Midtown Exchange; Dewitt Carolinas

Midtown Exchange: A City Within A City

In Buzz, December 2019/January 2020 by Jane Porter3 Comments

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Dewitt Carolinas

When it comes to big, new growth just north of downtown Raleigh, it turns out Midtown East was the tip of the iceberg. Last month, local real estate development firm Dewitt Carolinas Inc. announced plans for Midtown Exchange, a $1 billion project to be located on the 40-acre property at the corner of Benson and St. Albans drives just north of the Beltline, a 10-minute drive to downtown. We’re not kidding when we say it’s unlike anything Raleigh has ever seen before. Plans for the development include a 790,000 square foot “twin tower” office building with rooftop restaurants and lounges and ground floor retail. The 1,275-unit residential component includes a boutique condo development, high-rise luxury condos, townhouses and apartments with an additional 300 units dedicated for senior living. Hotel space with up to 300 rooms and a convention center will offer more rooftop gathering and entertainment venues with sprawling views of downtown and, in the center of it all, a “central park” will incorporate an interactive water feature that will flow throughout the entire community. Other features include a farmers market, food courts and exercise studios as well as seven acres of green space connecting to Big Branch Creek, which will eventually be part of the city’s greenway system. Dewitt partners Ven Poole and Todd Saieed say that the property was home to Raleigh’s original Isaac Hunter’s tavern—they’ve found pieces of the original tavern on the land—and plan to incorporate that part of the city’s history into the development with an underground speakeasy. “Historically, Isaac Hunter’s tavern was a crossroads, a meeting place, there was an entertainment venue here,” said Poole. “Those are all things we believe are going to be part of Midtown Exchange.” The partners say they believe the development will cater to people of all ages and stages of life. “We are excited about this opportunity to be a part of Raleigh’s continued growth and prosperity by introducing an inspired new community to the list of the region’s growing accolades,” said Saieed. “Midtown Exchange embodies our vision for a home grown, collaborative community that will be the gathering place for many generations to come.”

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Comments

  1. Where are the affordable housing units for the working poor and senior citizens? How is this positively affecting the citizens of Raleigh? They haven’t built any new K – 12 schools to provide for new children arriving with their parents or repaired the current roads to handle more traffic. Taxes will not be spent o those things because of the big tax breaks businesses received to build this needless development.

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