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Construction began October 29, 2026, on a 20-story Life Time Living tower at The Exchange Raleigh, bringing 289 planned rental apartments and an 80,000-square-foot athletic club to Midtown.
A rooftop beach club with pools and pickleball courts is also in the plans.
But there's one number prospective renters still don't have.
The monthly rent.
The roughly $200 million project introduces a different housing option near North Hills: apartments integrated with a full-scale athletic club and premium membership access.
Developers estimate approximately two years to completion. That's a construction estimate, not a confirmed opening or move-in date.
For someone considering Midtown Raleigh apartments, the groundbreaking creates a choice worth exploring. Would a future Life Time Living lease offer enough convenience and usable amenities to justify its total cost? Or would renting or buying nearby provide the same everyday benefits without tying housing to a particular club?
The answers won't come from the rooftop pool alone. They depend on what the eventual lease includes, what costs extra and which neighborhood amenities people can already use without living in the tower.
What Life Time Living Is Building at The Exchange Raleigh
According to Business North Carolina's October 29 groundbreaking report, DeWitt Carolinas is developing the approximately $200 million project with Life Time as its athletic-club and residential brand partner. Consigli is the general contractor.
The reported plans call for 289 one-, two- and three-bedroom rental apartments, including penthouses, ranging from approximately 610 to 2,040 square feet.
The first three floors of the building are planned for the 80,000-square-foot Life Time athletic club, with apartments beginning on the fourth floor.
The plans also call for a 40,000-square-foot rooftop beach club with pools and pickleball facilities.
This isn't an apartment building that happens to include a fitness room. The athletic club is a central part of the development, physically integrated with the residences.
The 20-story tower is also one piece of a much larger project.
The Exchange Raleigh encompasses approximately 40 acres in Midtown East, around St. Albans Drive and Social Street, east of North Hills.
The 1000 Social office building opened in late 2024, and the existing One Renaissance building has been renovated. The broader development includes restaurant and retail activity, with additional residential, commercial, hospitality and park components planned.
The $200 million figure applies to the Life Time tower-and-club phase, not the entire master plan.
And the 289 apartments aren't being offered as for-sale condominiums. The developer's broader residential plans describe possible ownership housing separately, but those plans don't establish available condo inventory, pricing or delivery dates.
Earlier project documents also described a smaller Life Time building. The 20-story height and 289-apartment count reflect the latest October groundbreaking reporting rather than those older plans.
Construction is underway, but neither the apartments nor the rooftop facilities are ready for residents. The approximately two-year estimate doesn't establish whether the club and residences will open simultaneously.
What Would a Life Time Living Lease Include?
The development's distinguishing feature may be less about apartment square footage than what residents are expected to access downstairs.
The developer's Life Time Living residential page describes planned Diamond-level access to Life Time facilities, including fitness classes, the athletic club, spa access and the rooftop beach club.
Imagine a Midtown renter who finishes work and regularly heads to the gym.
Instead of driving to a separate fitness facility, that person could potentially take a class in the same building and return upstairs afterward.
For someone who uses those facilities several times a week, that convenience may have real value.
For someone whose preferred recreation is walking outside or visiting other parts of Raleigh, it may matter less.
The developer hasn't disclosed Raleigh rental rates or the complete terms of the future membership package.
Diamond-level access doesn't necessarily mean every spa treatment, class reservation, guest visit or additional service will be included without another charge. The available descriptions also don't establish how access will work for every member of a resident's household.
To compare Life Time Living with another Midtown apartment and a separate fitness membership, a renter would need the base rent, mandatory fees, utilities, parking charges, deposit, lease duration and included benefits. Club hours, reservation requirements and guest privileges would matter to anyone planning to use the facilities regularly. Until those terms are available, a reliable cost comparison isn't possible.
And buying a nearby home wouldn't automatically include the residential membership package. Homeownership and club membership would be separate agreements, with access governed by Life Time's terms.
The integrated club may distinguish the tower. It doesn't make every amenity at The Exchange exclusive to future residents.
The Exchange Raleigh Already Has Public Spaces and Events
While the Life Time tower is under construction, portions of the larger development are already in use.
In June 2026, DeWitt Carolinas announced its Midweek Mix summer concert series, describing the scheduled shows as free and open to the public.
The developer has also advertised outdoor wellness programming. An official Yoga-Pilates Fusion session was scheduled for September 27 on the lawn outside 1000 Social Street.
A nearby resident could attend a public event when offered without having a Life Time Living lease.
But past programming isn't a promise that the same concerts or classes continue every week. Readers can check The Exchange's current events calendar for announced activities.
September reporting in Midtown Magazine described an interim park space that had opened to serve 1000 Social and One Renaissance. That space is distinct from the four-acre park envisioned in the broader master plan and from Life Time's future rooftop beach club, whose access will depend on its membership and residential terms.
The development also has dining destinations separate from those future club privileges.
The developer's dining directory lists businesses including Peregrine, Toastique and Pranzo Italiano. Visitors should check individual businesses for current hours and access.
The interim park and dining destinations offer reasons to visit without renting in the Life Time tower; public events add another when scheduled.
Renting at Life Time Living vs. Buying or Renting Nearby
Consider someone relocating to Raleigh for work who wants to live in Midtown, near North Hills and the I-440 corridor.
Life Time Living could eventually offer an apartment with fitness and recreation facilities integrated into the building.
Another option is an existing Midtown apartment with separate gym access.
A third is purchasing a condominium, townhouse or detached home nearby.
The daily destinations might be similar, but the financial commitments differ. Buying involves a down payment, mortgage financing, property taxes, homeowners insurance, maintenance and applicable association dues. Ownership can offer a different degree of long-term control, along with responsibilities renters don't generally carry in the same way.
Someone unsure about remaining in Raleigh for several years may prefer the flexibility of renting.
Someone planning to stay and interested in ownership may prefer buying nearby, even without an integrated athletic club.
HomesRaleigh's Renting an Apartment in Raleigh Before Buying and Buying vs. Renting guides explore the broader financial and timing decisions.
Then there's the location itself.
The Exchange sits near North Hills in Midtown East, but nearby addresses can differ in their practical connections to employment, shopping, restaurants and recreation.
A home may look close to a destination on a map while requiring a less convenient trip because of street layouts, intersections, sidewalks or parking arrangements.
The developer's park and recreation plans include future pedestrian and bicycle connections. Those concepts shouldn't be mistaken for completed routes to Raleigh's greenway network.
For someone who expects to walk or cycle regularly, the useful comparison is between actual addresses and existing routes, not simply whether both properties carry a Midtown location.
That applies equally to renters and buyers.
Someone considering the Life Time tower may care most about the convenience of the on-site club. Another household could find that an existing property near its usual destinations already provides the lifestyle it wants.
What Midtown Home Shoppers Can Do Before Life Time Living Opens
Preleasing dates and separate openings for the apartments, athletic club and rooftop facilities haven't been announced. Anyone who needs housing before the estimated completion would need to consider existing Midtown rentals or homes for sale.
HomesRaleigh's Raleigh gyms and fitness guide can help readers explore current fitness options rather than plan around facilities that haven't opened.
For buyers interested in Midtown or surrounding Raleigh neighborhoods, HomesRaleigh's current home search provides a starting point. Visitors can use Sign In and Save Search to track homes matching their preferences.
DeWitt Carolinas and Life Time are the sources for future apartment leasing, club memberships, fees and opening details. Buyers comparing particular Midtown or nearby homes can contact Raleigh Realty about purchase budgets, locations and routes to their regular destinations.
Conceptual editorial watercolor of a modern residential tower, leafy park and mixed-use setting, illustrating the Life Time Living groundbreaking at The Exchange Raleigh. Not an architectural rendering, photograph or verified depiction of the planned development.
