Downtown Raleigh’s Holiday Inn Hotel to make way for a luxury hotel project
A downtown Raleigh landmark — a circular Holiday Inn hotel on Hillsborough Street — could soon make way for a new luxury hotel development, the owners of the property said Friday.
The land owners, Tidal Real Estate Partners, told The News & Observer that they plan to replace the Holiday Inn with a 20-story tower that will include 179 hotel rooms, 350 apartments, and restaurant space. The plans also call for a parking deck with nearly 450 parking spaces.
Tidal said it could not yet name the hotel partner it plans to work with on the project, though it described it as a “major hotel company.”
Mick Walsdorf, CEO of Tidal, said in a statement that there was a dearth of high-end hotel rooms in downtown Raleigh, making this project appealing to his company.
Indeed, city officials have complained for years about the need for more hotels downtown, especially to increase the ability of the city’s convention center to attract bigger events, The N&O has previously reported. In the past few years, several hotel developers have bought land around downtown.
“There remains a strong demand for more high-end hotel rooms and additional housing downtown,” Walsdorf said.
“Raleigh has historically been underserved in the luxury lifestyle and boutique segments of the hotel space versus other cities its size,” he added. “We intend to deliver a hotel product that will be amongst the best in the entire Southeast and what we hope will become a centerpiece for downtown and home away from home for Raleigh residents.”
The Triangle Business Journal first reported Tidal’s plans. Tidal said it hopes to break ground on the hotel project at the end of 2023.
The Holiday Inn on Hillsborough Street’s history dates to 1969, when it was one of 25 round motels conceived by Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson. For many years, the 200-room hotel operated under the Clarion Hotel name, and its top floor was once home to a restaurant.
In 2012, it was bought for $9.4 million by a Miami developer who renovated it and put it back under Holiday Inn management, The N&O previously reported.
Last year, Tidal paid nearly $20 million for the property.
Other large downtown Raleigh hotels include the AC Hotel by Marriott, which opened last year with 147 rooms; the 401-room Raleigh Marriott City Center; the 355-room Raleigh Sheraton Hotel; and the 126-room Hampton Inn & Suites.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 1:50 PM.
