What’s in the future for North Hills? New Kane Realty plans show what’s to come
Plans for expansion at the heart of the North Hills retail and residential center were unveiled by Kane Realty Wednesday after initial plans were proposed in the spring.
The redevelopment would significantly expand the present parking, housing, restaurant, retail and office space at North Hills on an almost nine-acre part of the site where a vacant JC Penney store now sits.
The expansion plans herald a new 12-story residential high-rise with 287 units, 346,000 square feet of office space in a 10-story tower and a five-story mid-rise.
“It’s about a $350 million project, so it is a large project,” said John Kane, CEO of Kane Realty, in a video about the redevelopment project. “It will take about two years to complete and we’re excited to start it in 2021.”
The luxury units for rent will range from studios to one- to three-bedroom apartments. The One North Hills office tower will be “COVID-designed,” according to its website. Plans call for touchless entry and controlled access points, enhanced air filtration throughout the building, a 6,000-square-foot terrace for outdoor work, touchless elevators for reduced crowds, and ground-floor meeting spaces that limit the number of guests.
The site will feature outdoor dining and 100,000 square feet of ground floor retail.
“There are extensive planning efforts underway between Kane Realty, the City of Raleigh and our tenants to make sure we mitigate any of these impacts and disturbances to the best of our ability. We look forward to sharing our comprehensive plan with our tenants and the surrounding community once it has been finalized,” said Sean Hill, senior construction manager for Kane Realty, in a news release.
“We are excited for the North Hills Main District project and what it will bring to the North Hills community as a whole, but we also recognize the complex logistics that accompany construction of this scale.”
The redevelopment is also bringing along Raleigh’s first Restoration Hardware gallery, an upscale home improvement retail company that has seen its stock price surge during the pandemic.
The project is capitalizing on redeveloping the portion of North Hills mostly taken up by a JC Penney that emptied out this year and its surrounding parking lot against the I-40 Beltline on Lassiter Mill Road.
“One of the key highlights of this project is that we have the unique opportunity to develop on an urban infill site, replacing underutilized parking areas with vertical density – meaning a more efficient and thoughtful use of space,” said Kallie Walker, senior development manager.
Current plans call for construction to begin early next year with properties being open by summer 2023.
This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 4:04 PM.
