On hold it sounds like, but I did notice this week the large historic home on Lenoir Street has started construction. I spoke to one of the workers who said they have to remove specific pieces of the exterior and have the city approve of the renovation materials.
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Here’s the article text:
A Raleigh couple is dipping their toes into real estate development.
Clayton and Katelyn Kelley, owners of Oak City Stays LLC, are turning one of their rental properties into a condominium building. The LLC filed a site plan with the City of Raleigh for an 11-unit condo building across from Transfer Co. Food Hall on the east side of downtown.
The aim is to provide a low entry point for young people seeking to own a home downtown. It’s prompted by the couple’s own struggles 12 years ago to find affordably priced homes after they graduated from N.C. State University and were newly married. They bought a home in the same neighborhood where the condos will go.
It’s an experience the Kelleys want to give to other young couples.
“It was nice to get that big city feel when we were that age. When we were deciding what we wanted to do with this property … you want to keep in mind who’s going to be buying it. So we’re like, ‘who’s our avatar for this property?’” Clayton Kelley said.
“We need to build a place that would have been perfect for us when we were looking downtown trying to find an affordable place to live, because that area has exploded so much the past couple years in terms of price," he said.
Rather than selling the single-family home at 328 Chavis Way and turning a short-term profit after owning for four years, the decision was made to build condos priced in the $300,000s. The couple has been renting out the property for the past two years.
The condo units will be one and two bedrooms spread throughout three floors. The first floor will have an entry area, mail room, work area and bike racks. Clayton said he is also planning to provide a shared amenity area on the roof with picnic tables and grills.
He said the project is still early in the review process and doesn’t have an exact development cost yet but that it will be “over $2 million.” The couple plans on using equity from the property and a construction loan to fund it with the potential option to partner with a homebuilder.
The building will take 12-18 months to build once construction starts. The property is on 0.15 acres on a corner lot and is assessed at $481,257.
This is the Kelleys first time developing a property, but they have done a variety of investments and rentals since 2014. If this project goes well, the couple will consider developing similar projects downtown.
“I feel like it’s a nice little niche where you’re not competing with the big time developers, but we also like being in that area. We know the needs of the neighborhood. We know what corner lots are good for, where we’re not going to be disrupting the neighborhoods,” Clayton said.
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I really hope this project works and is successful. But I must say… I’m skeptical of the price staying in the 300s…
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I mean even $300,000 sounds crazy to buy… a portion of one, freestanding house - if you ask me lmao
The world has become an insane place. Correct me if I’m wrong and they’re building additions to this existing house, though. But otherwise yeah… good luck, y’all lmao
EDIT: Ignore all this, I’m dumb and misread everything. See comment below mine for what’s actually being BUILT here.
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I think they can hit their target price especially since they have no elevator or parking, and only a single stair design.
My Loft3 condo units start at $395,000 and they have parking, elevator, rooftop amenity, etc so I’m optimistic for them!
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And there are 3br/2.5ba 1,500+ sqft units going for $410k at the Gray. I believe one even sold for $399k recently. $300s sounds doable for 1-2 BR.
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OKAY. This is entirely opposite of how I was reading into this hahahahaha - ignore my previous comment.
This is fantastic news! This is the John Ligon House (namesake of Ligon Middle). Thrilled to see action, as it was slipping further into decay. I’d heard they were debating moving it to a new location.
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That’s a pretty efficient plan, though I think that I’d flip the laundry closet to open into the second bathroom and put in a pocket door for it.
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The big upcoming project in the neighborhood is the planned construction of a new facility for Ligon Middle School. Construction slated to begin fall 2027 and finish in time for the 2029-2030 school year. The funds have been approved ($136mm) and an architecture firm selected. Ligon Middle | Default Board Post Page
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LS3P….wonder if they’ll post those renderings ?
WCPSS are considering three options to improve historic Ligon Middle School, including two that would demolish the current building and one to heavily renovate.
https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=920&AID=456269&MID=17711
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Build a new one! I can almost guarantee that the renovation will end up taking longer and costing more than its estimate.
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Even if option 1 costs more money than the current estimate, would it really reach as high as the other two? The gap is between 1 and 2 is not small. 
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My hope is they will build a new school to utilize the funds to modernize the educational experience for the future generation. I am 100% for preserving history, but at what opportunity cost to the many students that will utilize this building for years to come. It would be nice to have a happy medium of preserving history and building new as to ‘meet in the middle’ and honor the community. There is likely a section or feature of the school that could be renovated in addition to building new to preserve history.
I like option 3, but with a design that considers the future need for expansion to the north (towards athletic fields). That need will come within the next decade or two.
But the difference between 1 and 3 is smaller. The problem with renovations of existing structures is that you ALWAYS find problems and address issues that you didn’t anticipate and didn’t budget or schedule. Folks who weren’t engaged in the initial budgeting process for one reason or another start throwing in their 2 cents and this causes a cascade of more issues that costs 
and 
.
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Option 3 is the only option that satisfies all the items on the check list and takes the least amount of time. The vast majority of the parents, faculty and neighbors all want option 3.
Your project across the street was mentioned in a WRAL article about it too:
“It’s a tense issue at a historic school that now finds itself in a fast-gentrifying part of Raleigh, as luxury condominiums are set to be constructed just across the street.”
‘A delicate balance’: Wake school board discusses future of historic Ligon Middle :: WRAL.com
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