RBC Plaza Launches Construction, Website

RBC Bank officially broke ground on its U.S. Headquarters tower today. The building is will be 540 feet and 32 stories tall, making it 13% taller than the proposed Soleil Center (the latest numbers plan 480′ for Soleil, however their website does not specifically tout the building’s height). The RBC tower will feature retail and an RBC bank branch on its first floor, 8 levels of parking, 11 floors of office space, and 11 stories of condos. Add in a structural transition floor and you get a 32 story building. (the building’s top floor will be called "33" after omitting 13 from the floor numbering scheme.)

The building will finally replace the parking lot with which First Citizens Bank graced us after imploding their gorgeous 11-story, 1914 tower. Perhaps the most interesting element of the RBC building, though, is its 139 Plaza Condominiums (warning: music) stacked on the building’s top 11 floors. Each unit will have at least one private balcony and much glass on it’s exterior wall(s). Floorplans range from 1 to 3 units and feature 883 to 1987 square feet.

The shape of this upper third of the building has been much maligned already at this site and at others for being too predictable and uncreative. Today we learned more about the section’s shape, however. Instead of being a perfect rectangle, the section’s improved southern face will have an asymmetric bow shape to it.

This offers a nice, surprising visual element to the building’s overall form, but does present problems with the balconies of a couple of prime units on each floor. Each level will contain 14 units (one three-bedroom, six two-bedroom, and seven one-bedroom) featuring private balconies. Twelve of the units will have balconies with three open sides. However because of the bowed facade, the two southern corner units on each floor will be tucked into corners, compromising the view.

Close examination of the floorplate (.pdf file) shows overall excellent use of each floor’s space. The architects have done an excellent job of making each unit’s view an easily appreciated feature is as much of the unit as possible. The building does have its quirks, though. A few units, namely 2, 3, and 8 with somewhat unfortunate placement of the building’s supporting columns, potentially compromising the units exterior vista . Let’s hope that the elevator and garbage chutes are well insulated for noise, or units 8 and 9 will be a nightmare in which to live. Unit 11 is an interesting little one-bedroom unit. The nook to the west of the entry door is apparently large enough for a twin bed, futon, or a small office.

My personal favorite, however, is Unit 1. It is a 1835 square foot, two-bedroom unit in the building’s NW corner, so it will feature the best view of Raleigh. It will get afternoon sun, should be fairly dark in the morning, has a living area with two scenic, glass walls, and seems to use its space the best of all of the units.

Hopefully the HVAC systems are designed to handle the sun’s bias on the the RBC tower. Condos and offices on the building’s SW corner will be difficult to keep cool in the summer and the lack of light in the northern units, over the years, will allow mold growth – this is Raleigh, after all.

The website advertises a private storage unit and parking space per unit. One of the greatest amenities at the nearby Paramount is its dedicated storage area for each unit. It’s good to see this amenity offered in another first-rate property. Presumably the storage units will be on the structural transition floor, not coupled with the parking bays.

The best feature of the Plaza Condominiums is the 23rd floor pool and courtyard. It will apparently be the highest perch for a pool in the State of North Carolina (that is, until the Lafayette is completed, perhaps?). Each of the seven units on the building’s southern face will have a fantastic view of the pool, which will be a major selling point for this group of units which, because of the southern view, would normally have less market value than their across-the-hall neighbors.

According to WRAL, units are preselling for $200,000. If that refers to the smallest unit, 883 square feet, then the unit is only $226 per square foot. Given new construction, the view, and the panache of living in Raleigh’s tallest building, that’s a pretty fair price. Surely the larger units are more per foot, but these prices are quite competitive with comparable projects in southern residential towers.

The RBC tower will have an enormous impact not only on the Raleigh skyline, but on life in Raleigh’s core. Construction is expected to be completed in 2008.