The Stone’s Warehouse property is back on the table.
The Stone’s Warehouse site on East Davie and South East streets became available for sale after a long-term lease with the city fell through. Vann Joins and the Landmark Group were unable to secure the state tax credits they needed in order to build a 49-unit affordable housing community.
The city is issuing a Request for Expressions of Interest for developers interested in purchasing and redeveloping the east Raleigh property.
Stone's Warehouse on Davie Street.
Because city community development funds are already tied to the property, developers who come forward must build affordable housing.
If the developer doesn’t wish to build affordable housing, a public hearing would need to be held to waive the requirement. The developer would then buy out the existing city funding and the money would go back into the community development program.
The plan was a controversial from the start. While the community would have been marketed towards artists and the units would have been built with studio space in mind, anyone who met the income requirements could live there.
At a September 2013 meeting of the Budget and Economic Development Committee, Raleigh developer and restaurateur Greg Hatem of Empire Properties expressed interest in the property as the new downtown location for Exploris Middle School.
He said he’s been in discussions with school officials, who want to eventually expand the school to include high school grades, and Stone’s Warehouse is the only suitable downtown location.
Responses to the city’s request are due Feb. 28.
