Raleigh’s Downtown South proposal gets ‘no’ votes. But can the project survive them?
A Raleigh advisory board recommended against rezoning the proposed Downtown South development Tuesday. But the 140-acre project still has a chance of survival.
The Raleigh Planning Commission voted unanimously against recommending Downtown South, but that resolution is non-binding and moves along the project that is facing an end-of-year deadline.
The commission’s decision triggers a public hearing during a special Raleigh City Council meeting Dec. 15 from 7 to 9 p.m., followed by a second meeting on Dec. 17.
Those two meetings would only occur if the city’s planning commission made a recommendation. Developers for the Downtown South project have said a rezoning has to be approved by the end of the year for the project to move forward.
Downtown South — backed by John Kane, of Kane Realty Corp., and Steve Malik, owner of the North Carolina Courage and North Carolina FC — is a proposed $2.2 billion mixed-use development at the southern entry of downtown Raleigh. It would include housing, stores, restaurants and hotels, all anchored by a sports and entertainment stadium.
It’s one of the largest developments proposed for the city and has been met with enthusiasm by some but also concerns about stormwater, gentrification and lack of community input.
Many planning board members expressed their frustration with the process so far, with one commissioner calling it “a kerfuffle.”
“While I appreciate the additions that have been made there in the eleventh hours there are still so many questions that remain unanswered,” said Planning Commissioner Shelley Winters.
Bonner Gaylord, managing director of operations for Kane and a former Raleigh City Council member, agreed it had been an “arduous process” but one with “healthy tension.”
“We appreciate the Planning Commission for their extensive review of the Downtown South rezoning case,” he said after the meeting. “We agree with the Planning Commission’s view that this project can do so much more, and believe the way to accomplish that is through a Tax Increment Grant. We remain committed to advancing a project that is respectful of and responsive to community concern.”
Community benefits
At the heart of the issue was additional benefits for the community that some argued couldn’t be added to a rezoning. Instead, that would be worked out through a separate Tax Increment Grant process — an entirely new process for the city where the developers negotiate community benefits in exchange for future property tax revenue.
That negotiation has just begun with Raleigh still creating a policy for how to authorize a tax increment grant.
Planning Commissioner Nicole Bennett noted the city’s stance on equity and said this case should have been an “opportunity to do something different” that transformed the community.
Instead, the negative effects of this project like displacement and stormwater run-off will be shouldered primarily by the surrounding Black communities, she said.
“That is not how we dismantle the systems that have allowed inequities in our city,” she said. “I don’t want us to limit positive outcomes for south Raleigh. These lives matter. Black lives matter. I believe a vote to approve this rezoning, at this time, is contrary to that fact. And I don’t think we want to be on that side of history.”
Planning Commissioner Tika Hicks agreed, and said a vote in favor of the rezoning “would be a vote against equitable development.”
“I feel like the Planning Commission has received pressure to move this case along in an extremely expedited manner, which we have tried to honor over the last six weeks,” she said. “But as this application stands now it is not fully developed for its size and impact on the communities around it and city as a whole.”
Developers added several zoning conditions to the project in late November, which some commissioners said were a step in the right direction.
One states that 10% of the first 999 dwelling units would be reserved for households making less than 80% of the area median income for at least five years. A one-person household at 80% AMI must make $52,750 or less a year. For a family of four, it’s $75,300 or less.
Other conditions include using plants that are native to the area in the project’s landscaping, increasing open space and cutting off light in parking decks.
New community partners
Gaylord introduced three community partners including LeVelle Moton, head coach of the men’s basketball team at North Carolina Central University, during the meeting Tuesday.
Moton, who is co-founder of Raleigh Raised Development, grew up in Raleigh and said it’s “always been a tale of two cities.”
“We have never felt included,” he said. “So when I sat down with Bonner and his team about possibly joining forces, I didn’t approach it from an individual basis. In all honesty, I didn’t need to be a part of this project. I wanted to make sure the community was going to benefit greatly and heavily.”
Raleigh Raised Development will work with Downtown South developers to ensure “significant participation of local minority businesses throughout the entire development, beginning with the contracts and construction” of the project, according to a press release sent Monday.
James Montague was also introduced to discuss the potential of adding low-income housing for seniors on the project and Bridget Wall-Lennon to oversee efforts to recruit women and minority-owned businesses.
The virtual public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 and will allow an hour for those for the project and an hour for those against. If the public hearing is closed on Dec. 15, the City Council could vote on the project during the Dec. 17 meeting.
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 11:33 AM.
