Newest tower in downtown Raleigh won't be newest for long

A billion-dollar software company will soon move into its new headquarters in the newest tower in downtown Raleigh.

Pendo will occupy the top five floors of 301 Hillsborough, a 19-story tower at the corner of Hillsborough and Dawson streets.

"With the city’s growth and the existing stuff," project manager Zac Vuncannon said, "we think this is just the beginning."

The tower is only part of the Raleigh Crossing development for Boston-based Fallon Co., which hadn't previously been in the local market.

"We viewed this as the location to make that bet on," Vuncannon said.

Fallon plans to start work next year on a 20-story residential tower next to the office building to complete the development.

Across Hillsborough Street, crews are digging to create the foundation of a 20-story office and apartment building.

"It’s certainly getting taller," Downtown Raleigh Alliance President Bill King said of the skyline.

WRAL News reviewed Raleigh rezoning cases that would allow taller developments and found that, since 2019, city officials have approved or are reviewing 28 rezonings that would allow buildings up to 12, 20 or 40 stories.

"As land costs have gone up, you want to get more value out of that, so building upward allows you to do that," King said. "Buildings like this generate a lot of tax value without taking up a lot of land, so that’s a good thing because it prevents sprawl."

301 Hillsborough features a two-story lobby, 12,000 feet of street-level retail space and a quarter-acre "sky park" that is designed to feel like an extension of nearby Nash Square.

"Part of our amenities is literally downtown itself," Vuncannon said. "They’re going to have all of downtown at their disposal."

When Pendo moves in early next year, it will occupy half of the 280,000 square feet of office space, and the company's name already adorns the top of the tower in pink letters.

Vuncannon says other companies are starting to search for post-pandemic office space.

"You’re seeing people design their space differently [to] create more collaboration, all the stuff you can’t recreate from your apartment, home [or] coffee shop," he said.

Crews broke ground on a former parking lot to start work on 301 Hillsborough right before the pandemic hit last year.

"For a while, we were the only crane there in the Raleigh skyline," Vuncannon said, adding that he believes Raleigh is ready to raise downtown into the sky.

"It’s just all about helping Raleigh grow because there’s enough energy and momentum here," he said.