A boutique Raleigh real estate firm has filed plans for a 7-story mixed-use apartment building by the growing Bloc83 development in Glenwood South – and the developer says this is just the start.
This week, Raleigh-based Neari Coleman Associates filed plans for Bloomsbury Mixed Use, calling for 135 apartments over ground-level retail.
Eddie Coleman, of Neari Coleman Associates, said the company has bought a number of properties in the city over the years and has been holding off on development until the area’s growth caught up to their vision for the site.
The project is situated on 0.7 acres across two parcels at 121 and 131 S. Boylan Ave. abutting the site of the next Bloc83 tower to the north – plans for that tower call for 18 stories of mixed-use office space at 615 W. Morgan Street (at the corner with S. Boylan Ave).
“We’ve been waiting for the market to get right and to understand what we’d like to do,” Coleman said. “This first one is going to be a boutique market-rate project with full amenities. We feel like there’s pretty good demand for folks that don’t want to be in a larger project.”
The apartments will include a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. On the ground floor, plans call for 3,700 square feet of retail.
“We felt it’s important to have something that provides a transition into the more dense office and retail but still respect the historical nature of the area,” Coleman said.
In additional to the 121 and 131 S. Boylan properties, the company also owns 118 S. Boylan Ave. across the street and 115 St. Mary’s St. Plans for those properties have yet to be finalized, but Coleman said they are hoping to bring workforce housing – in the form of apartments – to those sites, as more and more lower income people are pushed out of downtown amid rising housing costs.
“Everyone loves living in downtown Raleigh, and we do too. Our offices have been here all this time,” Coleman said. “We love all the great things that are happening. We also recognize that those things won’t keep happening if everyone has to live 35 miles away to do their jobs – from waiters and cooks to cashiers.”
For Bloomsbury Mixed Use, the company hopes to break ground next spring, assuming permitting goes as planned. No rezoning is needed on that site for the project to move forward.
Charlotte-based BB+M Architecture is the designer on the project. McAdams is providing planning and engineering services.
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