Construction crews have rolled onto 2510 Hillsborough St. this month, jolting back to life the half-built "crane lot" that has loomed across from N.C. State University for more than a decade. The long-dormant shell is being reworked for street-level shops, restaurants and flexible event and office space. For neighbors and students who watched the crane sit idle for years, the new flurry of activity is the first real sign that the prominent corner may finally retire its eyesore status.
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, CityPlat began site work in mid-June and plans to reuse the property’s existing concrete frame rather than start from scratch. The developer says it is repositioning the site for open-air retail, restaurants, bars, events and offices, and is rebuilding the sidewalk as part of a full streetscape upgrade. CityPlat principal Patrick C. Moore told the paper in an email, "We're hoping to be finished with construction this winter."
Plans on file with the city
Public planning documents show the project as Administrative Site Review ASR-0087-2021 with CityPlat Modalia 2510 listed as the applicant, according to City of Raleigh filings. The plans describe a two-story commercial building with ground-floor restaurant and retail space, second-floor office and event areas and a basement. The site drawings specifically note work to "saw cut and tie to existing concrete," confirming the reuse of the unfinished frame. The submitted layouts list roughly 6,781 square feet on the ground level and about 17,900 square feet of total gross floor area when basement and second floor are counted.
Tenants aim for a campus crowd
The Raleigh News & Observer reports that CityPlat has already signed Rally House and an unnamed national food-and-beverage operator for ground-floor space, part of a push toward street-facing retail aimed at N.C. State students and visitors. The paper also notes leasing materials that show extremely low vacancy along the Hillsborough corridor, factors the developer cites in choosing a retail-forward plan. If the marketing holds up, the site will function as a compact retail node facing campus rather than the student tower originally proposed.
How the lot got frozen
The property’s troubles trace back to a 2014–15 plan for a seven-story, student-oriented apartment building that stalled after a dispute with the contractor. Industry reporting details that a crane was erected in June 2015 and legal fights followed. An arbitration panel later ruled the developer was responsible for repeated delays. Court and bankruptcy trackers show Hillsborough Lofts filed for Chapter 11 in 2017, a move that effectively froze the site for years while ownership and claims were sorted out.
What to watch next
CityPlat purchased the parcel in 2021 for roughly the price reported in public records (about $1.25 million) and has been filing revisions and marketing the site since, according to public listings and property records. The company’s approach - adapt the standing concrete frame, rebuild the sidewalk and focus on street-level retail - is pitched as a lower-risk play for a corridor with tight retail occupancy. If timelines hold, tenants will be the first visible change for campus shoppers, with completion expected later this winter, per the developer’s email to the press.
