Shaw University wants city’s OK for buildings up to 40 stories. Meeting Monday night
Shaw University will hold a neighborhood meeting Monday about its plan to rezone for buildings up to 40 stories tall on its downtown campus.
The neighborhood meeting begins at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21, at Estey Hall Auditorium, 118 E. South St. The historically Black university has held several interest meetings already but the neighborhood meeting is a formal part of the rezoning process. People will be able to submit their comments about the plan at the meeting.
After the neighborhood meeting the comments will be sent to the city’s planning commission, which will make a recommendation to the Raleigh City Council.
The zoning, and redevelopment of the campus, is needed to “recruit and retain students” with a modern campus, according to Shaw’s website. The university doesn’t plan to sell its land, and instead would use long-term ground leases to maintain ownership.
“We are fighting for our very existence,” Shaw University President Paulette Dillard in a meeting earlier this year.
“Work with me,” she said. “Work with our community because Shaw has an opportunity to make a difference. But we will make that difference by working together, being honest and deciding the best way forward.”
The campus, bordered by Wilmington, South and Person streets and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, is currently zoned for three to 12 stories and has portions in the Prince Hall Historic Overlay District. Shaw objected to that historic overlay when it was applied to the campus in 2012.
The request is to allow up to 40, 30 and 12 stories throughout the property, and several historic buildings would be preserved on the property or moved.
For more information about the rezoning go to Shaw’s website: www.shawu.edu/Campus-Redevelopment
This story was originally published November 21, 2022 at 1:14 PM.
