New York Times Visits The Triangle
Today’s
New York Times features a 36-hour visit
to some of the Triangle’s eclectic offerings. From Poole’s to the Scrap Exchange to the Eno River Park, the writer bounced along several interesting stops. (The Cat’s Cradle story isn’t quite right, though. Nirvana and Pearl Jam both played to very full houses in the same summer, 1991.)
Over A Barrel
The
News & Observer
has a good story about the Barrel Monster that appeared on Hillsborough Street. On of many gags from the
nopromiseofsafety
site, the monster made of construction barrel pieces appeared as a work of art. Raleigh PD didn’t seem impressed, and charged Joseph Carnevale with larceny and damage to property.
While these crimes were technically committed, Wake County D.A. Colon Willoughby questions how serious the crime is. In fact one of the commenters at nopromise, Chad, suggested that the monster be the mascot for the DOT. Not a bad idea!
This Teardown Hits Home
Raleigh’s newest teardown is at 428 Drummond Drive (
map it
). The house was built in 1976 and had just over 4,000 square feet plus an unfinished, almost full basement. There were 4BR/3.5Baths, walk up attic, walk-in closets for all bedrooms, upstairs utility room, and 9’ ceilings downstairs. The .93 acre lot backs up to The Greenway, just across Crabtree Creek from St. David’s School. The house is currently being torn down and will be replaced in the next year. Why do I know so much about this house? It is the house in which I grew up.
The surgical disassembly of the house has been interesting. Habitat For Humanity volunteers went in and salvaged nearly every possible component, including doors, windows, electrical wiring, plumbing, and more. After complete removal of all insulation and wallboard, non-essential walls were removed and the wood was salvaged. As the removal of the roof progresses, it seems the deconstruction company is salvaging the mighty joists for the house’s tall roof.
For the record, I have been and still am a supporter of Renew Raleigh’s principles of homeowner’s rights. After being on the market for well over a year, the house finally had a buyer, and he owns the rights to do whatever he wants to with the property. I fully support him in making that address a fine home for another family in the future.
It is quite surreal to see the house come down, though. My mother was the general contractor as the house was built all through the summer after I finished First Grade. As my daughter finishes her own First Grade year, she will see it come down.
Several factors went into the house’s demise. After we lost my father two years ago, it was emotionally the right time to leave. The house, built for a family of four, was not the right place for a widow living alone. It was just too much for one person (and frankly, whoever lives in the much-bigger replacement will have to spend a lot of time/money washing windows, maintaining that yard, cleaning bathrooms – I don’t envy them!). I think the timing of my father’s death was about as bad as it could have been given the slumping real estate market. As the house sat on the market, we all got the feeling this would happen.
I feel like I have a realistic handle on the situation. Let’s face it, on a street full of all-stars, this house was not the street’s finest. Despite needing some TLC, in the grand scheme of things, it was a fine house. Perhaps the biggest enemy of the structure, though, is the property on which it sits. A lot backing up to a nature preserve, in one of Raleigh’s safest ITB neighborhoods, with absolutely no chance of having the setting spoiled by new development is a rare find. These factors presented opportunities for the site that badly outweighed a house with yesterday’s styling and in need of some repairs. It is a similar quandary to the Paschal House in Country Club Hills. Its large lot will eventually be subdivided and the house will be sadly removed, too.
While it is never a joyous occasion to lose a landmark in one’s life, the most disturbing aspect of this “scrape” is that this house simply wasn’t
good enough, in this day and age
? Really? We have a president who recently proclaimed the economy as the country’s worst since the Great Depression. Mind you that was an era where some lost so much that they had a hard time finding food. Our dire situation juxtaposed against the discarding of a pretty nice, big house is difficult to reconcile with the real world.
To make matters worse, the house in which my family lived before we built this one was also torn down this year. It was a house that had problems, and its demise didn’t surprise me. Seeing my only two childhood houses I can remember coming down has been a totally bizarre experience to say the least. Hopefully it will remain a rarity in our society.
Certainly history will offer a full perspective on this and similar situations. Do we prefer that people craving big houses go to Raleigh’s outskirts and advance sprawl or replace our aging structures that do not meet the demands of the market?
The value of “stuff” in our lives is forever redefined. A seminal moment for me, however, was during Hurricane Fran. I stayed in the house with my parents the night of Raleigh’s biggest hurricane. After hours of hearing pounding rain and tall trees falling nearby, we heard a big pine hit the house. Boom, boom, boom it went as it grazed the chimney and the downward sloping far roof edge. As Fran’s eye passed, we ventured outside only to find my 1-year old BMW crushed by three trees.
As the car lay squished like a bug, I felt a strange calm. It was just a thing . Houses are no different. Memories are inside our heads, not in buildings. Our values as a society will ebb and flow, but our interactions, experiences, and accomplishments are what make our lives whole. R.I.P., 428. May your parts continue to fulfill others with great opportunity in this world.
Band Together Features Rusted Root, Saturday
Band Together gives us a chance to live at the intersection of live entertainment and local altruism. Cabarrus Street will be closed off for this Lincoln Theatre outdoor festival-style event. Band Together. Proceeds benefit The Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood, the largest non-profit provider of mental health services exclusively for children up to age 11. Through its clinical and educational programs the Center’s highly-qualified staff provides mental health services to more than 550 children and their parents annually. All mental health services are provided on a sliding scale fee system, based on family income. Nearly 1/4 of families receive services free of charge.
This year’s Band Together NC concert will take place, rain or shine, Saturday, June 6, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. in front of the Lincoln Theatre in downtown Raleigh. Doors will open at 5 p.m. The artist lineup for this year includes Rusted Root, The Rosebuds, Chatham County Line and a late-night, first-come first-serve party with Hobex. Last year’s event with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic attracted more than 3,000 fans.
The event is 21-and older. Doors open at 5pm for the 6-11p, rain-or-shine event. There is a great lineup of bands, including:
- Chatham County Line – One of the area’s best bluegrass, alt-country acts
- The Rosebuds – They make music that embodies that certain spirit—youthful, but complex. Not at all fairytale, but magical. Not realistic, but real. Perhaps the way youth actually is. Their recently released their 4th and very different album, Life Like.
- Rusted Root – 3 Million+ albums sold, a new May 09 release titled “Stereo Rodeo”, platinum recording artists with 9 releases, your favorite college song , new music and faithful fan favorites … coming to Raleigh on June 6 th .
- Hobex – soul and funk and spirit and youthful energy. They are the kind of local, homegrown entertainers that make us proud to live here. This will be a late-night, first-come first-serve party
Sauced Pizza Coming to Glenwood South
A New York styled pizza restaurant is coming to the former Enoteca Vin space.
Sauced Pizza
is the creation of Mike Lombardo and Kurt Lam, and will feature pizza by the slice, appetizers, calzones, and signature pizzas. The restaurant will open late this summer.
Here is more from the restaurant’s press release:
Mike Lombardo (Lucky B’s) and Kurt Lam have announced a new venue that brings New York-Style pizza, a complementary lunch and dinner menu, and a casual, yet upscale full bar to the popular Downtown Raleigh district known as Glenwood South.
The eatery – opening this summer – will feature not only pizza by the slice, but also appetizers, salads, calzones, and other casual-fare menu items. An emphasis on fresh ingredients and detailed attention to service and experience is what owners Lombardo and Lam are paying careful attention to, ensuring customers a dining and bar experience that will warrant many returned visits.
“I’ve been in the bar and nightlife business for 12 years now here on Glenwood South and I’ve always felt like a New York-Style pizza restaurant would be successful, and I still do”, says Lombardo. “This is something that I know this market will appreciate – not only from a nightlife-perspective, but as a lunch, dinner, and late-night establishment catering to customers of all types. We want families to be just as welcome and comfortable here as the customers who will be in for a late-night slice.”
Bon Appetit Names The Pit to a Top Ten
The July issue of Bon Appétit magazine is on the shelves. Inside, on page 20, is a feature on the best new barbecue restaurants in America. Included in
the list of ten
is
The Pit
in downtown Raleigh.
Deli To Replace Petit Bistro
About a month ago, Le Petit Bistro closed their location in Crabtree Valley Mall’s excellent food court. It had nothing to do with that store’s repeated “B” sanitation grades, though. The chain is pulling most of its shopping mall locations and going for transit terminals and specialty village settings. During the summer the space will be filled by “a New York-styled deli that only has one location in North Carolina”. Most likely it is the aggressively-expanding New York NY Fresh Deli which opened in downtown Apex a few months ago.
Hotel Possibly Planned for Glenwood South
According to the agenda for an upcoming Board of Adjustment meeting, a 9-story hotel is being planned for the corner of Glenwood and West Johnson Streets in downtown Raleigh. The lot is currently occupied by the Abbey Carpet store, across Johnson Street from Red Room. The variance is being requested because of an appeal by the property owners for a variance to the 1|1 stepback for buildings in excess of 40 feet. Plans for this 80-foot building call for no stepback. While mixed-use has been a commonly used development scheme for lots this size, Raleigh certainly needs more downtown hotel space, and rumors point this way. The meeting takes place on Monday morning, June 8.
Site Four Goes Back to Square One
The protracted saga for Empire Properties’ current Site Four plan is over as the Raleigh City Council adopted the city manager’s recommendation to terminate the contract regarding the property. The meeting’s agenda, released last week, shows:
On August 5, 2008, the City Council agreed to amend the Development Agreement with Empire Properties regarding the development of a boutique hotel and residential project on
the property known as Site #4 at the corner of Lenoir and Salisbury Streets. The amendment adjusted the allowable uses on the site and re-set the development milestone calendar to allow a four-month extension of the previously agreed-upon development milestones. This amendment also included an agreement to share costs for the widening of Salisbury Street and an agreement not to seek any further extensions to the milestone calendar. The developer has missed milestones in April (Building Permit Approval and Real Estate Closing), and clearly will miss the construction start date in May. No
substantial action has taken place on the preliminary approval of the project since late last
year. The developer indicates his desire to continue to work toward developing the
project, but in the current lending environment cannot commit to a specific time frame.
Recommendation:
a. That the City cancels the Development Agreement with Empire Properties at this time;
b. That the City considers re-issuing an RFP for development of the property in the
future in a better development environment;
c. That Empire Properties be encouraged to resubmit the current plan or a revised plan
upon issuance of the future RFP.
So an RFP ratified by Raleigh on March 7, 2007 goes back to the drawing board. The Stephen B. Jacobs -designed boutique hotel/condo project (that was to feature a rooftop restaurant and pool and an external glass elevator) was an excellent dream. To be fair, Empire Properties may find financing in the future and revive the plan. However it is sad to see the City of Raleigh lose at least 3 years on developing a key piece to the puzzle for reviving the Civic Center area.
When the city gets around to creating a new RFP process, hopefully something viable and charming will be built. We had a good plan in our hands, and unfortunately, the misgivings of some in the USA, that had absolutely nothing to do with the talent and opportunity in Raleigh, doomed a nice opportunity (and stuck us with only the Marriott to look at).
Big Saturday Features Loads To Do
One could call this the official first summer weekend in Raleigh, because there is more to do than most of us can handle! Parking for all of the downtown events is, basically, “anywhere”, but don’t forget about riding the free R-Line bus .
Today’s forecast: Mostly Sunny with a high of 84!
Mosaic Spring Music Fest
The 11-day Mosaic Spring Music Fest kicked off on Thursday and features local music talent on each day. Today’s offering is called “Turntables on the Hudson Meets Julius the Mad Thinker”. Here is the schedule:
- 2-6p Rich L/ Morey
- 6-10p Mariano (Toth)
- 10-11p Julius the Mad Thinker
- 11p-12a Mariano
- 12-1a Nickodemus
- 1-2:30a Julius the Mad Thinker
The event takes place at the Mosaic Wine Bar & Lounge (Jones/Glenwood, across from 518)
Bud Light Downtown Live
The seven-date, free concert series known at Bud Light Downtown Live kicks off today and features “Multi-platinum grunge rockers” Candlebox. There is more to the day, however, as a full day of music kicks off at 2pm.
- 2:00 PM – Big Rick and the Bombers
- 3:30 PM – The Jackets
- 4:30 PM – The Last Hour
- 5:30 PM – Old Habits
- 6:30 PM – Jimmie’s Chicken Shack
- 7:30 PM – Parmalee
-
9:00 PM – Candlebox
Monster Second Stage (All day during breaks) – Elysium
Here are some more details about the event:
Family Event: Downtown Live is a family event. From 2pm until 7pm there is a huge Downtown Live kids zone complete with inflatables, bouncing houses, slides, and pony rides. Also, expect visits from many of the area sports teams. All ages are welcomed at Downtown Live, but you must be 21 to consume alcohol. If you plan on consuming alcohol, please remember to bring a valid I.D.
What can I bring inside the park?
You MAY bring:
- One bottled water
- Needs for children (i.e. diapers, strollers, etc.)
- Blankets and chairs
- Umbrellas
You may NOT bring :
- Professional recording or camera equipment. Professional cameras are defined as cameras with a detachable lens. Small digital and phone cameras are okay.
- Food or Beverage (including alcohol). There are a wide variety of local food vendors set up inside the park, in additional beer and beverage stations.
- Pets, even if on a leash. No pets allowed of any kind.
- No coolers, bags, picnics, bikes, rollerblades.
Got To Be N.C. Festival
Celebrate North Carolina agriculture at the Got To Be N.C. Festival . Taste the best foods from the mountains to the coast in the Got to Be NC Agriculture trade show in the Expo Building. Sample the thousands of foods raised here in the state and buy some to take home. Sauces, candies, nuts, meats, snacks and beverages will all be available for your sensory safari.
There will be a chef’s stage featuring the following:
Saturday
- 1p Lucindy Willis ( The Yancey House , Yanceyville)
- 2p Adam Rose ( Il Palio , Chapel Hill)
- 3p & 4p Wayne Judd (Cook It Up with Chef Wayne)
- 5p Jason Smith ( 18 Seaboard , Raleigh)
Sunday
- 1p Chuck Nelson ( The Table at Crestwood , Boone)
- 2p James Welch ( Crippen’s , Blowing Rock)
- 3p Shane Ingram ( Four Square , Durham)
- 4p Michelle Briggs ( Inn on Church , Hendersonville)
- 5p Tim Grandinetti ( WS Prime , Winston-Salem)
You can also tour the antique farm equipment preserved and restored by collectors all over North Carolina and neighboring states. Antique tractor clubs from across the state will be on hand with knowledgeable collectors and restorers ready to answer questions. Look at over 1,000 pieces of farm equipment on display. Then see those antique tractors pull in the Grandstand shows.
There are rides, many beach, country, and bluegrass bands, and tons of food! (Last year’s festival, unlike the State Fair for the past dozen-or-so years, featured a double-ferris wheel.
Admission is free . Rides, grandstand events, food, and games are pay-as-you-go. The event is taking place at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.
Blue Jackets Pushing for Arena Buyout
The cash-strapped Columbus Blue Jackets are pushing for the county to buy Columbus, OH’s Nationwide Arena . Business First of Columbus reports:
Nationwide Arena is owned by a partnership of Nationwide Insurance and Dispatch Printing Co., with the insurer holding a 90 percent stake. The Blue Jackets lease the nine-year-old arena and operate it, but revenue from events isn’t covering operating costs , said Blue Jackets President Mike Priest. That’s forcing the club to take money from hockey operations to make up the difference, he said.
The Blue Jackets are proposing the county adopt a “sin tax” (beer, wine and cigarettes) in order for the county to afford the purchase. The nine-year old arena cost $175million to build; all privately financed. Unlike the RBC Center, the Blue Jackets are their building’s only tenant.
New Riders of the Purple Sage Coming to Pour House
The New Riders of the Purple Sage will make their return to Raleigh on August 6 with a show at the Pour House in downtown Raleigh.
Spize Cafe Coming to Fayetteville Street
The former America’s Pita Grille space will soon be gutted to prepare for the Spize Cafe. The restaurant will feature a menu of Pan-Asian flavors in baguettes, soups, salads, and fresh rolls. There will be a “Free Tasting day” in late July, just before the restaurant’s grand opening.
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