Downtown's Blount Street project starts

RALEIGH -- A Florida developer broke ground this morning on one of the largest redevelopment projects in downtown Raleigh's history.

The 21-acre project, called Blount Street Commons, has been in the works since 2005, when the state chose LNR Property to redevelop parking lots and offices just north of the governor's mansion.

When complete, the project could include up to 495 condominiums, townhouses and single-family homes, up to 110,000 square feet of shops and 25 renovated homes, some of them historic.

"It's been a long and complicated project," said Douglas Redford, senior asset manager of LNR Commercial Property Group. "Now it's time to start building something."

City officials see the redevelopment of Blount Street as crucial to Raleigh's efforts to turn a 9-to-5 government town into a magnet for people who want to live, dine, shop and do business around the clock.

Mayor Charles Meeker said Blount Street Commons is the kind of mixed-use, medium-density development that the city wants to encourage. He said the development would eventually become one of the premier places to live downtown.

"This is our future," Meeker said.

The six-block area being redeveloped is bounded by Peace Street to the north, Lane Street to the south, Person Street to the east and Wilmington Street to the west.

Today's groundbreaking comes at a time when several other downtown projects have been delayed because of a tight lending environment. Developers are also being squeezed by rising construction costs, particularly steel.

Construction of Blount Street Commons was originally scheduled to begin last fall. The first phase of the development is to include about 75 homes -- mostly townhouses and row houses -- and the renovation of three historic homes.

The legislature voted in 2003 to sell the Blount Street property. LNR agreed to pay $20 million for the property, outbidding several local development groups.

LNR paid the state $4 million for 4.7 acres in August and is scheduled to purchase the rest of the property in phases over the next several years.