Lenovo Center development plan advances, despite safety concerns from Cardinal Gibbons
The long-anticipated development project around Raleigh’s Lenovo Center moved one step closer to becoming reality Tuesday when the city’s Planning Commission unanimously approved the site’s rezoning application.
But dozens of students and leaders from Cardinal Gibbons, the private Catholic high school that sits across the street, attended the meeting to voice concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety.
The Carolina Hurricanes have development rights to the 80 acres around the arena and plan to build an urban district that includes residential housing, hotels, entertainment venues and retail over the next two decades.
“We support the existing development and its potential,” said Tim Throndson, president of the Cardinal Gibbons board of directors. “But as stewards of these 1,600 young lives that we’ve got at Cardinal Gibbons, we have urgent concerns about the safety issues around the development that we believe must be addressed.”
Throndson said the school’s juniors and seniors can leave campus for lunch and other activities. And its younger students would likely be attracted to the development after school hours.
“We believe that adding significant density to an area that’s already hazardous for pedestrians will create an unacceptable risk for the members of our community,” he told the commission.
Jamie Schwedler, an attorney with Parker Poe, said the development group has been discussing options with Cardinal Gibbons for more than a year and plans to continue working with school officials.
The rights to develop the property were part of a complex negotiation between the Centennial Authority, which runs the state-owned facility, Raleigh and Wake County.
The Hurricanes signed a long-term lease agreement to remain at the site, while the city and county approved $300-million for upgrades inside the arena. And the Hurricanes will fund the development around the arena, which was part of the original plan for the site but hasn’t happened in the quarter century since it opened.
The Lenovo Center, until recently known as PNC Arena, sits in the same area at North Carolina State’s Carter-Finley Stadium near Wade Avenue, Edwards Mill Road and Trinity Road in west Raleigh. The venue is home to the Hurricanes and NC State’s men’s basketball team. It also hosts concerts and other events.
The Hurricanes hope to begin the first phase of development at the conclusion of the 2025 NC State football season. The first phase includes two parking decks, a dedicated tailgate space, a small music venue and retail space. One deck is expected to be finished by the start of the 2026 football season.
Community leaders have hailed the development, saying it will provide a spark for other investments on that side of the city.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is still studying the plans and considering options to handle traffic in and out of the proposed development.
Throndson asked the commission to include a frontage road on Wade Avenue, a traffic impact study, an emergency evacuation plan, plans for physical security and crowd management, and several pedestrian safety measures, including an overpass or underpass, as part of the zoning approval process.
The commission did not address all of the issues, but said much of the area around the development area is controlled by the state and the Department of Transportation.
“We know that new businesses and developments bring opportunities and energy to the community, and we are proud to be in a place that values growth,” Lola Holderness, a Cardinal Gibbons senior, told the commission. “But with growth comes responsibility, responsibility to ensure that students and teachers can safely get to and from school each day.”
She continued: “We are here early in the morning, and we stay long after school ends for sports, theater productions, band concerts, service projects and community events. Gibbons isn’t just a school. It’s a hub of activity, a place where students and family come together at all hours of day and night.”
Members of the commission thanked the students for participating and acknowledged concerns about pedestrian safety.
The city council must still approve the rezoning application.
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Source: wral.com