The RUS Bus facility is a critical part of plans to expand local and regional transit service. After completion of RUS Bus, Raleigh Union Station will provide seamless connections between multiple modes of transportation, including Amtrak intercity passenger rail, planned commuter rail, bus rapid transit projects and local bus service. The facility also will be bike- and pedestrian-friendly. The City of Raleigh is a vibrant urban center where more than 432,000 people live, up from about 276,000 in 2000. Wake County has mirrored this growth, increasing from 628,000 to just over a million residents during the same period. The county is expected to reach nearly 1.4 million residents and Raleigh 600,000 by 2030. With this growth come the challenges of connectivity, mobility and affordability. Regional partners in Wake, Durham and Orange counties have chosen to address these issues collaboratively and are investing in transit infrastructure to accommodate this growth.

GoTriangle acquired the property in 2005 with help from a Federal Transportation Administration grant. In January 2019, the agency issued a Request for Qualifications to identify a preferred private development partner and ultimately invited a short list of teams to respond to a Request for Proposals. GoTriangle evaluated the proposals it received and identified Hoffman and Associates as its preferred development partner for the project. Hoffman has been conducting preliminary design work on the project under contract with GoTriangle, while GoTriangle and Hoffman negotiate development agreements for the project. The site plans that Hoffman filed with the City of Raleigh on xxxxx were part of the preliminary design work contract. Find more about the site plans here.

The RUS Bus transit facilities are expected to cost $40.4 million to design and build. In December 2018, GoTriangle won a $20 million federal BUILD grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help pay for the facility, and local and state funds will pay the remaining public portion of the project. The private components of the project will be financed entirely by GoTriangle’s private development partner.

After definitive development agreements are signed, GoTriangle’s private partner will jointly manage the design and construction of the private mixed-use tower and the design and construction of the RUS Bus transit facilities. The private partner will collaborate closely with GoTriangle on the transit facility and will ground-lease the remainder of the RUS Bus site from GoTriangle for 99 years to build the mixed-use tower. GoTriangle will retain ownership of the RUS Bus facility and underlying land.

Construction is expected to begin in 2022 and is scheduled to be completed in 2025. Raleigh zoning for the property requires preservation of not fewer than 1,000 square feet of existing building materials from the Dillon Supply building on the site. The private partner’s general contractor will manage all construction logistics and traffic control around the property throughout development.

The new bus facility will be used primarily by GoTriangle and GoRaleigh. It will include: • Bus platforms for local and regional buses in an off-street transit facility. • New on-street improvements on West Street for local and regional bus service. • New on-street improvements to accommodate future bus rapid transit service on West Street. • Pedestrian and bicycle enhancements on and around the RUS Bus site. • A new pedestrian bridge connecting RUS Bus to Raleigh Union Station.

The private portion of the project will include ground-floor retail space, a hotel and market-rent and affordable multifamily residential units as well as a private parking deck. The site plans filed xxxxx show approximately: • 500,000 square feet total across two high-rise buildings • 350 apartment units including 10% affordable units for households at 80% AMI • 200 hotel rooms • 18,000 square feet of retail • 550 parking spaces

The zoning for the property requires GoTriangle’s private partner to dedicate no fewer than 20 units or 10% of units, whichever is greater, as affordable for households earning 80% or less of area median income for a period of no less than 15 years from the date of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

In January 2022, Duke Energy will begin its project to relocate overhead power lines underground on West and Hargett streets adjacent to the RUS Bus facility. This important infrastructure project will provide an enhanced streetscape when the project is completed.