RBC Plaza, under development by locally based Highwoods Properties, will offer retail, office and condominiums and is rising at the corner of Fayetteville, Martin and Wilmington streets Downtown. According to Highwoods website, the 710,000-sf property will have office and retail space on the first floor, 11 floors of office space, eight floors of in-building parking and 140 for-sale condos. The parking consists of 300 spaces.

"This announcement is another endorsement by a major and highly respected Raleigh firm of the vitality and future growth of our Downtown area," Ed Fritsch, president and CEO of Highwoods, says in a statement.

"This agreement will allow us to significantly enhance our Raleigh presence while giving us the additional offices and conference facilities we really need," adds Joseph B. Dempster, Poyner & Spruill's managing partner.

Highwoods Properties has been busy lately. Since Jan. 1, 2005, according to the company, Highwoods has either announced or began $361 million of new development in 11 states. The properties, totaling 2.2 million, are currently 55% preleased, it adds.

The new developments include a 91,000-sf, $21.7-million class A office building for the GSA which will be leased by US Department of Homeland Security in Atlanta; the $41-million Highwoods Bay Center I, a 209,000-sf, multi-tenant office building in Tampa's Westshore submarket; and Capital Plaza III, a 15-story asset with 180,000 sf of class A office space in Orlando, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.

"Our strategic plan calls for us to have started between $400 million and $500 million of new development by year-end 2008, and we are confident we will meet that goal," Fritsch adds. "We remain committed to developing high-quality, differentiating properties in infill locations where there is strong demand and high barriers to entry."