Today, Duke Realty and Kane Realty announced that they are working to make Captrust Tower at North Hills the first speculative office building in Raleigh to go green - a.ka. achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification for New Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
They’re aiming for Silver certification, which is the third highest in LEED’s scale of greenness, after Platinum and Gold, but higher than Certified. To put things into perspective, there are only about 100 buildings in the world that have achieved Platinum certification, according to the News & Observer. Kane and Duke expect Captrust Tower to earn this certification based on features such as:
Energy management, including high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. A new Web-based project management system will enable online monitoring, adjustment of temperature controls and demand control ventilation.
A construction waste management program with a goal to divert more than 75% of waste from the landfill.
Water efficient plumbing fixtures.
Use of regionally manufactured and recycled materials
Use of only certified wood products recognized by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Specifying low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) emitting construction materials to improve indoor air quality and occupant health.
Access to mass transit and preferred parking for fuel efficient vehicles.
Highly reflective roof surfaces for a reduction in heat island effect caused by development.
This is good press for Kane Realty, Duke Realty and North Hills/Midtown Raleigh, and it’s a good thing to do. It’s also nice that they’re spending more money and doing this in a time when many companies are pinching pennies and cutting costs due to the state of the economy.
After breaking ground in March 2008, construction on the Captrust Tower is well underway. The foundation concrete has been poured and crews are working on the building superstructure. The building is scheduled to open in fall 2009 and will be the tallest building on the I-440 beltline.
In addition to 300,000 square feet of Class A office space, the first floor will feature 28,000 square feet of restaurants and retail, including an upscale restaurant.
John Kane, CEO of Kane Realty, gave a presentation this morning at the movie theater here to give details of his vision for the expansion of North Hills and The Cardinal (continuing care retirement community) to about 70 guests and prospective residents. Martha Grove Hipskind, director of senior living for Kane Realty (pictured below) was also available to answer questions, and media representatives from NBC17, News14 and ABC were present at the event.
Kane first explained what the area has to offer now and then went into details of the expansion across Six Forks Rd. One major piece of this will be The Cardinal, a retirement community scheduled to open in 2010 which will have 202 residences. Besides the location and partnership with Duke to handle medical-related things, one feature of The Cardinal that is unique is the pricing model, which allows residents to share in the appreciation of their units.
Entry fees for a spot at The Cardinal range from $300,000 to about $1 million. If a resident passes away or decides to move out, 90% of this fee will be returned to the resident or his estate, in addition to 50% of the appreciation. So, if a person buys in for $1 million and decides to move out 10 years later (after the unit has appreciated to $1.3 million), the resident will get back $900,000 plus $150,000 (half of the appreciation). This is a unique model, because the resident is essentially able to minimize risk (don’t have to pay property taxes) but is allowed to share in the profit due to appreciation.
Kane said they have the funding for The Cardinal but need commitments for half the rooms (101) to start building due to regulations. They’ve currently sold 54 spots and offering special pricing and customization options to early buyers.
Once they start building, Kane said it will take about 18 months to complete The Cardinal. He estimated that the community could be available for living in October or November of 2010. As part of the entire expansion project, Six Forks Rd. will be widened in order to ease traffic and provide a safer way of crossing the street for pedestrians.
Since it wasn’t hot at all today, I decided to walk around and take some pictures of the North Hills construction across the street from the main shopping area. This new section of North Hills will be an addition to the mixed-use office/shopping/living destination that we have currently.
After 40 minutes and sweating buckets of water, I came back with some pictures of the construction. You’ll see that there are five cranes in the area now; the tallest crane is stationed where the Captrust Tower is being built. It also appears that work has started on The Cardinal at North Hills. *update - work hasn’t started on the Cardinal yet, but I’m told presales for units are exceeding expectations.
Click the thumbnails below to see some North Hills construction pictures as of August 4, 2008. Click twice for the largest size. It’s interesting to compare these pictures with the pictures we took back in February.
President Bush will arrive in Raleigh today at 4:30pm for a private event to raise money for Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory’s gubernatorial campaign. The fundraiser will take place at John Kane’s home. Kane is the chairman and CEO of Kane Realty Corporation, which had led the redevelopment of the North Hills area in Raleigh.
According to WRAL.com, more than 100 people are expected to pay at least $4,000 to attend this private event.
Yesterday Kane Realty announced a partnership with Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company to build a Hyatt Summerfield Suites hotel to the new part of the development at North Hills. When this is complete in 2010 (expected) North Hills will have two very nice hotels (The Renaissance is scheduled to open in the Fall this year), and be a great place for business travelers to stay and explore.
The Hyatt Summerfield Suites Hotel at North Hills will have 140 rooms spread out over seven stories and 100,000 square feet. Other details and features include:
full kitchens
living area with a 32 inch flat screen TV
separate bedroom
complimentary full breakfasts
free high-speed internet access
24-hour Guest Market with snacks and quick eats
interior access to a fitness center and pool
evening socials - Monday through Thursday.
Has anyone ever stayed in a Hyatt Summerfield Suites before? What did you think? And what exactly are the evening socials (and are they fun)?
Today, North Hills Buzz (along with News 14 and NBC) covered the press conference on the Commons officially welcoming Aldert Root elementary school to North Hills.
For the 2008-2009 school year, students in Aldert Root will attend school in modular units over at North Hills East. Kane worked with the community and school system to donate approximately 4 acres for the school to use while its 50 year old buildings are renovated.
By our estimate, about 150 people attended the event, and about 50 were kids. At the beginning of the event, the children gave a “Seussical” performance and sang songs inspired by famous Dr. Seuss phrases, such as “Anything’s possible,” “I do not like green eggs and ham,” and “a person’s a person no matter how small.”
Please see below for some video and pictures from the event. Click on the thumbnails for larger versions (click twice for the largest size).
Yesterday I had a chance to visit the sales office for The Cardinal at North Hills, a premium continuing-care retirement community that will open in North Hills in late 2010. The sales office is located behind Bonefish Grill, across from Kerr Drug and the dry cleaners here. I had the opportunity to get some great information about this development and the sales staff was very helpful in answering my questions. Since I can’t possibly cover everything here, I recommend that you stop by the sales office, visit their website, or call 919-781-2021 to get more information about this great retirement community.
The Cardinal at North Hills Facts
Before I get into more detail about my visit, here’s some background information on The Cardinal. This will be one of about 2,100 full-service continuing-care retirement communities in the entire United States. A continuing-care community caters to those who want to maintain their independence and high-standard of living, while having the flexibility to choose different care options for themselves or their partners, with the option to get more health services and care, should the need arise.
The Cardinal at North Hills will have 202 one and two-bedroom residences, with 12 different floor plans to choose from. Units range in size from just under 900 square feet to almost 2500 square feet. The actual structure for the living areas are divided into two main sides. One side will be L-shaped and have seven stories; the other side will be rectangular and have six stories. One thing that impressed me (there were many) was that every unit has a terrace or balcony.
The Cardinal at North Hills will have a partnership with Duke for medical care and services, a primary-care clinic, and a personal concierge to help residents choose the right doctor, insurance, etc. Other features include underground parking (no ugly parking garages will be built at North Hills East), a state-of-the-art fitness center, various dining options (not to mention the many restaurants in this area) and gardens. There will also be a convenient front entrance for drop-off and pick-up (see picture below).
My first impression on seeing the model
“When can I move in?” I joked. Probably not for another 50 years, unless I start dating someone that’s over 62 years old (at least one resident in each unit must be at least 62). So, I have some work to do…
The model (which is very nicely decorated) is a 2-bedroom, 2-bath that is just under 1,500 square feet. I was impressed with the small touches, such as sliding doors to the bathroom, rails in the shower and bathroom for easy access and support, a main room with a lot of open space and a kitchen with nice counter tops. Overall, the model was very luxurious and felt more like a high-end condominium, than a residence at a retirement community.
Stay tuned for part 2 of my visit to the model of The Cardinal at North Hills. I’ll be covering more about what sets this retirement community apart from other communities.
If you have any questions or comments about The Cardinal, feel free to post them here. But you’ll probably get better answers by visiting the sales office, their website, or calling them for more details.
In case you missed it, the official groundbreaking ceremony for CAPTRUST Tower at North Hills took place on Tuesday. Over 200 people came to see Kane Realty, Duke Realty, CAPTRUST Financial Advisors and local officials broke ground on the 17-story mixed use development, which will offer 300,000 square feet of premium rentable office and retail space when it opens in fall 2009.
Key speakers at the event included:
John Kane, CEO, Kane Realty Corp.
Denny Oklak, CEO, Duke Realty
The Honorable Charles Meeker, Mayor or Raleigh
Harvey Schmitt, president, Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce
Jeff Sheehan, senior vice president of Raleigh operations, Duke Realty Corporation
While we weren’t able to attend due to conflicting plans, please see below for a great picture of the groundbreaking:
From left: Jeff Sheehan, Duke Realty senior vice president of Raleigh operations; Andrew Kelton, Duke Realty executive vice president – East Region; J. Fielding Miller, CAPTRUST Financial Advisors founder and CEO; Denny Oklak, Duke Realty CEO; John Kane, Kane Realty chairman and CEO; Mike Smith, Kane Realty president and COO; Harvey Schmitt, Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce president and CEO; The Honorable Charles Meeker, mayor of Raleigh; Joe Bryan, chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners.
In late January, Duke Realty Corp. began construction on what will be a 17-story mixed-use office building. Kane Realty will help Duke Realty develop the building. Here are a few facts about the building, which will be called Captrust Tower at North Hills.
Total size = 302,400 square feet
274,000 square feet for office space
28,400 square feet of rental space
Scheduled to open in mid-2009
First tenant = Captrust Financial Advisors (and the building will be named after them)
Other Tenants
Ogletree, Deakins, Nas, Smoak & Stewart, PC - law firm
CB Richard Ellis - commercial real estate brokerage firm
We have asked Duke Realty for an image of Captrust Tower and will post this as soon as we hear back from them.
The Lassiter at North Hills will be a collection of 49 condominiums ranging from $490k to over $2.5 million (according to their website). North Hills Buzz is planning on devoting some time/research into discovering why they haven’t started building The Lassiter yet and when they plan on starting. We have a few theories and facts, but before we dive in, does anyone have any knowledge of this subject? Feel free to post a comment here or use the contact form if you don’t want your comment to be seen. Also, if you’re with Kane Realty and have something to add we’d love to hear it.
North Hills Buzz is the online community for North Hills Raleigh. Here you'll find restaurant information, news and discussions focused on a variety of North Hills topics. Join the conversation! More
Story From WRAL.com
