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We’re told the plans for the Hillsborough Street development surrounding the Players’ Retreat have been withdrawn. When we broke this story on the Development Beat back in March it caused quite a reaction from readers and residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.
Here’s a quick recap in case you missed it: an unfiled rezoning case requiring City Council approval would allow for the development of offices, apartments, retail, and town homes on the lots surrounding the PR.
The current plan for the site includes the following:
-A 7 story and 3 story, 70,000 square-foot, 60-unit condo building with ground floor retail on the site where BB&T is currently located.
-A 140,000 square-foot office building with ground floor retail on the site of the David’s Dumpling & Noodle Bar building.
-A 5 story, 75-unit apartment complex on the site of a parking lot and duplex across Oberlin from the PR
-14 3-story town homes, built on the parking lot and duplex site
-A three-level 500-space underground parking garage that will be accessible through the traffic circle
-Sam and Bill’s Hair Salon will be preserved
-A pocket park, contingent on the acquisition of additional land abutting the future apartment site
Local architect Michael Stevenson said the project is a “Planned Development,” meaning its approval would be based on the design.
The plans were presented at recent meetings of the Hillsborough CAC and Wade CAC. Attendees expressed concerns over a variety of issues, including traffic, fitting in greenspace, needing clarity on the number of stories and height, the aesthetics, character and scale compared to the surrounding neighborhoods, the impact of adding 500 cars and offices to rush hour traffic, parking, and more.
The project has been withdrawn. No word on if future plans will be submitted at this time. We’ll keep you posted.
