A Charlotte developer that has spent the last three years assembling property at the edge of downtown is moving ahead with plans to transform an abandoned industrial area in between N.C. State and downtown Raleigh into a mix of apartments, townhouses and shops.
In a rezoning request filed with the city of Raleigh this month, FMW Real Estate outlines plans to redevelop a 6.67-acre site just west of where West Morgan and Hillsborough streets intersect.
The $40 million first phase would include a 5-story, 240-unit apartment building, 32 townhouses along Ashe Street and 10,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office along Morgan Street, Wakefield Avenue and Tryon Street.
Jim Zanoni, who owns FMW along with Walker Wells, said the company hopes to break ground by next spring.
FMW paid about $10.5 million total for four different parcels of land. The largest piece was once home to the Bolton Corporation, a family heating and air condition company that ceased operations on the site several years ago.
FMW also owns the property where the IHOP on Hillsborough Street is located, but that site would be part of phase two of the redevelopment and exact plans for that portion have not been finalized, Zanoni said.
For more on this project read tomorrow's News & Observer.
Business reporter David Bracken came to the N&O in 2004. He covers commercial and residential real estate. Contact David at 919-829-4548 or