Quorum Center, a key to downtown Raleigh revival, is now a witness to destruction

When the 15-story Quorum Center opened on Jones Street in 2007, its luxury condominiums and new offices brought a touch of elegance to downtown Raleigh.

It also brought to reality what urban advocates had been pushing for years: mixed-use development with residences above offices or retail space.

A week ago, Ted Reynolds, who developed the Quorum with his son, hoped the building wouldn’t burn. He stood on the balcony of his top-floor condominium and watched as a fire raged across the street.

“The flames were up higher than I was,” said Reynolds, 84. “It was startling, to say the least. I had no idea what had happened.”

The fire that destroyed the under-construction Metropolitan apartments last week shattered windows and scorched the brick exterior of the Quorum. Repairs could cost between $15 million and $20 million, Reynolds said.

Raleigh firefighters sprayed water on the Quorum and the nearby Link Apartments to keep the fire from spreading.

Reynolds said all 37 condos in the Quorum were affected by the fire, but no one was seriously injured. Investigators are trying to determine what started the blaze.

“The good Lord blessed us immensely,” he said.

High-rise ready

A decade ago, when downtown Raleigh’s rejuvenation was in its early stages, the Quorum proved the city was ready for high-rise construction that appealed to people who wanted to live, work and shop downtown.

The area had already seen some new condominiums, but the projects didn’t have office or retail.

The Cotton Mill, a 19th-century textile processing mill on downtown’s northern edge, was converted into 50 condos in 1996. Bloomsbury Estates, a 56-unit residential building at the corner of Boylan and Hargett streets, was under construction when the Quorum opened.

After the Quorum, more mixed-use projects followed. The RBC Plaza, now PNC Plaza, opened on Fayetteville Street in 2008 with 139 condos above office and retail space.

That project put the concept of mixed use “on steroids,” said Greg Hatem, a Raleigh developer who has done several downtown projects.

Also in 2008, the 17-story West mixed-use building opened two blocks from the Quorum Center.

The Quorum got off to a good start its first year, selling 22 condos. Then the economy crashed, dealing a mighty blow to the condominium market. The Quorum was forced to sell some units at auction in 2008.

Now all the units have been sold, Reynolds said, a sign of economic recovery and people’s desire to live downtown.

Instead of condos, developers in recent years have built lots of apartments downtown because banks are willing to lend money for them, said Hatem, who developed the L Apartments on West Davie Street. The project includes retail and office space.

When the Quorum opened, Hatem said, “we weren’t ready yet” for retail. But things have changed, and mixed-use developments are scattered across downtown, from Glenwood South to Hillsborough Street.

The 23-story SkyHouse on Blount Street opened in 2015 and now houses a coffee shop and restaurant. Farther from the city’s core, the Stanhope Center on Hillsborough Street near the N.C. State University campus features student housing. It also has a CVS Pharmacy and restaurants.

Rising tall in the Warehouse District is The Dillon, a $150 million complex of apartments and offices.

‘A risk’

Reynolds ventured into uncertain development waters with the Quorum because it was mixed use and also because of its location.

At the time, much of downtown Raleigh’s growth was happening on the Fayetteville Street corridor. But Reynolds figured Hillsborough Street near the state Capitol had plenty of potential.

He bought land to build the Quorum at Jones and Harrington streets, two blocks from Hillsborough and three blocks from the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences and the Museum of History.

“No matter where he built that at the time, it would have been a risk,” Hatem said.

Reynolds had already been interested in development beyond Fayetteville Street. He bought a two-story house in the 300 block of West Edenton Street in 1968 to house his law practice.

His interests turned to real estate development, and in 1986 he built the 40,000-square-foot Reynolds Building on the site.

In 1997, he converted the historic Dodd-Hinsdale House on Hillsborough Street to high-end restaurant Second Empire.

The Quorum and the Link were evacuated during the blaze, and it’s unclear when residents can return to their homes.

Reynolds and his wife are staying in a downtown hotel and might rent an apartment until they can get back to the Quorum. The unit’s windows didn’t shatter, but Reynolds said they might need to be replaced if they are structurally compromised.

Those windows, he said, are made to withstand winds of up to 125 mph.

He’s happy his concrete and steel building – “a member of the family” – is still standing.

“That thing is built like a tank,” Reynolds said.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Quorum Center, a key to downtown Raleigh revival, is now a witness to destruction."