Downtown Raleigh Reports Record 2025 Growth and $8.2B Development Pipeline

Downtown Raleigh posted its strongest year on record in 2025 as a wave of housing, hotel and office projects accelerated construction and visitor spending across the core, city and county analysts report. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s Q4/2025 market report describes 2025 as a record year for development and activity, while market data show a downtown development pipeline totaling $8.2 billion and social posts from the Alliance cite $8.3 billion in completed, under-construction and planned projects since 2015.

The $8.2 billion pipeline figure, from a Q2/2025 market compilation, breaks down to $3.1 billion in projects completed since 2015, $1.3 billion under construction, and $3.8 billion proposed or planned. Twelve developments currently under construction are expected to deliver 953 residential units, 204 hotel rooms and 13,593 square feet of retail. Another 39 proposed or planned projects would add 7,250 residential units, 1,412 hotel rooms, 368,392 square feet of office space and 257,450 square feet of retail if built.

Housing deliveries hit their highest yearly total on record. A Downtown Raleigh Alliance Instagram post states that 1,493 residential units came online across five projects in 2025, including 392 units in Q4. A Q2 market snapshot shows 819 apartment units delivered through midyear and 675 more poised to finish by year-end, an aggregate that implies roughly 1,494 units, a one-unit variance across sources. Stabilized apartment occupancy stood at 92.1 percent, signaling continued demand for new units.

Hospitality and retail also strengthened. Average monthly hotel room revenue between April and May rose 3.6 percent year-over-year, and year-to-date food and beverage sales downtown were up 4.2 percent. Glenwood South posted a 12.7 percent increase in food and beverage sales year-to-date, while Fayetteville Street rose 7.6 percent. Visitor counts were higher across the board: downtown visits in Q2 2025 were 4.2 percent above Q2 2024, and first-half visits were 2.5 percent higher than the prior year, with Glenwood South up 6.5 percent.

Major projects shaping the skyline include the 306-unit Highline Glenwood at the Creamery site, which has begun site preparation, and a 27-story, 550-room Omni hotel slated for construction on the surface parking lots near the performing arts center. The News & Observer reports that fencing is set to appear in January and that Omni construction is expected to finish in 2028. Mayor Janet Cowell noted the scale of public investment, saying, “Obviously, a huge public dollar [investment] going into multiple projects all in a concentrated area that is a key [driver] of economic development and tax base for the entire county.” Visit Raleigh’s Dennis Edwards called the convention center expansion “a transformative investment in the future of downtown Raleigh” that “will bring thousands of new visitors, driving more restaurant reservations, hotel stays, and traffic to local businesses.”

For Wake County residents, the immediate returns are more housing options, a deeper hospitality market and rising foot traffic that can boost restaurants and shops. The near-term tradeoffs include more construction activity, traffic and pressure on downtown parking and transit. Key milestones to watch are rising project starts this year, the convention center expansion’s ramp-up in bookings, the Omni’s multi-year build, and ribbon-cuttings such as the Lichtin Plaza renovations expected in spring 2026. These developments will influence tax revenues, job growth and how downtown Raleigh balances rapid expansion with neighborhood livability.