Soleil Redesigns
The planned 43-story Soleil Center is going back to the drawing board, according to the N&O’s Jack Hagel . Due to the current lending market and sluggish sales in high-end condos, the project will be built in two phases. The sorely-needed 300-room, 14-16 story Westin hotel portion will be built first. In the future, should the condo market the return, the project could be topped with 25 more stories of condos.
What happens now, architecturally speaking? The project will hopefully be a graceful structure in its interim. If it is a obviously truncated design, then what happens if the high-end condo market doesn’t return? Is Raleigh stuck with yet another ugly high-rise?
Some critics will celebrate in victory as they feel this is an admission that the Soleil concept was flawed. However one cannot say that we should extend the city’s agreements for people like Greg Hatem and for the Reynolds (who were not able to sell condo portions of their projects downtown) due to the “rough economy”, while also saying that Soleil isn’t being built as-planned because it is a flawed concept. The economy is the overriding factor with all of today’s incomplete projects.
Hopefully all of these projects’ complete build-outs will see the light of day. It would be nice for people to have as many housing choices as possible in this market.
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December 10th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Being a big supporter of Soleil Center I can only say that I am happy to see the developers taking the middle road. Finish hotel portion first and add the condos later. This is MUCH better than splitting the tower in two separate buildings (i.e. Lafayette), or scale down several times, request multiple extensions and waste the city officials’ time (i.e. The Hillsborough). In a way, this is good news and I hope that this time the developers will stick to the plan. Unless the builder’s lawsuit manages to put this great project on hold for a while.
December 10th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Ernest, I agree and could not have said it better.
December 10th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Love Westin hotels, but don’t mind the change…prefer to see the tallest buildings in downtown to reinforce our skyline and the image of downtown as central hub of region.
December 10th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
So David, no building is better than one at Crabtree? We’re not Atlanta but think of Lenox. Lenox, then Buckhead, then downtown. Here it could be Crabtree then 5 Points / Glenwood South, then downtown.
December 10th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
The Buckhead area has what is probably the 4th or 5th best skyline in the southeast, but I don’t think it detracts AT ALL from the beauty or impact of Atlanta’s great downtown skyline.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:43 am
hmmm mmm. we’ll see where this one goes.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:59 am
David, there will be a day when Soleil Center will be looked at the same way we look at 10-story buildings today. That is, for Raleigh standards… We do envision 500ft+ towers in downtown, so getting Soleil Center in Crabtree Valley will not hurt our city’s image. I wish Westin Hotels had warmed up to DT Raleigh - they are the ones who refuse their brand for a downtown location - but they do not see their clients being interested in the latter, yet. As for Soleil Group, they bought an eyesore - even before it was run down - demolished it and planned on something far better. Since that area is prone to flooding, a strictly urban project might not have worked. Who, in his right mind, would lease ground level space there? Their vision is the best thing we could come up with, and of high standards.
Hoping for the best outcome is the least we can do at this point. Iconic symbols serve as landmarks and we all know how important the latter is in creating identity. Having multiple centers is not the problem. Keeping them disconnected is most definitely the issue. This is a huge investment, with no public money required, and a tower designed by a world-class architect… Let some of those cocky local developers do something like this for DT Raleigh. If they can’t do it, then how can we expect to get every tall tower in the center? I bet a lot on people like Gregg Sandreuter and companies like Highwoods Properties, as they seem to talk less and do more. When downtown - and nearby - residents react negatively on 4-6 story buildings, what can we expect in the future? Bring the towers to North Raleigh :LOL:
December 11th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I congratulate the Soliel developers for their efforts to keep this going, but I still think nobody wants a view of 1.3 million Sq. Ft of Crabtree Valley Mall rooftop.
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With all the discussions of Atlanta don’t you see the City of Raleigh is trying its hardest not to create another Atlanta. Yes, Lenox, Buckhead and Downtown Atlanta all have big buildings but they also have 1 hour commutes to go 10 miles. Our Buckhead or Lenox is actually called Research Triangle Park. Because of the foresight of Gov. Luther Hodges and Terry Sanford we set aside 7000 acres for companies to build campuses rather than expensive high rise buildings in urban settings. This investment attracted major corporations and organizations such as IBM, Northern Telecom, Burroughs Wellcome and the EPA/ NIHS who were tired of expensive urban infrastructure and now had access to an excellent labor pool due to the Universities. This is the only reason Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill have reached the success they have.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Related story in the Charlotte Observer: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/408087.html
I think Soleil was and is in line with Raleigh’s plan for pockets of high density growth. It makes sense, and I’ve seen it in many great cities.
I grew up here, and I’m certainly no stranger to Crabtree’s flooding, or parking deck collapses. But when I look at that location, I think Soleil is a good fifteen feet above Crabtree Valley Mall. The site has flooded so many times, I can’t imagine that flooding wasn’t worked into the plans.
If the Soleil project hadn’t encountered the bedrock problems, which forced nearly a year of test drilling work and expenses, I think we wouldn’t be having this discussion. The building would be nearly finished. Unfortunately, the foundation set them back a full year, putting them squarely in the middle of the ‘credit crunch’ (I can’t believe I used that term), and now they lack financiers and buyers.
December 12th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Steelcity36, you are making a good point about Crabtree Valley, but in all honesty some people do not care about looking at the mall. Let’s face it, if you placed Soleil Center downtown, you would also have the view of rooftops, some of them pretty ugly, if you ask me. Crabtree Valley offers much better views, IMHO, considering how much green exists in that area. Besides, when you sit on your couch, watching TV, or reading a book, you won’t be able to see the rooftop of the mall, trust me. Unless you spend all your leisure time in the balcony, staring at Crabtree Valley Mall, the chances of facing ugliness are very slim.
I must admit it, I would love to have a condo on the top floors of Soleil Center. If you like to look at the skyline, this tower will offer some of the most magnificent views. The official website has some photos with what resembles the view of downtown many condo owners at Soleil Center will have. I would be in the balcony, or in front of the window 24/7 :LOL: Even if the view is slightly exaggerated, it will still be a great one. I would be taking photos of the skyline every day