Soleil Center

Last updated
The Soleil Center would have stood as the second-tallest building in Raleigh. Soleil Center Raleigh NC.JPG
The Soleil Center would have stood as the second-tallest building in Raleigh.

The Soleil Center was a planned 43-story skyscraper and condo-hotel planned for Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. It was cancelled as a result of the drop in hotel demand during the Great Recession and the land was sold at foreclosure.

The 480 ft (146 m) building was to be located next to the Crabtree Valley Mall on Glenwood Avenue (US 70) just north of the I-440 beltline, in an area variously known as "Midtown Raleigh" or "Uptown Raleigh". The Soleil Center was intended to be the second tallest building in Raleigh and in the Triangle region. The PNC Plaza building in downtown Raleigh is the tallest.

The Soleil Center was to contain a 290-room four-star Westin Hotels & Resorts, 54 condominiums, 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2) of office space, a spa and a 600-car parking garage. The total cost for the project was estimated to be $175 million and was a private investment project of the Soleil Group. [1] [2]

The construction project was approved by the Raleigh City Council in November 2005, but after uneven bedrock conditions were discovered, test drilling of every column location was required causing a year-long delay. [2]

The original plan by developers was to build just a hotel, the Westin Hotel Crabtree, but no residences. After additional funding and investors were secured, the Soleil Group decided on building the larger project. [3]

The Soleil Center was to replace the old hotel operating as a Sheraton Hotels and Resorts that was imploded in May 2006. [4] The condominiums, officially called The Westin Raleigh Soleil Center Residences, were priced starting at $1 million and the penthouse apartments at $4.5 million, making the residences the most expensive condos in the area. [2]

The Great Recession destroyed demand for luxury condos, and the project was scaled back in late 2008 to just a 16-story hotel under the Westin Hotels & Resorts franchise, with the possibility of constructing the condo tower atop it at a later date. [5]

The Soleil Group had plans to build a second tower, the 18-story Soleil II, that would have connected to the first building and offered additional office space. [6]

In 2011, the property was headed to a foreclosure auction. [7] A private equity firm bailed out the developers.

In 2014, the owners listed the property for sale for $7.5 million. [8]

In 2015, the property finally went to foreclosure [9] and in June 2015, the land was sold for $5.35 million in a foreclosure auction. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

The St. Regis Toronto Luxury hotel in Toronto

The St. Regis Toronto is a mixed-use skyscraper in the city's downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was built by Markham-based Talon International Development Inc., which is owned by Canadian businessmen Val Levitan and Alex Shnaider. The hotel portion of the building is owned by InnVest Hotels LP, which acquired it in 2017.

Liberty Place Skyscraper complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Liberty Place is a skyscraper complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The complex is composed of a 61-story, 945-foot (288 m) skyscraper called One Liberty Place, a 58-story, 848-foot (258 m) skyscraper called Two Liberty Place, a two-story shopping mall called the Shops at Liberty Place, and the 14-story Westin Philadelphia Hotel. Prior to the construction of Liberty Place, there was a gentlemen's agreement not to build any structure in Center City higher than the statue of William Penn on top of Philadelphia City Hall. The tradition lasted until 1984 when developer Willard G. Rouse III of Rouse & Associates announced plans to build an office building complex that included two towers taller than City Hall. There was a great amount of opposition to the construction of the towers with critics believing breaking the height limit would lead to construction of many more tall skyscrapers, ruining the livability and charm of Center City. Despite the opposition, construction of One Liberty Place was approved and the first phase of the project began in 1985 and was completed in 1987. One Liberty Place became the city's first skyscraper.

The Conrad Fort Lauderdale is a luxury condominium-hotel resort located on ocean-front property on North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The resort includes 181 condo-hotel units, as well as 109 condominium units in a separate building known as The Ocean Resort Residences. The project initially began construction in July 2005, as Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale. Donald Trump lent his name to the project through a licensing deal before being elected the President of the United States, with New York developer Roy Stillman and Bayrock Group as the project developers. The project's opening was initially scheduled for 2007, but was delayed several times.

Westin Book Cadillac Hotel Skyscraper in Detroit

The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit is a historic skyscraper hotel in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Washington Boulevard Historic District. Designed in the Neo-Renaissance style, and opened as the Book-Cadillac Hotel in 1924, the 349 ft (106 m), 31-story, 453-room hotel includes 65 exclusive luxury condominiums and penthouses on the top eight floors. It reopened in October 2008, managed by Westin Hotels, after a $200-million restoration.

The Westin at Tulsa Garden Square is a high-rise building proposed for construction in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The building was submitted to the Tulsa Development Authority on April 20, 2006, and is planned to be constructed adjacent to the recently completed BOK Center in downtown Tulsa. The proposed structure was to cover the city block bounded by Second to Third Streets and Cheyenne to Denver Avenues. The proposal also requested demolition of an apartment building and a small office building then on the property, and relocation of the Tulsa Transit Denver Avenue bus terminal. If constructed, the Westin at Tulsa Garden Square would contain a 246-room Westin hotel, as well as 72 residential condominiums. The 15-story building would likely stand as the 2nd-tallest hotel in Tulsa upon completion, behind the Mayo Hotel.

Trump Plaza (Jersey City) Residential

Trump Plaza also known as Trump Plaza Residences, is the first of two apartment complex buildings to be built in Jersey City, New Jersey. Trump Plaza Residences is 532 ft tall (162 m) and has 55 floors, and is the 7th tallest residential building in New Jersey. In 2020, the Trump name was removed from the properties and has been renamed the 88 Morgan Street Condominiums.

Allure Las Vegas Residential in Las Vegas, Nevada

Allure Las Vegas is a condominium tower in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 41-story, 466 ft (142 m) tower was built between 2005 and 2007 and was designed by EDI Architecture. Construction was managed by Bovis Lend Lease.

The Harmon Hotel in Nevada , United States

The Harmon was a high-rise building at the CityCenter development in Paradise, Nevada. The tower was designed by Foster + Partners as a non-gaming boutique hotel, and was to be operated by Andrew Sasson's The Light Group upon completion. The building featured an elliptical layout and highly reflective exterior located on the northeast corner of the project at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue. Significant construction defects in the building were discovered in 2008, and the project was halted indefinitely. On August 23, 2013, a Clark County court approved the tower's demolition. The dismantling of the tower began in the summer of 2014 and was completed in the fall of 2015.

Skye (Charlotte)

Skye, formerly known as The Park, is a 22-story building at Caldwell and Third Streets in Charlotte, North Carolina that includes a 172-room Hyatt Place hotel opened October 15, 2013, and a 67-unit condominium development.

The Platinum Condo hotel in Nevada, United States

The Platinum is a 17-story, 255-unit condo hotel located at 211 East Flamingo Road in Paradise, Nevada, east of the Las Vegas Strip. The project was approved in 2003, and began construction in 2005, as a joint venture between Diversified Real Estate Concepts, Inc. and Marcus Hotels and Resorts. The project was topped out in December 2005, and was opened in October 2006. In 2009, buyers filed lawsuits against Marcus for various allegations; the last of the lawsuits were settled in March 2013.

Tribune East Tower Mixed use supertall tower awaiting construction in Chicago

Tribune East Tower is a 1,422 ft (433.4 m) mixed use supertall tower which could possibly start construction on the eastern edge of the Tribune Tower property, in the Streeterville area of Chicago. The building plans were approved on May 8, 2020 and construction has not yet begun. When completed, the skyscraper will be the second-tallest building in Chicago after the Willis Tower.

Opus Place is an under construction development in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Located in Midtown Atlanta, the development is currently expected to consist of a large residential high-rise, called No. 2 Opus Place, and possibly a smaller tower. Upon its completion, No. 2 Opus Place would be among the tallest buildings in Atlanta and the tallest residential building in the city. The project was first developed in 2014, but underwent a significant alteration in 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "Soleil Center". Emporis.
  2. 1 2 3 "After Delays, Raleigh's Soleil Center Could Finally Take Height". WRAL-TV . February 23, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-06-26.
  3. ↑ "Westin Hotel Crabtree". Emporis.
  4. ↑ "Old Hotel Demolished To Make Way For Raleigh's Tallest Building". WRAL-TV . May 7, 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-06-26.
  5. ↑ "Crabtree tower to omit condos – for now". WRAL-TV . December 10, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Developer Wants To Expand What Will Be Raleigh's Tallest High-Rise". WRAL-TV . April 25, 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-06-26.
  7. ↑ "Proposed Crabtree tower heads to foreclosure". WRAL-TV . April 15, 2011.
  8. ↑ Hoyle, Amanda (October 15, 2014). "Vacant Soleil Center tower site near Crabtree listed for sale: $7.5 million". American City Business Journals .
  9. ↑ Hoyle, Amanda (April 6, 2015). "Land for proposed 43-story Soleil Center heads to auction, starting bid $1.5 million". American City Business Journals .
  10. ↑ Hoyle, Amanda (June 11, 2015). "Bidder buys Soleil Center land at Crabtree where once a 43-story tower was planned". American City Business Journals .
  11. ↑ Bracken, David (June 11, 2015). "Virginia hotel developer buys Soleil Center property for $5.35M". The News & Observer .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.