LENOVO CENTER AREA DEVELOPMENT – REQUESTED REZONING OF AREA OUTLINED IN RED ABOVE

PROJECT DETAILS

There has been discussion for years about development near the Lenovo Center, and changes are now about to take place. While the Lenovo Center is not in the corridor, anyone who has experienced the surge and gridlock in traffic during the NC State Fair or Lenovo Center events can appreciate the impacts of new development near the corridor.

The Centennial Authority and NC State University, City, County, and State representatives are collaborating to create a sports entertainment district associated with Carter Finley Stadium and providing new opportunities for staying, shopping, and dining in West Raleigh. This district offers many options but must be intelligently developed.

The requested rezoning (Z-38-24) would change 80.7 acres from Commercial Mixed Use–12 Stories with Conditions (CX-12_CU) to Planned Development (PD) with an associated Master Plan which allows for a variety of building types across residential, institutional, commercial, and some industrial and open uses. The request proposes four different districts: Arena/Parking (existing arena and parking), Entertainment (shopping, tailgating, dining, music), Mixed-Use (retail, dining, hotel), and Live/Work (office, apartments). Districts vary by maximum allowable height from 15 to 40 stories. The Master Plan proposes modifications to Unified Development Ordinance standards, including primary and side street setbacks, interior side and rear setbacks, parking and loading, building types, landscape and screening, streets and blocks, and signage.

CONCERNS

  • The building height change from 12 stories to 40 stories is a dramatic increase.
  • Traffic gridlock is an area problem, and this development will make it worse. There are currently no plans to substantially change the existing road infrastructure.
  • The required traffic analysis needs to consider the other developments being planned for the area and periodic events like concerts and the NC State Fair.
  • Downstream flood control Richland Lake and associated dam are under review because of functionality concerns. The amount of sediment in Richland Lake continues to increase, especially from upstream construction projects.

REZONING REQUEST SCHEDULE

  • The developer presented the plan at the second Neighborhood Meeting on January 8, 2025. Attendees expressed numerous concerns including impacts to traffic and stormwater, the lack of enough affordable housing, and safety of Cardinal Gibbons’ students.
  • A revised Master Plan was submitted to Raleigh City by the developer on January 31, 2025.
  • The Committee of the Whole received a full staff presentation of the rezoning request followed by an applicant presentation on January 30, 2025. The Committee of the Whole voted to refer the case to the Planning Commission with no recommendation.
  • The rezoning was approved by the Raleigh Planning Commission on February 11, 2025.
Anticipated Next Steps:
  1. Presentation to Raleigh City Council via Consent Agenda on March 4, 2025. No public comments allowed.
  2. Raleigh City Council Meeting on April 1, 2025. Sign up to speak at the meeting from March 19 - 28, 2025 or use the online form to submit comments.

RELATED LINKS

Link to the Z-38-24 case

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