With loan secured, construction poised to begin this year on Midtown Exchange project
Developers are inching closer toward starting construction on what will be one of Raleigh’s largest commercial mixed-use developments.
Raleigh developer Dewitt Carolinas secured a $40 million senior loan to fund the initial construction of the $1 billion Midtown Exchange office, retail and housing development in the city’s Midtown area, north of downtown, commercial real estate firm Avison Young announced.
The sizeable development, first announced in late 2019, is long in the making. Midtown Exchange will span roughly 40 acres and will feature the first of a pair of 12-story office towers for its first phase.
The project is slated to have over 300,000 square feet of commercial space when completed by the end of 2022, developers told The News & Observer previously.
Construction will also begin on a high-rise residential building by the end of the year.
The entire buildout will take seven to 10 years to complete.
Upon completion, Midtown Exchange will include 790,000 square feet of of office space; 1,275 residential units between apartments and condos; 300 senior living units; 300 hotel rooms; 125,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space; and a convention center. The development is also set to include 7 acres of green space as a part of a park within the site.
“It’s very rare to have a project of this scale in a dense and urban setting, especially in such a high-growth market,” said Avison Young principal Wes Boatwright in a news release.
The site is located at 900 St. Albans Drive, at the intersection of St. Albans and Benson drives, near the intersection of Wake Forest Road and the northeastern I-440 Beltline.
Nearby down the I-440 corridor, Kane Realty Corp.’s North Hills district will neighbor Midtown Exchange. Kane Realty announced last year that North Hills would undergo major expansions.
Dewitt Carolinas is optimistic about the future office real estate market, CEO Todd Saieed previously told The News & Observer.
“We still think that the demand of corporate relocation in the Raleigh area is strong and will remain strong, so we’re fairly bullish on absorption and creation of office space,” said Saieed.
A slew of major tech and life sciences corporations announced plans to come to Wake County this year, including Apple’s plans to build an east coast campus in Research Triangle Park.
Experts say this will drive more companies to the Triangle over the long run, The N&O reported.
