New high-rise hotel planned for downtown Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Raleigh expects to add a new convention hotel downtown by 2027

Raleigh City Council approved a plan to begin negotiations with Omni Hotels & Resorts, to develop a new high-rise in downtown Raleigh.

The property will be the third Omni property in North Carolina but first in Raleigh. The development is expected to have 550 guest rooms, 55,000 square feet of meeting space, a rooftop pool, multiple food and beverage options, a spa and a fitness center.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for the City of Raleigh and Wake County. We've been envisioning a new convention center hotel downtown for years. We are now one step closer to making it happen," Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said. "This opens up endless possibilities for more conferences, more conventions and more events at the Raleigh Convention Center. And the economic benefits cannot be overstated."

Raleigh leaders said adding a new top-of-the-line hotel will help recruit larger conventions and other events to the area.

"This hotel is a key piece to Raleigh's economic development plan for the area and it's exactly the type of community priority that we like to finance because of the opportunities it creates for the citizens of Wake County. We're proud to invest our capital and know-how into this visionary project," said Ramiro Albarran, Co-Head of Originations for Preston Hollow Community Capital.

The new hotel is scheduled to be built on a one-acre lot at the end of Fayetteville Street across from the Raleigh Convention Center and Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts. The hotel is expected to open in 2027.