Council keeps rezoning for Raleigh Sports and Entertainment District open after lengthy hearing on traffic, stormwater and access

The Raleigh City Council on April 1 recessed a final decision on rezoning case Z‑38‑24, the proposed Planned Development (PD) for the Lenovo Center site and surrounding 80‑acre complex, and voted to keep the hearing open and return to the council on April 15 at 1 p.m. for further consideration.

Planning staff described the request as a PD that would subdivide about 80 acres into four subdistricts (A‑D), with a combined maximum entitlement of up to 4,200 dwelling units and roughly 3.8 million square feet of nonresidential space by staff estimate. The PD as proposed would allow building heights up to 40 stories in most subdistricts (15 stories in Subdistrict B), set an open‑space minimum of roughly 11.42 acres (about 4% of the site), and identify tree conservation areas totaling about 4.37 acres (approximately 5.4%). Staff noted the plan defines parking, pedestrian connections, and phased development expected to take 10–15 years to fully build out.

Jamie Schwedler of Parker Poe presented on behalf of the applicant team and said project partners include Gale Force Sports and Entertainment and investors associated with the Carolina Hurricanes and Pacific‑affiliated…