The next step in the ongoing facelift of Hillsborough Street should begin sometime in February when the building that formerly housed Sadlack’s Heroes will be demolished to make room for a new hotel, which is anticipated to open in the summer of 2015.
Jeff Murison, executive director of Hillsborough Street Community Service Corporation, said that the new hotel will fit in perfectly with its surroundings.
“The design is very creative, and it blends really well with environment,” Murison said.
Murison said the new building will be attractive and modern but will also give a nod to N.C. State through the use of bricks in its design.
Additionally, the hotel will feature a second story balcony area that will allow visitors to look onto N.C. State’s campus and, more specifically, the Bell Tower, Murison said.
Murison said the hotel itself will be unique in that it will be an Aloft Hotel, which he said has a very distinct feel.
“And that’s what [Aloft Hotels] are known for,” Murison said. “They’ve got some really cool facilities inside that have a metropolitan feel that I think is going to be a really fun addition to Hillsborough street.”
John Wardlaw, a resident of the area, voiced his thoughts concerning the construction project during a meeting with the Planning Commissioners in September, according to the Raleigh Public Record.
“It’s good. I like it,” Wardlaw said. “I like being in the area with this, but what are you doing with traffic? Traffic is really a problem here.”
Murison said he didn’t think traffic would be a problem.
“I’m not concerned about it,” Murison said. “I think any change to the street is going to have some level of impact on the normal flow of traffic, but I also believe that people adapt really quickly.”
Murison said this hotel will represent a new and different kind of revenue stream for the area.
“It’s definitely a great addition because tourists consistently spend more money because it’s a little bit of an adventure,” Murison said.
Murison also said there are a surprisingly low number of hotels around N.C. State’s campus, and he said that wasn’t normal for a university.
“In most colleges I visit, there’s usually close to a dozen hotels near the University, and we have one or two,” Murison said.
Also, as the Raleigh Convention Center continues to grow in popularity, more hotels will be needed to accommodate visitors, Murison said.
“The developers have put a lot of extra effort into really thinking critically about the details about the design of the hotel to really integrate it into the fabric of our community,” Murison said.
