LGBTQ club Legends property could be potential high-rise development, new owners say
The new owners of the Legends bar and nightclub property have asked the City of Raleigh to rezone the property to allow for up to 40 stories.
Raleigh-based real estate firm CityPlat said this week a new high-rise in the heart of downtown Raleigh is possible, but that there isn’t a development agenda yet.
The company is in the early stages of planning the site’s future, said Vincenzo Verdino, a principal at CityPlat, in an interview with The News & Observer. But Legends will remain in any plans for the property at West Hargett and South Harrington streets, he said.
“This gives us the opportunity to figure out what we’ll be able to do on the site and what will make the most sense and what might be the best use for the site could be once we determine how high we can go,” Verdino said.
The firm bought the property in November for $4.3 million, months after pre-pandemic discussions with the owners of the LGBTQ night club. Legends, which has been open since 1991, is in the Warehouse District surrounded by The Dillon mixed-use commercial and residential area.
The one-story site is currently zoned by the city for mixed-use developments up to 12 stories tall.
CityPlat is currently in talks with interested developers for what could be built as a new addition to the city’s skyline.
“The deal with CityPlat ensures the long-term survival of Legends as an ongoing business and an opportunity to collaborate for future development,” Tim Bivens, one of the club’s owners, told The News & Observer in November.
There will be a virtual neighborhood meeting to discuss the 40-story rezoning proposal on Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. Meeting information is at the city’s neighborhood meetings website.
Developing vacant spaces
CityPlat and other firms have bought vacant spaces and parking lots across downtown Raleigh in the last year with plans to develop them, The N&O reported previously.
Directly across from Legends, commercial real estate firm Highwoods filed an identical rezoning request to build up to 40 stories on a vacant property and parking lot at 321 and 327 W. Hargett St.
CityPlat picked up other small parking lots on Hillsborough Street and Glenwood Avenue with hopes of potential high-rise construction.
One of those sites includes a small 0.5-acre corner with a vacant building and houses in front of North Carolina State University’s campus on Bagwell Avenue and Hillsborough Street.
CityPlat seeks to build up to seven stories there for a potential hotel or student housing, the firm said, and is eyeing more parcels in the area for future development.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 6:15 AM with the headline "LGBTQ club Legends property could be potential high-rise development, new owners say."
