Roy Carroll, the former owner of the Rhino Times, has just announced some extremely big plans to enhance a large swath of downtown Greensboro.
The new multi-use development – “Carroll at Parkside” – will be built at the intersection of Eugene and Bellemeade and will feature a nine-story AC Marriot hotel with 159 rooms.
When Carroll makes a real estate move, it’s usually a big one – and the coming Carroll at Parkside will include a stylish lobby bar as well as a rooftop restaurant – “The Bristol.”
In addition to the hotel rooms, the project also includes roughly 16,000 square feet of retail space, 337 apartment units and 4,500 square feet of event space.
Carroll Companies stated that Parkside “is poised to further activate and invigorate this vibrant area” of downtown.
It’s a big project, but the timeline is ambitious nevertheless: Carroll estimates it will take about 24 to 30 months to complete.
The company also announced on Friday, Aug. 30, that it’s set to begin work on the project “as soon as possible.”
The Carroll Companies added that the company is “dedicated to enhancing downtown Greensboro,” and is “thrilled” to announce the upcoming mixed-use area.
Founded and headquartered in Greensboro more than three decades ago, The Carroll Companies has since grown over the years into a huge real estate conglomerate that specializes in land development, construction and property management.
Currently, the company has a total estimated valuation of over $5 billion.
So, a project of this size is old hat for Roy Carroll who loves to go big.
The company’s announcement of the new mega project reads, “Building on the success of our nearby projects, Hyatt Place Greensboro Downtown and Carroll at Bellemeade Apartments, we are confident that Carroll at Parkside will meet the community’s needs and exceed expectations. This development not only fulfills the demand for quality living and hospitality but also addresses specific gaps in downtown’s offerings. For instance, our rooftop restaurant will provide a much-needed dining option on Mondays when many other establishments are closed, as well as a unique weekend brunch experience that we believe will quickly become a favorite among locals and visitors alike.”
The announcement noted that downtown residents, businesses and others will no doubt have some questions regarding the project, and The Carroll Companies want to assure the community that their vision is “to create spaces that complement and enhance the existing downtown atmosphere.”
Since, currently, most of Greensboro’s downtown activity is centered around Elm Street, Carroll at Parkside will help distribute foot traffic in a more even manner across the downtown area. Doing so is expected to reduce congestion on roads and sidewalks making bigger swaths of downtown Greensboro more vibrant and attractive.
The company concluded its announcement in this way: “We appreciate the community’s interest and are excited to bring this project to life. We look forward to continuing our work in downtown Greensboro, contributing to its growth, and offering spaces where residents and visitors can thrive.”
Carroll, who has largely made his fortune in apartment complexes, is now becoming quite well-known nationally as his giant projects have extended well beyond Greensboro and the Tar Heel State.
In 2022, Forbes magazine featured Greensboro’s Carroll in its cover story on Monday, Dec. 5. under the headline, “The Guru Of Greensboro: How A College Dropout Built A $2.9 Billion Real Estate Empire.”
In that article, Forbes compared Carroll’s investment philosophy in real estate to that of Warren Buffett’s in stocks.
It read: “Like the Oracle of Omaha, Roy Carroll has made a fortune buying low and rarely selling. His sweet spot: cheap land that he’s turned into lucrative apartment complexes across the Southeast.”
That Forbes magazine piece also noted that Carroll bought his first house when he was just 14, made some repairs on the home, and sold it for a profit that he used to buy a Ford Mustang. He did so despite the fact that he wasn’t old enough to drive.
Now that he is old enough to drive, he has acquired quite a few limited-edition Ferraris that could, of course, leave his old Ford Mustang in the dust.
I wish him well in this new project. This city needs all the help it can get. I hope the DEI council doesn’t step in and start advising how he has to build.
All the help it can! We are the primer city in this area code and there is 1.5 million people in it. People just say anything
DEI council? No matter how much you wish to go back to the good old days when you could have enslaved people for cheap labor while you sit own lazy butt doing nothing, we’re not going back. So either get over it, or find a place to live.
Gosh Thomas were you ever an enslaved person. If not why such a chip on your shoulder
What does slavery have to do with it?
Mr. Cozart I know a lot of people who are not slaves that do nothing but sit on their lazy butts and wait for the government check every month. Most if not all are democrats. Maybe the clock should be turned back to when people had to work to survive and not feel so entitled
DEI COUNCIL???
You mean the ELECTED CITY COUNCIL that represents the interests of everyone, not just people like you?
Great idea. But what about helping the homeless? The homeless problem is right there in downtown Greensboro
I read the entire article and was feeling pretty good then I read this comment. Roy Carroll likely gives more to charitable causes in and around Greensboro than most of the others combined. This project itself is helping the homeless by providing a multitude of jobs as well as providing a beautiful landscape that will encourage many to relocate a short distance away. Perhaps that will help those who live and work downtown to be subjected to less harassment and violence if the homeless are employed or ran further from downtown. Perhaps you should read the Forbes article that explains Carroll is a self-made man. I suppose the question is what are you doing to help the homeless in downtown Greensboro? Roy Carroll is the Pied Piper of Greensboro. Perhaps you just aren’t on the same sheet of music.
Ann doesn’t see the big picture because she’s micro-focused on her own issues. Ann needs to welcome things like this, and it might help her see there are other issues that are as important, may more so.
“As soon as possible”…LOL. Hasn’t he already announced a big project for that site that never happened?
This is great news for Greensboro and the taxpayers. Hopefully we will have removed the current city council and the project will be able to move thru without all the normal problems and cards being played to satisfy the few.
lol lol lol in a presidential election election year in a county with a population that is 42% black. Well they say if you’re going to dream dream big
———
For BigCity everything revolves around race. He is fixated on it to the exclusion of everything else. He’s black himself, and has what we call in England a “chip on his shoulder”.
Seek counseling. It might help.
It’s hard to see how downtown Greensboro can draw enough patrons regularly to fill the hotel rooms currently available and soon to be available. Adding another 169 units into the mix makes that even harder to see. Kudos to Roy Carroll for his ability to see value in areas that others do not. He may prove he is correct again, but it is hard to see this as a positive for all the current hotels in Greensboro. Simply on a supply and demand basis, this could be too much of a good thing.
The Hotels Stay occupied downtown and with new attractions coming all the time I’m sure they will have no problem. Thank you sir but we don’t need your concern trolling we are good .
City exactly what “new attractions “ are you talking about Please enlighten us.
City please enlighten us to all the “new attractions “ in downtown you speak about
Time will tell, just noted that the Pro Forma calculations for every other hotel in the city area have just changed. Not sure how that’s trolling…..but so be it.
your opinion is worth no more than anyone else’s, including mine.
Well good for him!!! Now if we could just convince him to put some of that big money on the south side of Greensboro!
Why would he.
If there is a good opportunity to earn money, I suppose he would.
I mean, downtown is a lot closer to the south side than a lot of spots he could have developed with this…?
Have you ever tried to find a good hotel on the north side of Greensboro? There’s a little boutique one on battleground but not much to choose from.
Were you expecting a high rise on Florida St?
It’s great as is! Fingers crossed this will be a quality improvement and not cheap looking new construction.
Obviously you know nothing about Mr. Carroll or his projects. Everything he builds is quality and I’m pretty sure the word cheap is not in his vocabulary
The downtown area is in need for some high-rise buildings for better attraction. Businesses and mixed development needs to be built on exits off the Interstate that doesn’t have anything. As far as the homeless, the city should create a rehabilitation facility that will help people to get back on their feet. For the ones that are able to work, the city gets a part of their check for supplying them food, room and board. Once they have established a job and they choose to stay longer, they will have to pay rent.
herd cats.
All this vitriol over a local self-made man putting his money where his mouth is just proves how truly divided we are today.
Bon chance, Roy. You’ll need to hire some of your own security people – to include parking, too.