RBC tower symbolizes comeback

33-story building has offices, condos and retail

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CORRECTION

An article in Thursday's Triangle & Co. incorrectly stated when Poyner & Spruill will move into RBC Plaza. The law firm will move Oct. 10.

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On a clear night, far from the city center, you can see RBC Plaza's illuminated spire jutting high above Raleigh's skyline. You'd expect a tall building -- especially a 33-story tower -- to stand out. But in this case, the significance of the building, at the corner of Fayetteville and Martin streets, rises above its size.

"Raleigh was known as a government town, a capital city, for a very long time," said Mitchell Silver, the city's planning director. "This really sends a strong message that this is not just a government town; it is also a place to do business."

The city spent the past five years fostering that change, spending hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars on improving downtown with a new convention center and opening the former pedestrian mall on Fayetteville Street to traffic.

Many consider the RBC Plaza, which holds its grand opening today, the most iconic symbol of Raleigh's renaissance.

In August 2005, the U.S. subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada said it would move its headquarters from Rocky Mount to downtown Raleigh. Three months later, Highwoods Properties, a Raleigh real estate investment trust, announced plans to build the tower that would house the bank and bear its name.

What followed were two years of digging and drilling and hammering and lifting and polishing what became the largest collection of offices, shops and homes in a single Triangle building.

It houses hundreds of workers. In the coming months it will be home to hundreds of residents. And the city hopes it will be a magnet for more. "Success begets success," said Ed Fritsch, Highwoods' chief executive.

Who will live there

The building's 139 condominiums -- the highest residences in the region -- are all spoken for. About one-third of them are reserved by investors who hope to rent them to tenants or eventually sell them at a profit. The rest are to be occupied by owners such as Andy Lockhart.

Lockhart, 29, a salesman at SAS Institute, had designs on an RBC condo as soon as they went on sale. At the time, he and his wife, Anna, were living in Holly Springs. "We don't have kids," Lockhart said. "... And we were probably in the most kid-friendly suburb. So we stuck out."

The couple will move into a two-bedroom unit on the 23rd floor, where amenities include a workout room, a pool and a theater. The extra room trumped the better vista of a top-floor one-bedroom.

"Once you get above 20," Lockhart said, "I can't tell a difference."

The Lockharts close on the condo next month. Already they have a sense of ownership. "What you own in the suburbs is your house and your lawn and a little stake in your homeowner association. But that's pretty much it," he said. "[At RBC], I feel like I'm a part owner of the city. I want to see good things happen to it, and I want to contribute to it."

Who works there

RBC leases five stories, decked out with original art and steel, glass and wood fixtures. The view alone is a nice departure from the old low-rise offices in Rocky Mount and suburban Raleigh, employees say.

Jamie Averette Mitchell, an RBC spokeswoman, finds herself counting steeples far north of the Beltline.

Mitchell is now working her way through a list of downtown lunch spots. The idea of joining colleagues for a morning pastry is still novel.

"There's a little more excitement," she said. "There's always something new to try."