Plans in works to demolish downtown Raleigh's iconic Holiday Inn for new 20-story luxury tower

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Holiday Inn in downtown Raleigh is still open and welcoming guests for now. The days are winding down before it is demolished and replaced by a new skyscraper.

The iconic circular building is going to sunset as the City of Oaks continues growing.

"It doesn't surprise me ... it was a matter of time," said Raleigh resident Sydney Kraft.

New York-based development company Tidal Real Estate Partners plans on tearing down the structure and redeveloping the 1.3-acre site into a 20-story mixed-use luxury tower.

Plans include hotel rooms, hundreds of apartment units, retail and restaurant space.

Renderings aren't yet available.

"Raleigh has historically been underserved in the luxury lifestyle and boutique segments of the hotel space vs. other cities its size. We intend to deliver a hotel product that will be amongst the best in the entire Southeast and what we hope will become a centerpiece for downtown and home away from home for Raleigh residents," said Tidal Real Estate Partners CEO Mick Walsdorf.

The building is already a centerpiece for Wayne Hudson.

He's staying at the hotel this weekend, as he has done for years whenever he visits Raleigh from Virginia.

"(I'm) very distraught," said Hudson. "This is center to everything and all the bars and everywhere we want to go, it's in walking distance. We just found out 20 minutes ago they're tearing it down, so we hate it."

Tidal expects to break ground on the project at the end of 2023, with the project completion targeted for late 2025 or early 2026.