Raleigh residents debate building height and traffic in new North Hills proposal
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kane Realty seeks rezoning to allow buildings up to 40 stories in North Hills.
- Residents voice traffic, height and transparency concerns at community meeting.
- City Council plans public hearings after rezoning application is filed in August.
Stan Kimer lives a block from North Hills, his home for the last 30 years.
He likes how Kane Realty tore down the old North Hills Mall and how the area has changed and grown.
“I think it’s been good for the community,” he said. “And, right now, the traffic is bad, but it’s not impossible. I know the ins and outs, and it’s not great, but it’s not horrible. I just don’t want it to get to the point of being horrible.”
Worsening traffic is the main reason he attended a community meeting Wednesday night to learn about Kane Realty’s plans to further reshape North Hills with taller buildings.
Kane Realty wants to rezone several parcels of land currently zoned for buildings up to five and 12 stories to allow buildings as high as 12, 20 and 37 stories. The buildings would be much taller than what’s allowed now, but the rezoning request wouldn’t seek additional residential units or square footage beyond what is allowed by right today. A total of 3 million square feet and 2,500 residential units are allowed on the parcels now.
“I like some of the diagrams where they show that they’re going to have smaller buildings, but higher,” Kimer said. “I really like that concept of we’re going to build up, but have more green space. But then I always fear what I call ‘bait and switch.’”
Developers, he said, have a knack for showing residents the “good stuff” and then changing the plans after they’ve gotten what they want.
North Hills rezoning
The rezoning involves several pieces of property:
- Lassiter District Site, 0 Rowan St. and 4411 Six Forks Road, zoned for 5 stories and requesting up to 12 stories.
- Six Forks and Lassiter Site, 4220 Lassiter Mill Road and 4359 Six Forks Road, zoned for 12 stories and requesting up to 40 stories.
- Six Forks Site, 4270 The Circle at North Hills St., zoned for 12 stories and requesting up to 40 stories.
- Main District Expansion Phase 2 Site, 0 Lassiter Mill Road, zoned for 12 stories and requesting up to 20 stories.
This will be the second time Kane Realty is submitting plans to rezone portions of North Hills. It pulled its original request in 2023 after numerous debates and the Raleigh City Council deciding to put off a decision until after the 2022 election, which saw some skeptical leaders elected.
John Kane, founder of Kane Realty, said the timing is right to try again.
“The City Council seems like it’s a better City Council for what we’re trying to do,” he said. “They are more pro-urban growth than maybe the prior council was, and the timing just seemed to be right for us.”
He knows people are concerned about traffic, especially since city leaders recently decided against expanding Six Forks Road after the cost skyrocketed. Traffic counts show that traffic decreased in 2023 compared to 2003, Kane said.
But some residents were skeptical of those numbers.
The COVID-19 pandemic moving employees to more remote work contributed to the lower traffic numbers in 2023, said Patrick Martin, former president of the Midtown Citizens Advisory Council.
He likes some of what he’s seen in the plans, but has concerns about the potential heights, traffic and uses planned in the rezoning request.
“It’s not all evil, it’s not all beautiful,” he said. “They’ve got some things they need to listen to the neighbors about.”
More community engagement is one of the things City Council member Christina Jones is looking for in this renewed request.
“This is a good first step of trying to introduce the community and gain that feedback that we as council are going to need to make this final decision,” she said.
Traffic, building height and proximity to neighborhoods are likely going to be the concerns, she said.
“North Hills, as they’ve built up, has been a huge success,” Jones said. “It’s been a huge success, and we want that success all the way through. But when you get closer to residents, they’re the voters. They’re the ones in the community that we’re here for.”
The rezoning application will likely be filed some time in August and will take months to be reviewed by the city’s Planning Commission before it goes before the City Council for a public hearing.
This story was originally published July 31, 2025 at 8:30 AM with the headline "Raleigh residents debate building height and traffic in new North Hills proposal."
