More than 91,000 square feet in new office leases, fully committed retail space, and an October groundbreaking for Life Time are pushing the Midtown Raleigh development into its next chapter.
For years, The Exchange Raleigh has been selling an ambitious vision for its 40-acre Midtown campus: offices, restaurants, outdoor space, wellness, residential development and entertainment all woven together into something that feels less like an office park and more like a neighborhood.
That vision is starting to look a lot less like a rendering.
Dewitt Carolinas recently announced more than 91,000 square feet in new office commitments across 1000 Social and One Renaissance, adding another wave of businesses to a campus that has also rapidly filled its restaurant and retail spaces.
More than 45,000 square feet of the new leases are at 1000 Social, the development’s 12-story office tower. New tenants include Baker Donelson, Highstreet Insurance & Financial Services, Edward Jones, and a national engineering firm.
Another 46,000-plus square feet has been committed at the recently renovated One Renaissance. New tenants there include Regus, CTI Clinical Trial Services, Mauldin & Jenkins, L.L. Vann Electric, Relation Insurance, GardaWorld, KISCO Senior Living and Schmeiser Olsen.
And according to Dewitt Carolinas VP Casey Pernell, the momentum extends well beyond the offices.
“In the last year, we’ve completely leased up all of the retail suites in 1000 Social, completed a renovation of One Renaissance, and opened a new interim park space that serves both buildings,” Pernell says.
That combination is beginning to change the feel of the development.
At street level, 1000 Social has quickly developed into one of Midtown’s growing food-and-drink clusters.
Pranzo, chef Michael Bongiorno’s modern Italian restaurant, opened Aug. 14 with a menu built around Italian dishes, wine and aperitivo hour. It joined Peregrine, Capulet Cocktail Club, Toastique and Mezcalito, while Café Royale is also expected to bring coffee, French-inspired bites and cocktails to the development.
The result is a place that increasingly gives people reasons to visit even if they don’t work there.
Outside, The Exchange’s interim park has added another layer.
The space includes pickleball courts, a dog park, and a natural children’s play area, while programming has ranged from a summer concert series to car shows and fitness pop-ups.
“We’re creating something special here at The Exchange, and in the amenity-rich workspaces at 1000 Social and One Renaissance, and we’re seeing that reflected in increased tenant traffic across both buildings,” Pernell says.
That traffic could become even more significant as the next major phase of the project gets underway.
Dewitt Carolinas plans to break ground on the Life Time project in October, bringing one of the most anticipated pieces of The Exchange master plan closer to reality.
The project is expected to add a major fitness and wellness component to the development, along with Life Time Living residential offerings.
Construction will also coincide with the beginning of the first phase of The Exchange’s permanent park design.
That phase will include another feature that could further expand the development’s public-facing appeal: a retail plaza built directly into the park.
“In tandem with the Life Time construction that will start this fall, we will begin work on the first phase of the permanent park design,” Pernell says. “That Phase One construction will also include a retail plaza in the park, which is something we’re really excited about.”
The combination of permanent green space, retail and residential development could be what ultimately pushes The Exchange beyond its roots as a workplace destination.
Restaurants and offices can create activity during the day and into the evening. Residents, fitness users, park visitors and neighborhood retail create something different: a built-in audience that is there seven days a week.
And there is considerably more planned.
The Exchange master plan calls for a second office tower designed as a mirror image of 1000 Social, along with a hotel and condominium concept, multifamily housing and additional development across the property.
If all of those pieces eventually arrive, The Exchange will look considerably different from the collection of office buildings that once defined this corner of Midtown.
For now, the numbers suggest the transformation is gaining momentum.
More than 91,000 square feet of new office commitments have been signed. The retail spaces at 1000 Social are fully leased. Restaurants and bars are operating. The park is active. Life Time construction begins in October. And work on a permanent park and new retail plaza is about to follow.
The Exchange Raleigh has spent years talking about what it could become.
Increasingly, the more interesting story is what it is becoming.
