Raleigh Public Record

A bank filed a lawsuit in late January against John Bruckel and David Iauco, developers of Bloomsbury Estates. The seven story estate is perched on the corner of Boylan and Hargett streets overlooking Raleigh’s cityscape and the convention center’s prismatic oak tree.

Despite Bloomsbury Estates’ striking Second Empire design and downtown location, some potential buyers have shown signs of disappointment. hree complaints have been filed against Brucknell since construction of the condominiums began. Two are still pending and one has been voluntarily dismissed. And then there is the most recent complaint.

Business owners along Hillsborough Street across from N.C. State University report that sales are down 30 to 50 percent since construction began over the summer. Construction on the $10-million Hillsborough Street Improvement project began in mid-August and should be done by September 2010.

Despite the barrage of talk about recession, massive bailouts, and staggering unemployment numbers, local Raleigh businesses seem to have quite a rosy outlook. Not booming, not collapsing, but cozy.