Clarification and Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that the Hillsborough CAC voted against this project. Hillsborough CAC Chair Will Allen confirmed the group voted to support the project.
While the Planning Commission’s approval of this project technically permits both residential and office uses, discussions from the developer and planners indicate it will be one or the other.
While some people contend Daniels Street operates far below design load capacity, James Brantley with the city planning department told the Record in an email that “city transportation staff have not weighed in on that issue.”
More density is coming to the Cameron Village area, and some neighbors aren’t happy.
Raleigh Planning Commissioners Tuesday approved a rezoning that would allow a new multi-family development to be built near Cameron Village.
A developer plans to construct a new building between Oberlin Road and Daniels Street, just north of Smallwood Drive and the Cameron Village Shopping Center.
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[/media-credit]The building will be mostly multi-family residential, but will include about 90,000 square feet of office space. There are no plans to include retail on the site.
The residential space would be capped at 275 apartments with a limit on the number of units with three or more bedrooms. As the zoning stands today, only 45 units would be allowed on the site.
The building height will range from two to five stories, with the shortest building fronting on Daniels Street and the largest facing Oberlin Road.
The project is in line with the increased density called for by the city’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan. But while the Hillsborough CAC voted in favor of the project, some neighbors are wary of the change.
One neighbor said the project doesn’t include any retail, which goes against the standards needed for a Pedestrian Business Overlay District. Such overlays are generally used in mixed-use areas that include, office, retail and residential and are designed to increase walkability.
There are also two ongoing projects south of Cameron Village whose impacts have yet to be felt by the neighborhood.
The resident said Daniels Street lacks the pedestrian infrastructure, such as sidewalks, that would safely increase connectivity between the neighborhood, the new development and existing shopping.
Commissioner Steven Schuster said this project is like a lot of the recent projects the Commission has seen and will see in the future.
Schuster also said the while the rezoning allows more density, the resulting building will have less of an impact than some other projects, including more office space.
“What the current zoning allows by right, a very significant office structure that would have had a greater impact on traffic and doesn’t come with some of the restrictions that the project is providing,” he said.
The developer plans to include open space, 14-foot sidewalks and height limitations.
Commissioners unanimously voted for the rezoning, but it still must get final approval from the City Council, which meets again in January.
