Home Show Runs Through Sunday
The NC State Fairgrounds is the site of Fall edition of the
Southern Ideal Home Show
. Tickets are $9 for adults (there is a $1 coupon on their website). The show runs through Sunday.
El Rodeo Grill Brings Mid-Mex to North Raleigh
During the summer Joel Ibarra announced that he was packing up the Jibarra concept and
taking it downtown
. Ibarra owns the El Rodeo at Townridge Square, too, and decided to convert the old Jibarra space into a new ‘tweener concept, the El Rodeo Grill. The concept aims squarely at the mid-level of Raleigh’s restaurants, and is likely to do quite well in its niche.
The new decor is a bit more casual, though many of the fixtures from the chic Jibarra remain. Walls have been painted festive reds, oranges, and greens. The menu (.PDF) is short and simple, and features entrees predominantly in the $10-$16 range. Items such as enchiladas, carne asada, and fajitas populate a menu otherwise full of interesting items.
We started out the evening with the queso, which was good; very runny queso fresco with some green chilis mixed in. The roasted corn and poblano soup hit the spot. It is similar to its counterpart at Mez, but gets a little more personality from its peppers.
For entrees, my wife won with the delicious grilled steak tacos. The smoky salsa and guacamole made the steak come alive. I decided to be adventuresome and get the grilled Steak Parrilla (skirt steak and chorizo, and peppers). The steak was of fair quality and the chorizo was good, but overall the meal just overloaded me with fats and left me feeling bleh. In retrospect I should have ordered Camarones al Gusto (seared shrimp in one of three different sauces). I’m definitely looking forward to trying it next time.
Historic Commission Hosts Community Character Lecture
Tonight from 7:30 to 9:00, the Raleigh Historic Districts Commission presents “The Economic Benefits of Community Character”. Speaking will be Donovan Rykema (Place Economics) and Pratt Cassity (University of Georgia Center for Community Design and Preservation).
Our community character (the physical, natural, social and cultural elements of our city and its neighborhoods) and the strength of our economy are what consistently make Raleigh one of the ten best places to live in the country. Don Rypkema and Pratt Cassity, both national experts in urban design, historic preservation and economics, will discuss how our priorities for community design and preservation affect our city’s economic future.
Continue the conversation with your friends and neighbors over coffee and dessert after the lecture.
The event takes place a the Long View Center, 118 S. Person Street, Raleigh .
Contemporary Art Museum Has New Design
The planned contemporary art museum for Raleigh, CAM, has been through many iterations. First there were a couple of residential tower concepts (
12-story
,
7-story
). Then there was the
Magnolia Bud
concept.
Now this
(.PDF). Tucked away at Harrington and Martin Streets, the latest plans call for a 3-story space that excels in its light space and minimalist lines.
map it
I suppose we must start somewhere. The current plan certainly low-balls where we want to be as a creative city. Perhaps this could be a stepping stone for a great facility in the future. It’s just kind of hard to see our city’s downtown art project, admired by so many, being outdone by Roanoke, Virginia’s new Taubman Museum of Art ( article )
West Nears Completion
The 170-unit West condo building is nearing completion, and anticipates an October 15 occupancy date. The units range 700-1,800 square feet and feature excellent appliances and finishes. The building contains a self-contained parking garage as well as street-level retail on the lower floors. One of West’s best features, however, is its 17th floor. Featuring a rooftop pool, lounge, and workout room, the building’s top floor offers one of Raleigh’s best views in its public areas.
Take a look at the slide show and notice the rooftop programming from the aerials as well as the finishing touches represented in the West Sales Center’s mock units.
Oxford Coming to The Hudson
For some reason my first experiment in mobile posting from the International Festival didn’t go through. I’ll work on that one, but nevertheless… a British Pub named The Oxford is coming to the former Yancy’s space on the Fayetteville Street side of The Hudson. It’s being brought to us by the owners of Mura and Sono.
Raleigh’s Nutty Brainstorm
What’s the big idea? On Tuesday the Raleigh planning department released a fantastic
Big Ideas book
(.pdf) which compiles all the dreams put forth by citizens during a few meetings in the spring. July marked the 220th anniversary of the city’s first “planning meeting” which was held at Isacc Hunter’s Tavern. Accordingly, the first of the open anniversary meetings occurred on April 21 at Tir Na Nog. Citizens toasted the future (complete with Cherry Bounce drinks) with a room full of big ideas.
One of the biggest self-help books out there right now is David Allen’s excellent Getting Things Done . The book contains a chapter on brainstorming where Allen advises a simple download of ideas without contamination of value. To Mitchell Silver and the planning department’s credit, that’s exactly what the city got.
From streetcars to riverwalks to giant squirrels, the ideas put forth at several meetings has been compiled into a fun book produced by the city. There are some nutty ideas (that was acorny joke), however the ones earning near future consideration are:
- Redevelop Capital Boulevard as a real boulevard, using Pigeon House Creek for a river walk.
- Build light rail to run through the Glenwood Avenue corridor, connecting downtown with airport, RTP and Durham. Glenwood Avenue outside of Beltline to become a high intensity mixed-use corridor “Glenwood North.”
- Extend the downtown grid southward. Replace freeway aspects of Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard with walkable streets. Designate a location for a new arena.
- Create an “emerald necklace” of parks and greenways, including “urban greenways.”
- Redevelop Five Points with mixed uses/entertainment, traffic circle, iconic sculpture in a roundabout.
- Emphasize the natural terrain of the city. Daylight all streams and use these and ridges as a natural conduits of health and creativity.
- Use trolley cars to connect Glenwood South, Five Points, Crabtree, Brier Creek, North Hills and beyond (on Six Forks) and Fayetteville Street.
- Reinvent the edges of downtown. Avenues should connect downtown with neighborhoods.
- Develop a transit/green print/sustainable village across rail tracks from State Fairgrounds.
- Illuminate and define downtown with LED lights.
- Create a manmade lake west of the performing arts complex, ringed with an esplanade or boardwalk and a mix of uses (nightlife, restaurants, retail, and housing).
- Build “Triangle Towers” monument project: group of three tall landmark structures to mark downtown, using light and having an observation deck.
- Make the squirrel the city mascot and scatter squirrel statues (all very eclectic) around the City of Raleigh.
- Reestablish downtown library and grocery store. Arts initiatives: installations and murals. Distinct downtown districts.
- Erect a giant digital screen for outdoor video gaming competitions.
- Build a pedestrian and bike-friendly loop road around Crabtree Valley.
- Install a giant digital screen announcing all cultural events.
- Erect a ferris wheel or world’s first ferris wheel/roller coaster combination.
- Build a doll house village.
- Create a theme park near I-540.
Only one chapter of Big Ideas is closed. The city needs more, however, so feel free to keep the creative juices flowing.
615 To Offer Green Living on Boylan
The project formerly known as “
Boylan Flats
” has been redesigned and submitted to the city’s planning department. As seen on Centrepoint Architecture’s website, the new
615 Boylan
design still contains its boxy modern look. However there is much less glass in the new design. The project will have almost 48,000 square feet of space on a 0.20 acre footprint.
Striving for LEED certification, the design puts 15 loft-style condos above two retail spaces. The retail spaces will have an art gallery tenant and Centrepoint’s new home. On the third level, there will be a high-end fitness center and spa. The condos will fill five floors, each with a south-facing, private balcony. The project will feature three separate green roofs, maintained by on-site storm water retention.
The new site plan (.PDF) that is available only addresses access to the upper of two discrete parking levels underneath the structure. The building will sit on a steep (-13%) grade, and it appears that the pedestrian access on Boylan will be flanked by two parking entrances; one up, one down.
Aloft Hotel Coming to 540
The airport area is getting ready to get a new hotel. Narsi Properties has submitted plans for a 5-story, 144-room Aloft hotel at the (big) intersection of I-540 and Aviation Parkway. The
site plan
(,PDF) shows an L-shaped hotel with no apparent pool. There will be, however, three parking spaces reserved for hybrid cars.
9/15 NOTE: Starwood’s official site reports an opening date of 3/1/10.
Charter Square Begins Marketing Push
The first iteration of the Charter Square (Warning: music) marketing website is up. More will be added later, but it looks like the seed to a lot of new info to the project. Another interesting site for the project is Craig Davis Properties’ site.
The second part of the push is the new banner wrap around the project’s protective wall. They weren’t able to get it completely in place for Raleigh Wide Open due to the incoming hurricane, but have it up now.
Broughton High School Parking Lot Plan Denied
Today the Raleigh Planning Commission denied
a plan to expand Broughton High School’s parking needs
(.PDF) by paving the west half of the school’s historic front lawn.
The grounds at Broughton High School have changed quite a bit over the past few years. The football/soccer/band practice field is now a stadium, and cannot be used for non-athletic events. The school is heavily using, instead, the field across St. Mary’s Street in Fletcher Park. One of the alternative plans to the one denied calls for paving the Fletcher Park field and use it as a parking lot.
Principal Roy Teal spoke to the commission and outlined why he supported a new parking lot on the front lawn. Due to an historic preservation ordinance, trailers are no longer on the front lawn. They are now in the rear parking lot where the teachers used to park. The proposed lot was intended to replace the spaces lost due to the trailer relocation. The school now has 2240 students and 60 parking spaces for them. As a result many more students are parking in surrounding neighborhoods. Mr. Teal feels that students and neighbors would be a lot safer if the students remained on school property as much as possible. He also promised excellent landscaping.
The other change that has seriously impacted the parking situation was the conversion of Cameron Street (“the strip”) to parallel parking. Apparently there was an injury accident a few years ago (and resulting legal action) which prompted the city and the school system to complete the long-prescribed transfer of the strip to the domain of the City. Under City of Raleigh guidelines, 90-degree parking must be at least 18′ deep. The road, however, is only 40′ wide, so there isn’t enough width remaining for traffic to allow 90-degree parking. Several Planning Commission members (including some BHS alumni and parents) requested that the City allow a variance allowing the return of 90-degree parking.
—
One alternative mentioned several times throughout the meeting is a parking deck, most likely on the Fletcher site. The last figure I’ve heard is that these cost around $40,000 per space. If the school needs 400 spaces and has 60 spaces, then a 340-space deck would cost nearly $14 million.
Another alternative is to shrink the school’s enrollment. However because of the magnet program bringing in hundreds of students outside of the school’s “natural” district, many classic Broughton neighborhoods are now districted to other schools such as Sanderson and Athens. Magnet students come with a hefty subsidy from the school system, so if the school were pared down, guess which students would be removed (hint: not the magnet students).
One commission member proposed a variance to move the trailers back to the front lawn.
The plan was denied 6-3 based on the commission’s desire to explore other options for gaining spaces.
What I would like to know is why the school’s stadium wasn’t located in Fletcher Park. It is used a couple of dozen times through the year, and its location in the heart of the BHS campus is requiring hundreds of student trips across a busy St. Mary’s street throughout the year. There is even a natural bowl contour in the seldom-used park, and the existing stadium is so cheap, it could easily be dismantled and relocated to Fletcher Park. The main cost at that point is the grading. Here’s a map of the location to which I’m referring ( http://tinyurl.com/5h2hj5 ).
The best solution is to relocate the stadium and allow variances for the return of the front lawn trailers and the 90-degree parking. If that doesn’t satisfy the parking needs, then pave the field across St. Mary’s Street. It wouldn’t be needed for athletics if the old practice field could be used throughout the year.
Hints for Convention Center Going
I am headed out the door to the International Festival and wanted to pass along a few hints to those wanting to attend events this weekend.
- There is a Wachovia ATM just inside the main entrance (Salisbury Street) to the Convention Center (turn right)
- Try parking in the base of the Marriott. The easiest approach is to head downtown on Capital Blvd, which magically becomes Dawson St. Proceed onward and notice the shimmer wall on the left (That’s the rear of the convention center). Just after the best shimmer wall view, turn left onto poorly-labeled Lenoir Street (just before the RR overpass). Proceed 1.5 blocks, and turn left into the Parking entrance for the Marriott. ( map it ) Get the first space you can find. Just after passing through the deck’s ticketing area, you’ll see the desired convention center/hotel entrance. Once inside, turn left to go to the convention center and right to ascend into the Marriott. Here’s a hint: ride the elevator up to the Marriott. The very urban view is dramatic! The subterranean access straight into the convention center is an enormous benefit on rainy days. (returned – coast is clear. This deck is the way to go )
- Parking is $7 “for the event” – cash up front …or… $3/hr up to $12 – pay as you leave with cash or credit card.
- Food selection is very impressive. I like the Egyptian food most.
- Convention Exhibition hall is probably 60% 63% the size of Atlanta’s World Congress Center room #1 when it is configured for a dental convention that draws 25,000 people, but is much more convenient. Not as much walking and better bathroom placement.
- No signage exists to get you back to the parking deck. Drop popcorn from your car into the convention center. In fact, signage is extremely poor throughout the Convention Center, parking deck, and Marriott.
- Be sure to ascend the lobby escalators to see the 33,000 square foot ballroom. Excellent space!
- The convention center has free WiFi.
- Admission to the International Festival is free.
- Programs are available at the base of the escalator, but they do not really map out where the countries’ booths are.
- Where is that giant Sir Walter that the man carved in North Hills Mall in 1976? It would be a perfect addition to the convention center.
Follow future hints on my Twitter feed . Have any hints? Feel free to add them in the Comments section.
Cellar Bar Coming to Fayetteville Street
A new bar is coming to Fayetteville Street’s 200 block. It will be called The Cellar Foundation and it will be in the basement of a newly renovated building on the odd (east) side of the street.
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