enough for the neighborhood to not cause too much of a fuss, especially if you put most of the density facing Wade. ---
**Author:** ![Murr-man](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Murr-man](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/Murr-man)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 9:39pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/30 "2026-08-31T21:39:59Z")
Birney with more retail would be great. Something similar to Meadowmont in Chapel Hill, but where the design leans urban, rather than suburban would be cool. Have the retail portion front Wade Ave. When I say urban I mean something that would also compliment the neighborhood. Not something like North Hills. More like a Georgetown feel. ---
**Author:** ![John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/John)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/31 "2026-08-31T21:59:39Z")
Traffic on Wade makes it a bad face for the retail. I’d put the retail in the back of the property facing the neighborhood because that would actually entice people to walk there. The Wade/St. Mary’s intersection is a less than ideal place to front retail. ---
**Author:** ![GucciLittlePig](https://community.dtraleigh.com/user_avatar/community.dtraleigh.com/guccilittlepig/32/25831_2.png) [@GucciLittlePig](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/GucciLittlePig)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 11:05pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/32 "2026-08-31T23:05:47Z")
I hope someone does several traffic studies and cancels the project. ---
**Author:** ![Murr-man](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Murr-man](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/Murr-man)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 11:37pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/33 "2026-08-31T23:37:58Z")
I wasn’t necessarily suggesting that they sit on Wade. The development is raised from Wade and would contain it’s own streets with ingress and egress on St Marys and Wade back towards the SECU. ---
**Author:** ![trueurbanist](https://community.dtraleigh.com/user_avatar/community.dtraleigh.com/trueurbanist/32/23903_2.png) [@trueurbanist](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/trueurbanist)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 12:28am UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/34 "2026-09-01T00:28:25Z")
A neighborhood that resembles an expanded version of this plan from Architect Marques King, RA, NCARB would be great for this lot: ![IMG_1759](https://d3tmycllq5yp1y.cloudfront.net/original/3X/f/6/f6c796e977048c9d48519812a52c812b6d3b5488.jpeg) ![IMG_1758](https://d3tmycllq5yp1y.cloudfront.net/original/3X/a/d/ad73b51f81c0f082bc72b1aa8b17c604241cce77.jpeg) Something like this (minus the street parking) would blend in with the rest of the area and enhance the sidewalk experience for walkers like myself. ---
**Author:** ![John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@John](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/John)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 1:44pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/35 "2026-09-01T13:44:27Z")
If done correctly, this could be an interesting experiment in taking advantage of no parking minimums, but they are going to have to be strategic in fully leveraging the walk shed north of Wade. While some will undoubtedly walk across Wade from the south, it’s a rather daunting thing to expect most people to do. I have walked across it many times on daily walks, but it’s not the sort of intersection that I expect most to want to cross by foot. ---
**Author:** ![wey](https://community.dtraleigh.com/user_avatar/community.dtraleigh.com/wey/32/25752_2.png) [@wey](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/wey)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/36 "2026-09-01T14:32:27Z")
there is sufficient cycling activity in this area that if the developer leaned into that with ample secure indoor bike parking i bet you anything bike owners would snatch them up. biking downtown is a much easier ask than walking for commuters ---
**Author:** ![CTT](https://community.dtraleigh.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CTT](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/CTT)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 3:06pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/37 "2026-09-01T15:06:29Z")
I feel like that would have some unintended consequences. Instead of more people going car free or limiting to 1 car for families, it would more likely end up with the streets becoming packed with cars. Similar to the condos across the road that have 1 spot each and the roads are absolutely packed with cars all the time, despite being in a more walkable place than this spot. Would think the test of minimums is better downtown but that’s just my 2 cents as someone that hates driving on the roads around the Village District. ---
**Author:** ![mike](https://community.dtraleigh.com/user_avatar/community.dtraleigh.com/mike/32/26_2.png) [@mike](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/mike)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/38 "2026-09-01T15:33:42Z")
This was my idea awhile back. Would be nice to keep some of the original historic building - office, condos, hotel? > [@State Government](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/state-government/35/254): > > I’ll move this over here. Here’s what I would do with the old rex site. Save just the main old part of the building and then have residential tapering down to the neighborhood. Add a main intersection at Daniels St. [image] ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://community.dtraleigh.com/user_avatar/community.dtraleigh.com/jake/32/34692_2.png) [@Jake](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/39 "2026-09-01T15:46:32Z")
Yeah this is genuinely the best possible outcome I can imagine, here. Once again asking you to become Dictator of Raleigh! ---
**Author:** ![CivilFuture](https://community.dtraleigh.com/user_avatar/community.dtraleigh.com/civilfuture/32/36220_2.png) [@CivilFuture](https://community.dtraleigh.com/u/CivilFuture)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 3:06pm UTC](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638/40 "2026-09-02T15:06:28Z")
That section of Wade between Annapolis Dr and St Mary’s needs to be completely redone and modernized. I wonder if SECU would want a new office building to replace their two current ones adjacent to Old Rex; they could also incorporate them into the development. The St. Mary’s intersection may need to be converted to a tight diamond interchange; a single intersection with an overpass for through traffic on Wade. [Previous page](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638.md?page=1) [Next page](https://community.dtraleigh.com/t/former-rex-hospital-site-700-wade-ave/638.md?page=3)