By: Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
A wave of housing development is reshaping southeast Raleigh, with one ambitious project aiming to meet the increasing demand for housing while enhancing the community’s vibrancy.
Starting on New Bern Avenue and extending into South Fisher Street, the area is being redeveloped into the new Lucas Point neighborhood, which will feature a significant number of affordable housing units.
This development will include 80 units of affordable housing, designed to offer accessible living options for residents. Additionally, the project will incorporate innovative shelf parking within four or five-story buildings, providing breathtaking views of Southeast Raleigh and the downtown skyline. With construction set to begin in the third quarter of 2025, this initiative is poised to transform the community, fostering growth in a dynamic part of the city.
Zell Lucas, president of Lucas Transportation and the driving force behind this new development, shared his journey with a group of onlookers as he oversaw the demolition of the first house at 12 S. Fisher Street.
“I came here when I left Wilson, North Carolina when I got out of school there, came here to this neighborhood. I came here driving my ‘56 Pontiac with $27 in my pocket. I slept in my car,” Lucas said. “It took us two months just to get a permit to take this house down. Can you believe this ol’ country boy right out of the tobacco fields having a street named after his family?”
City Councilmember Corey Branch, representing District C, attended the demolition and shared the mindset he has embraced while working with Lucas on the new development project.
“Generational wealth: that’s what it’s about when we talk about our district and we talk about Southeast Raleigh,” Branch said.
James Montague, a Southeast Raleigh native and President of F7 Development International, is collaborating with Lucas as an investor and overseeing residential development as the general contractor.
“Developers are afraid of this area. They call it the ‘hood’. This is the hood, it is the neighborhood. And we’re going to turn this neighborhood into the Hollywood,” Lucas said as the demolition commenced.
The event comes six months after a gathering of primarily Black retirees and senior citizens at Martin Street Baptist Church in Southeast Raleigh, where they explored strategies to lower property taxes through Wake County’s appeals process. Rising property values in their neighborhoods have led to increased taxes, making it challenging for residents on fixed incomes to make ends meet.
Lucas Point isn’t the only new development planned for this area of the Triangle. There are also plans for nearly 300 new townhomes near Whitfield Road, with construction expected to begin in early 2025. Additionally, NC Central Basketball Head Coach Lavelle Moton is collaborating with Raleigh Raised Development (RRD), the Raleigh Area Land Trust (RALT), and Haven Design to create an 18-unit affordable housing community on 1.7 acres of city-owned property.
