Work begins on downtown Raleigh transit facility with retailers, apartments, hotel
Construction work has kicked off at a pair of downtown Raleigh high-rises that aim to craft a walkable community connected to bus and train routes, developers announced Monday.
The project — nicknamed “RUS Bus” — will eventually include a regional bus station, 400 apartments, a 200-room hotel and 18,000 square feet of retail space, all connected by a pedestrian bridge to Raleigh Union Station.
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin called it a “giant leap” forward to make public transportation more accessible to residents and visitors.
“Whenever we can build walkable, mixed-use communities connected to transit, everyone wins,” she said in a news release.
RUS Bus is a partnership between GoTriangle, the regional transit authority, and development firm Hoffman & Associates.
The latest site plan calls for the residential tower to be 34 stories. The hotel will come in at 15 stories. A parking structure will add about 500 parking spaces.
Ten percent of the apartments on the site, about 40 units, will be rented at affordable prices for households making 80% or less of the area’s median income.
“As the population of Wake County grows at a rapid clip, GoTriangle and its partners are working to advance transit options, promote housing affordability and foster economic growth,” Wake County Commissioner and GoTriangle Board Chair Sig Hutchinson said in the news release. “This public-private project tackles all three fronts.”
The bus station is expected to open by mid-2025, while construction on the private development could extend into 2026.
Construction projected to last into 2026
The bus station is expected to be a $40 million project, funded in part by a $20 million federal grant from the Department of Transportation. The rest of the money will come from state and local sources, and the private components will be financed by Hoffman & Associates.
GoTriangle’s predecessor, Triangle Transit Authority, bought the land, southwest of Hargett and West streets in the Warehouse District, in 2005.
The two high-rises will connect to Raleigh Union Station, serviced daily by Amtrak since it opened in 2018. Local leaders hope a regional commuter rail will one day stop there.
“We are honored to have the opportunity to work alongside GoTriangle and continue to shape the landscape of downtown Raleigh while enhancing the area’s connectivity,” said John Florian, Hoffman & Associates’ executive vice president for the Southern regional office, in the news release.
“This unique bus transfer facility linked with Raleigh Union Station will provide critical transit connections for people across the region to get where they need to go,” added GoTriangle President and CEO Charles Lattuca.
Workers must begin by clearing the site and performing utility work to prep for the construction. A groundbreaking for the high-rises, which will total 500,000 square feet, is expected to take place next spring.
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 8:46 AM.
