Developer John Kane to tweak Raleigh tower proposal

North Hills developer John Kane plans to modify his $150 million development proposal for Raleigh’s Warehouse District after hearing resistance from residents of the neighborhood and from a city councilwoman who described his proposal as too vague.

Kane, CEO of Raleigh-based Kane Realty, says his company wants to construct two buildings – one an 18-story commercial tower, the other a 5-7 story residential complex – on 2.5 acres between south West Street and South Harrington Street, west of downtown. The land is mostly occupied by an old Dillon Supply Co. warehouse.

If approved, the Dillon project would be the tallest building in the Warehouse District and could pave the way for more high-density development outside of the Fayetteville Street corridor. The project has garnered support from some high-profile downtown business owners as well as from some Raleigh City Council members. But to gain approval, it must gain favor with every voting council member.

For Kane, a familiar name for his successful transformation of the once-flagging North Hills area just north of the city’s Beltline, the proposed venture into the Warehouse District offers another chance to make his mark on Raleigh, this time near downtown. He’s also behind the $70 million Stanhope Center in progress on Hillsborough Street near N.C. State, another project in which he made adjustments to accommodate neighborhood complaints.

At a Raleigh City Council meeting Tuesday, Kane’s proposal faced criticism from Councilwoman Kay Crowder and several residents who said his company’s requested zoning leaves the door open for him to tear down the iconic warehouse and erect two 20-story towers – something Kane said he doesn’t plan to do.

“We need the conditions tightened up. They seem a little loose to me,” said Crowder, who didn’t specify her concerns.

Crowder said last week that she thought the proposed residential building could have better architecture but didn’t elaborate on those feelings on Tuesday.

She has met with Kane and thinks he can build “something great,” she said, but wants “the greatness to be defined in the conditions.”

Kane said he plans to file revised zoning conditions by the end of the week in order to re-pitch his proposal to the council on July 21. In an interview after the meeting, he declined to identify specific changes he might make.

“We want to meet with residents and council members again,” Kane said.

The hearing Tuesday highlighted the tension between the dueling agendas of Crowder and Kane. Crowder, and citizens attending the hearing, want Kane to provide much more detail about his project in exchange for the rezoning, while Kane wants to keep his design options open.

‘Yarn-spinning”?

Five of Raleigh’s eight council members wield more power than usual in this case.

Each of them – including Crowder, Mayor Nancy McFarlane, Mary-Ann Baldwin, John Odom and Eugene Weeks – must support the proposal for it to advance because Bonner Gaylord, Wayne Maiorano and Russ Stephenson recused themselves from the conversation because they have ties to Kane Realty.

All except Crowder have expressed general support for the project, which makes her misgivings even more crucial to the fate of the project. And a handful of Raleigh residents joined her side when speaking at Tuesday’s public hearing.

Kane said his project would bring retail uses that would complement the new Citrix headquarters just north of the warehouse, as well as the $80 million Union Station transit hub that’s expected to open one block from Kane’s site in 2017. But Pamela Chestek, an attorney who said she lives in the Park Devereux Condominiums on Dawson Street, described Kane’s claims as “yarn-spinning.”

Under Kane’s proposal, “this building can be built without any active use whatsoever,” Chestek said. “Do we want (Union Station users) to walk into a corner that’s a blank office wall or even worse, a parking deck?”

Art Howard, a local photographer, played a 3-minute video for the council that showed renderings of two large structures blocking out the Raleigh skyline. The video also included footage of Kane from previous meetings and a narrator’s claim that Kane’s proposal would allow him to “destroy” the iconic warehouse façade.

Pros and cons

Others, like Jon Kolkin, were more concerned with the Warehouse District becoming too active at night.

Kolkin, a doctor who said he also lives in The Dawson, talked about the health risks of sleep deprivation when asking Kane to prohibit bars at the proposed project. He recalled the complaints of some Fayetteville Street residents who said bar activity keeps them up late.

“There is no such thing as half a good night’s sleep,” Kolkin said.

The project drew some supporters, too. The office space the tower would provide would allow Raleigh’s upstart companies to stay and grow without moving elsewhere, said Jason Widen, co-owner of HQ Raleigh, a business incubator located on Harrington Street in the warehouse district.

The district will be the next target of developers and entrepreneurs, Widen said.

“It will become a signature area of Raleigh,” he said.

Turan Duda, of the Durham-based design firm Duda Paine, tried to reassure the audience. His group is working with Kane on the commercial building.

“I promise you that it will be a landmark building,” he said. “And I promise you that we’re going to be sensitive to the area.”

This story was originally published July 7, 2015 at 8:28 PM with the headline "Developer John Kane to tweak Raleigh tower proposal."