That is an excellent question… Which goes to show that urban living has a price and people should always remember that before buying a condo in the heart of the city. Also, developers should always consider creating a buffer by adding at least one level of office/commercial space between the street-level and the first residential floor.

Anyway, I hope the rumor is just a rumor, but given Dana’s good sources I am afraid this is not the case.

FYI, the Hudson (and Yancy’s space in particular) was not designed for this type (music) of occupancy. Yancy’s went against original code of the space by adding music and attempting to dampen the sound. After the fact doesn’t always work when a space was intended otherwise.

The Problem from the Beginning: This is the heart of downtown, this building design was a joke to begin with (5 stories on prime real estate). City Council should have selected the design from the MA. group (40 stories) years ago (I remember when that plan was presented, EXCELLENT LOOKING BUILDING and IDEA – 1st class building with leading edge technology – city council said “we are not ready for this type of building” – not ready? – we have NC State and RTP around the corner – leading edge technology institutions.

The ground retail would have been available, could have the parking deck above (as is RBC Plaza), with the condo’s well above the street noise.

Another downtown/city council blunder (and they continue to make blunders today, NEVER learning from experience). The music is moving out of the Hudson, what convention goer will drive to hear that music (NOONE WILL!) at a BBQ joint (great idea).

Sound is as much an issue out in the sticks as it is in an urban environment. The only difference is, in the sticks, most sound is natural, whereas in town, it comes mostly from we humanoids.

That being said, there are ways to soundproof that are overlooked and taken for granted all the time, new construction or not. Thing is, if we are going to attempt to be green and curb sprawl, urban density is the best option. Which means more noise, and worth an investment to reduce as much as possible, if for sanity’s sake alone. It’s much cheaper on the front end to do it right (i.e. effectively) than to spend tens of thousands trying to fix it later. I would gladly pay more for a project that uses products like Quiet Rock and sound insulating windows than go nuts listening to everyone else’s TV.