Last week, it was the “Soleil” — the 42-story tower at Crabtree Valley that’s turned out to be a work of fiction. The developers are waiting for “the market to stabilize,” according to Triangle Business Journal. Today, City Council considers whether to finally pull the plug on another long, long-delayed tower, the “Hillsborough.” Ted Reynolds took an option on the city-owned tract in 2001, and the old city office building on it was thoughtfully removed, leaving a giant hole in the ground at 301 Hilllsborough St. (opposite the Clarion Hotel). But as many variations of his project as Reynolds has announced over the years, nothing has materialized, and as gogoraleigh reports, City Manager Russell Allen says it’s time to get our land (well, our hole) back.
There might be a lesson here, Raleigh. For every new high-rise that goes up, that’s a lot of parking lots that — despite grand plans — are doomed to remain parking lots.
