Tag: Raleigh rezoning

The Raleigh City Council approved a controversial rezoning Tuesday night to allow a project up to 27 stories along downtown’s edge.

More than 30 people signed up to speak during a public hearing to rezone 2.6 acres at the intersection of Peace and West streets. Supporters wore green, while opponents wore red, both sides filling the council chamber.

Council members voted 6-2 in favor of the rezoning with members Jane Harrison and Christina Jones voting against.

“When I think about what is going to make the city great, we need a really resilient downtown,” Mayor Janet Cowell said. “We need more residences. And I value historic properties. I live in a historic home. I’ve saved Dix Park. I’ve renovated things. I value that, and I get that there will be some shadows.”

Cowell went on to say some of the supporters captured the excitement and potential of this project, with new apartments bordering the future Smoky Hollow Park.

“This project reminds me when I went to Atlanta, and we saw the belt line, and we saw these buildings that were facing the greenways and leveraging off the creeks,” she said. “I mean, I think this is where Raleigh needs to go.”

Raleigh Development Co. owns the triangular wedge lot at the northeast corner of Peace and West streets.

The property was zoned for up to 12 storie. While the original proposal sought up to 30-stories, the developer agreed to limit the height to 24 stories or a maximum of 240 feet in the back of the property, closest to the neighborhood, and 27 stories or 360 feet at the front of the property.

Other zoning conditions include limiting office space to 500,000 square feet, prohibiting surface parking between the buildings and the side of the property that borders the future park and requiring an “urban plaza” along Peace Street.

The first floor will be a mix of retail and commercial, with market-rate apartments on the remaining floors.

The developer will also contribute $1.2 million to the city’s affordable housing fund over four payments based on the development. This is the second time this property has been before city leaders. The same developers previously tried to rezone the property for up to 30 stories and without affordable housing funding. But city leaders handed out a rare denial.

Since then, the make-up of elected leaders on the board has changed.

This rezoning is “overwhelming, unjustified” and the developer is already able to build up to 12 stories, said Roy Attride, a Glenwood-Brooklyn resident who has led the neighborhood’s opposition to the rezoning.

“It doesn’t deserve or need additional entitlement, especially at other people’s experience,” he said.

He also highlighted a petition with more than 1,800 signatures against the rezoning.

The city’s plans promised thoughtful transitions, including for historic neighborhoods, said Connie Upchurch, who said her Glenwood-Brooklyn home is the closest home to the proposed development.

“Growth is important,” she said. “It needs purpose and a plan. It has to benefit everybody.”

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 8:33 PM.