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Raleigh, Wake County

Raleigh: Life Time Living tower breaks ground at The Exchange

Dewitt Carolinas and Life Time marked the Oct. 29 groundbreaking for a 20-story Midtown tower with 289 apartments and an 80,000-square-foot athletic club. Axios and Business North Carolina independently reported the ceremony.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Alexandru Stanciu · Published

Downtown Raleigh buildings under a blue sky

File photo: James Willamor (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • Dewitt Carolinas and Life Time, in a company release dated Oct. 29, 2026, said they celebrated the official groundbreaking that day for Life Time Living at The Exchange Raleigh.Confirmed by Dewitt Carolinas / Life Time news release, Oct. 29, 2026
  • Axios Raleigh, writing Oct. 30, independently reported that Dewitt Carolinas broke ground Thursday on the Life Time Living tower in Midtown Raleigh.Confirmed by Axios Raleigh, Oct. 30, 2026
  • Business North Carolina, also writing Oct. 29, independently reported that the groundbreaking took place Thursday afternoon.Confirmed by Business North Carolina, Oct. 29, 2026
  • The developer release, Axios, and Business North Carolina all describe a 20-story tower with 289 apartments for lease.Confirmed by Dewitt Carolinas release; Axios; Business North Carolina
  • The Exchange project's Life Time Living fact sheet, checked Nov. 3, places the building at 1110 Oculus Drive, Raleigh, and lists 279 units on floors 4–19 plus 10 penthouse suites on floor 20, which adds to 289.Confirmed by The Exchange Raleigh Life Time Living fact sheet
  • The same fact sheet and the developer release put an 80,000-square-foot Life Time athletic country club in the tower. Axios and Business North Carolina independently printed the 80,000-square-foot club figure.Confirmed by Dewitt Carolinas release; fact sheet; Axios; Business North Carolina
  • The developer release and the fact sheet put a 40,000-square-foot rooftop beach club with pools and pickleball courts. Business North Carolina independently printed that 40,000-square-foot rooftop figure with pools and pickleball.Confirmed by Dewitt Carolinas release; fact sheet; Business North Carolina
  • Axios wrote that the bottom three floors will hold the Life Time club and that Life Time will operate a rooftop beach club. Business North Carolina wrote that the athletic club occupies the first three floors, with apartments starting on the fourth floor.Confirmed by Axios; Business North Carolina
  • The developer release, the fact sheet, and Axios all put a fall 2028 completion target. Business North Carolina wrote that the tower will not be complete for another two years from the Oct. 29 ceremony.Confirmed by Dewitt Carolinas release; fact sheet; Axios; Business North Carolina
  • The developer release said the tower is the centerpiece of Phase Two of The Exchange Raleigh, a 40-acre, $1 billion master-planned project. Axios and Business North Carolina independently used the billion-dollar Exchange framing.Confirmed by Dewitt Carolinas release; Axios; Business North Carolina
  • Business North Carolina put the Life Time tower itself at about $200 million. REBusinessOnline, posting Nov. 3 and citing Triangle Business Journal, independently wrote that the companies plan to invest more than $200 million in the 20-story tower.Confirmed by Business North Carolina; REBusinessOnline, citing Triangle Business Journal
  • The fact sheet and Business North Carolina name Consigli as the general contractor. The developer release quotes Consigli Construction's chief executive on the project.Confirmed by Fact sheet; Business North Carolina; Dewitt Carolinas release
  • The fact sheet lists apartments from 610 to 2,040 square feet. Business North Carolina printed the same size range and said about 75% of the units have balconies, citing Dewitt Carolinas president Steven Beattie.Confirmed by Fact sheet; Business North Carolina
  • Neither the developer release, Axios, Business North Carolina, nor the fact sheet printed rental rates for Raleigh. Business North Carolina wrote that Dewitt is waiting until closer to opening before disclosing rents.Confirmed by Business North Carolina; comparison with Dewitt Carolinas release, Axios, and fact sheet

Still unknown

  • Exact rental rates. No page we read listed them for Raleigh
  • A day-by-day construction schedule beyond the fall 2028 target
  • Whether the athletic club and the apartments will open on the same day

What this means for you

Instructions from The Exchange Raleigh Life Time Living fact sheet

This site is not Dewitt Carolinas, Life Time, or the City of Raleigh. For project notes, use theexchangeraleigh.com/life-time-living-fact-sheet. This is not an emergency service. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

What happened

In Raleigh, Dewitt Carolinas and Life Time marked the groundbreaking Thursday, Oct. 29, for Life Time Living at The Exchange in Midtown.

A company release dated that day called the ceremony the official start of the tower. Axios Raleigh, writing Friday, independently reported that Dewitt broke ground Thursday. Business North Carolina, also writing Thursday, independently put the ceremony in the afternoon.

Those accounts, and The Exchange project's posted sheet, describe a 20-story building with 289 apartments for lease. That sheet lists 1110 Oculus Drive and splits the count into 279 units on floors 4 through 19 plus 10 penthouses on the top floor.

The same pages put an 80,000-square-foot Life Time athletic club in the tower. Axios and Business North Carolina place that club on the lower floors, with apartments above. They also describe a 40,000-square-foot rooftop beach club with pools and pickleball, matching the developer notice.

Fall 2028 is the completion target on the developer notice, the Exchange sheet, and Axios. Business North Carolina said the building still has about two years of work from the ceremony date.

The developer notice frames the tower as Phase Two of The Exchange, a 40-acre project it calls a $1 billion plan. Axios and Business North Carolina used that billion-dollar Exchange framing as well. Separately, Business North Carolina put the Life Time tower itself at about $200 million. REBusinessOnline, posting Tuesday and citing Triangle Business Journal, used more than $200 million for the same tower. The Dewitt release and Axios did not print that dollar figure.

Consigli is named as the general contractor on the Exchange sheet and by Business North Carolina. No source we opened listed Raleigh rents. Business North Carolina said Dewitt is waiting until closer to opening to disclose them.

This site is not Dewitt Carolinas, Life Time, or the city. For posted project notes, use the Exchange fact sheet. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

Related coverage

What we don't know yet

Rents are not posted. The sources we opened do not say whether the club and the apartments will open on the same day.

Photos

Text-only. No developer or outlet renderings are used here.

Why it matters

Midtown Raleigh is adding a large residential tower tied to a national athletic club brand. Readers need the Oct. 29 groundbreaking, the 289-unit and 80,000-square-foot club figures shared across the developer and independent outlets, and that fall 2028 is the posted target, not an opening date yet.

Updates

  1. Nov 3, 2026, 6:15 PM

    First file. Dewitt Carolinas and Life Time dated the groundbreaking Oct. 29. Axios and Business North Carolina independently reported the ceremony. Shared figures include 20 stories, 289 apartments, an 80,000-square-foot club, and a fall 2028 target. The about-$200 million line is limited to Business North Carolina and REBusinessOnline citing Triangle Business Journal.

Sources

  1. Dewitt Carolinas and Life Time Break Ground on Life Time Living at The Exchange Raleigh (Dewitt Carolinas news release dated Oct. 29, 2026: official groundbreaking that day; Phase Two of the 40-acre, $1 billion Exchange Raleigh; 80,000-square-foot four-level Life Time athletic country club; 40,000-square-foot rooftop beach club with pools and pickleball; high-end multifamily residences for lease; residences 610 to 2,040 square feet; fall 2028 completion; Consigli Construction quoted; Prime Finance financing partner; NGBS Green and Fitwel certifications planned. Does not print a $200 million tower cost or a street address in the release body we read. Text-only; no developer renderings used.)

    Official sourcePublished by Dewitt Carolinas · Checked Nov 3, 2026, 6:10 PM

  2. Life Time Living at The Exchange fact sheet (The Exchange Raleigh: official groundbreaking Oct. 29, 2026; expected completion fall 2028; 1110 Oculus Drive, Raleigh NC 27609; joint venture Dewitt Carolinas and Life Time; Consigli general contractor; Prime Finance; 470,000 total building GSF; 80,000 athletic country club GSF; 40,000 club amenity deck GSF; 20-story tower; floors 4–19 with 279 residential units; floor 20 with 10 penthouse suites; rooftop beach club. Text-only; no site renderings used.)

    Official sourcePublished by The Exchange Raleigh / Dewitt Carolinas · Checked Nov 3, 2026, 6:10 PM

  3. Dewitt Carolinas breaks ground on new Life Time Living apartment tower (Axios Raleigh, Zachery Eanes, Oct. 30, 2026: broke ground Thursday; 20-story Life Time Living tower; third vertical project at The Exchange with 1000 Social and One Renaissance Center; 289-unit tower; 80,000-square-foot Life Time health club on bottom three floors; rooftop beach club; expected completion fall 2028; Steven Beattie interview lines on land assembled since 1999. Does not print a $200 million figure or 1110 Oculus Drive. Text-only; no Axios or Dewitt renderings used.)

    Published by Axios Raleigh · Checked Nov 3, 2026, 6:10 PM

  4. The Exchange Raleigh breaks ground on luxury fitness club, apartments concept (Business North Carolina, Kevin Ellis, Oct. 29, 2026: groundbreaking Thursday afternoon on the $200 million project; start of second phase of The Exchange Raleigh; 80,000-square-foot athletic club on first three floors; 40,000-square-foot rooftop beach club with pools and pickleball; 289 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments from the fourth floor, including penthouses; 610 to 2,040 square feet; 75% have balconies per Steven Beattie; rents not disclosed yet; Consigli general contractor; Exchange plan figures for office, residential, hotel, and retail. Text-only; no magazine renderings used.)

    Published by Business North Carolina · Checked Nov 3, 2026, 6:10 PM

  5. Life Time, Dewitt Carolinas Break Ground on $200M Residential Tower in Raleigh (REBusinessOnline, John Nelson, Nov. 3, 2026: citing Triangle Business Journal for more than $200 million into the 20-story tower; 80,000-square-foot athletic club; 40,000-square-foot rooftop beach club; 289 apartments 610 to 2,040 square feet; Consigli; Phase II of $1 billion, 40-acre Exchange; delivery fourth-quarter 2028. Text-only; no trade renderings used.)

    Published by REBusinessOnline, citing Triangle Business Journal · Checked Nov 3, 2026, 6:10 PM

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