http://www.gogoraleigh.com The Latest in Retail, Entertainment, and Development in Raleigh Thu, 11 Aug 2016 21:26:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.5
http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2016/04/18/publix-coming-to-downtown-raleigh/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2016/04/18/publix-coming-to-downtown-raleigh/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2016 15:32:05 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7724 According to trusted sources it appears that Publix will be the major tenant to the Kane Realty project coming to N. West St. in downtown Raleigh. The site, currently occupied by the ThemeWorks and Southland Ballroom, is zoned for 12 stories. So, perhaps, a mixed use project with a ground or second-level grocery is planned. The site is in an area of NW downtown set to see some major changes. With the NCDOT bridge project set to offload Capital Blvd to eastbound Peace Street traffic via Johnson Street (pdf plan), we are set to see a major amount of redevelopment happen between Capital Blvd and the railroad tracks. Publix will be a perfect fit for this project....
]]> According to trusted sources it appears that Publix will be the major tenant to the Kane Realty project coming to N. West St. in downtown Raleigh. The site, currently occupied by the ThemeWorks and Southland Ballroom, is zoned for 12 stories. So, perhaps, a mixed use project with a ground or second-level grocery is planned.
The site is in an area of NW downtown set to see some major changes. With the NCDOT bridge project set to offload Capital Blvd to eastbound Peace Street traffic via Johnson Street ( pdf plan ), we are set to see a major amount of redevelopment happen between Capital Blvd and the railroad tracks. Publix will be a perfect fit for this project.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/10/05/public-meeting-on-fairview-fire-station-coming-monday/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/10/05/public-meeting-on-fairview-fire-station-coming-monday/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2015 12:00:00 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7681 On Wednesday, October 7 at 7pm, the City of Raleigh Fire Department will hold a public meeting on the rebuild of Fire Station Six (Fairview and Oberlin Roads). The meeting will take place at the fire...
]]> On Wednesday, October 7 at 7pm, the City of Raleigh Fire Department will hold a public meeting on the rebuild of Fire Station Six (Fairview and Oberlin Roads). The meeting will take place at the fire station.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/09/03/appearance-commission-to-review-residence-inn/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/09/03/appearance-commission-to-review-residence-inn/#comments Wed, 03 Sep 2014 17:08:56 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7511 The Raleigh Appearance Commission meets tomorrow, and among the items on their agenda is the planned Residence Inn for downtown Raleigh. The 9-story hotel is rumored to feature a “rooftop” bar, but will primary serve as a secondary hotel for those attending events in the adjacent convention center. The building will use four materials on the surface: EFIS and three tones of brick. The street level tone of brick will be beige while the upper floors will feature brick of red and hulking grey tones. The building only gets EFIS treatments on its crown. Overall the look is modern, urban, boxy with surfaces broken up by varying textures and materials. There are no vast expanses of a single material. Instead, the architects have presented a very busy looking building that is neither an eyesore nor a beauty nor bland. I really like that the design continues the dedicated 2-story façade for the first two floors, as we have seen in so many projects in the last decade. The effect is...
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The Raleigh Appearance Commission meets tomorrow, and among the items on their agenda is the planned Residence Inn for downtown Raleigh. The 9-story hotel is rumored to feature a “rooftop” bar, but will primary serve as a secondary hotel for those attending events in the adjacent convention center.
The building will use four materials on the surface: EFIS and three tones of brick. The street level tone of brick will be beige while the upper floors will feature brick of red and hulking grey tones. The building only gets EFIS treatments on its crown.
Overall the look is modern, urban, boxy with surfaces broken up by varying textures and materials. There are no vast expanses of a single material. Instead, the architects have presented a very busy looking building that is neither an eyesore nor a beauty nor bland.
I really like that the design continues the dedicated 2-story façade for the first two floors, as we have seen in so many projects in the last decade. The effect is that the streetspace feels wider than it would if the building were the same material from sidewalk to roof. (The rule is that the façade needs to change before it gets to the height that matches the width of the street, btw).
While I appreciate that this building is not a stark, unimaginative box, I do think the designers have gone a bit overboard with the heterogeneity of materials. I am not a fan of brick red and gray together, so obviously I don’t like the material choices. Also, I like the signage at street level, especially the vertically-oriented signs. However whoever designed the “Residence Inn” sign for the building’s crown must have happy-clicked on the kerning settings because it looks like a giant mistake.
We all wanted Greg Hatem’s dream of a skyline-impacting, boutique hotel with a signature rooftop restaurant to get built on this plot of land. However this hotel will be a nice addition to downtown and will help the sorely underserved hotel market for downtown. There are plenty of other sites where we can eventually get that boutique hotel, so until then, lets keep going up!
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The Appearance Commission will discuss this project during their meeting tomorrow, September 4, at 4:30 in the City Council Chambers.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/07/15/edison-office-tower-heads-to-appearance-commission/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/07/15/edison-office-tower-heads-to-appearance-commission/#comments Tue, 15 Jul 2014 17:28:14 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7489 On Thursday at 4:30pm the Raleigh Appearance Commission will review plans detailing the latest design for the Edison Office building. The building, according to the site plan (pdf) will sit in the northwest quadrant of the block bounded by Wilmington, Martin, Blount, and Davie Streets, across from the side of Beasley’s, replacing the building containing Reliable Loan, The current plan calls for a 17-story tower that is 301-feet high, about 9% taller than the Progress Energy Tower (former City Plaza building). Plans call for the project to contain 417,000 feet of office space, parking garage space for 328 spaces, and 3 ground-level retail spaces, and an elevator lobby fronting Martin Street. There will be 6 combination parking/office floors sitting atop the street-level retail, capped by 11 full office floors. The Appearance Commission’s duties will be light with this project, as they will likely deal mostly with streetscape elements of the plan. One such that needs to be...
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On Thursday at 4:30pm the Raleigh Appearance Commission will review plans detailing the latest design for the Edison Office building. The building, according to the
site plan
(pdf) will sit in the northwest quadrant of the block bounded by Wilmington, Martin, Blount, and Davie Streets, across from the side of Beasley’s, replacing the building containing Reliable Loan,
The current plan calls for a 17-story tower that is 301-feet high, about 9% taller than the Progress Energy Tower (former City Plaza building). Plans call for the project to contain 417,000 feet of office space, parking garage space for 328 spaces, and 3 ground-level retail spaces, and an elevator lobby fronting Martin Street. There will be 6 combination parking/office floors sitting atop the street-level retail, capped by 11 full office floors.
The Appearance Commission’s duties will be light with this project, as they will likely deal mostly with streetscape elements of the plan. One such that needs to be addressed is the standard U-shaped bike racks. A more creative design would give this project and downtown much more character. Perhaps a light bulb shape as a nod to Edison’s most popular invention?
The site plan offers much detail about the ground floor and a typical parking floor, but isn’t clear about parking access. On the floors with parking, this project will neatly abut the existing parking garage originally built for the block’s four corner projects. Perhaps access will simply be from critical access points in the existing structure.
This will be a nice, early century addition to Raleigh, offering some much needed, class A office space to a market that is at capacity. How does the project fall short? Though I really like the Red Hat Tower, this project is a slightly taller duplicate, and will sit one block north of Red Hat. Yes, this project fits the needs of today’s market, however this land is one of the few places where an impact tower could be added to fill out Raleigh’s “money shot”. Given the appearance of this building’s crown, this project will add nothing interesting to that view. So in that sense, it is a lost opportunity.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/06/03/4-story-mixed-use-planned-for-hillsborough-st/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/06/03/4-story-mixed-use-planned-for-hillsborough-st/#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2014 22:14:22 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7470 Another piece of the residential component for Stanhope Village will be reviewed by the Appearance Commission on Thursday. According to the Preliminary Site Plan (pdf), developers plan to replace the former Red Barn/Swenson’s/SakuraXpress building at 2811 Hillsborough Street and replace it with a 4-story mixed use project. The building would contain 30 apartments on three floors sitting atop a street-level retail floor, a development style in accordance to the Stanhope Village area plan. Plans also call for 21 vehicle spaces. The Raleigh Appearance Commission will be discussing this project (more renderings will likely be shown) on Thursday, June 5, at 4:30 pm in the City Council Chambers. The meeting will also be televised and streamed by...
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Another piece of the residential component for Stanhope Village will be reviewed by the Appearance Commission on Thursday. According to the
Preliminary Site Plan
(pdf), developers plan to replace the former Red Barn/Swenson’s/SakuraXpress building at 2811 Hillsborough Street and replace it with a 4-story mixed use project.
The building would contain 30 apartments on three floors sitting atop a street-level retail floor, a development style in accordance to the Stanhope Village area plan. Plans also call for 21 vehicle spaces.
The Raleigh Appearance Commission will be discussing this project (more renderings will likely be shown) on Thursday, June 5, at 4:30 pm in the City Council Chambers. The meeting will also be televised and streamed by RTN .
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/11/11/atlanta-braves-shun-downtown-transit-with-stadium-announcement/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/11/11/atlanta-braves-shun-downtown-transit-with-stadium-announcement/#comments Mon, 11 Nov 2013 22:25:57 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7232 Today the Atlanta Braves announced that they will leave the 16-year old Turner Field and build a new stadium out at the Perimeter (I-285) and I-75. The Braves have played in downtown Atlanta since 1966, but this move will take the team 15 miles away, to Suburbia. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Braves executive Derek Schiller said, “It’s also important that the access around the stadium … is greatly enhanced (by) having those major road ways — I-75, I-285, Cobb Parkway — and having a whole range of improved access points and ways to get to and from the stadium,” Schiller said. “… We fully believe that the access to the site will be greatly enhanced for our fans. That starts with roadways. Today, most of our fans arrive via car, and getting to this (new) site via car from all sorts of different directions is easier.” Roads roads roads. Meanwhile in Raleigh city leaders are quietly doing long-range planning for a replacement for the 14-year...
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Today the Atlanta Braves announced that they will leave the 16-year old Turner Field and build a new stadium out at the Perimeter (I-285) and I-75. The Braves have played in downtown Atlanta since 1966, but this move will take the team 15 miles away, to Suburbia. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Braves executive Derek Schiller said,
“It’s also important that the access around the stadium … is greatly enhanced (by) having those major road ways — I-75, I-285, Cobb Parkway — and having a whole range of improved access points and ways to get to and from the stadium,” Schiller said. “… We fully believe that the access to the site will be greatly enhanced for our fans. That starts with roadways. Today, most of our fans arrive via car, and getting to this (new) site via car from all sorts of different directions is easier.”
Roads roads roads. Meanwhile in Raleigh city leaders are quietly doing long-range planning for a replacement for the 14-year old PNC Arena. A replacement isn’t coming in the next decade or two, however downtownist leaders, bemoaning the suburban location of the suburban arena, are considering just which downtown site would work best for the city. These same leaders are also pushing forward with plans to install a rail system which, supporters say, will spur rail-oriented development foci around the system’s stations.
What will probably be ignored as “stupid Atlanta”, a phrase mentioned frequently by Raleigh planners, is that the Braves, a private organization, are planning to spend $675 million on a facility that could not be farther away from transit and still match the population footprint . Atlanta has 48 miles of heavy rail that directly accesses its airport, and one of the city’s most important businesses for Tourism is running away as fast as it can.
So, here is the question: will Raleigh continue to seek an Atlanta-level rail system? Will Raleigh continue to believe that it has some different quality that would make its rail attractive to development and the entertainment industry, unlike Atlanta? Does Raleigh really have what it takes to not exactly mimic Atlanta’s failures?
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/10/23/aloft-set-to-elevate-hillsborough-street/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/10/23/aloft-set-to-elevate-hillsborough-street/#comments Wed, 23 Oct 2013 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7022 About 10 years ago the City of Raleigh began the process of restoring Hillsborough Street near NCSU. The street, once a revered college strip of business, restaurants and bars, had fallen into economic malaise as Centennial Campus and the residences of students migrated south of campus. About $13 million later, the street finds itself cleaned up, however the economic climate has been slow to follow. That all changed with the announcement of an Aloft Hotel, set to replace Sadlacks and the strip that includes SchoolKids’ Records, two thriving, organic businesses that survived a tumultuous streetscape project. The two have found new homes (Berkeley Cafe and Mission Valley, respectively). Hopefully the West Raleigh community is set to embrace a much-needed hotel that, frankly, will be an exciting upgrade to Hillsborough Street both functionally and architecturally. The preliminary plans show the hotel containing 135 rooms in a single 7-story building. There will be about 6,500 square...
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About 10 years ago the City of Raleigh began the process of restoring Hillsborough Street near NCSU. The street, once a revered college strip of business, restaurants and bars, had fallen into economic malaise as Centennial Campus and the residences of students migrated south of campus. About $13 million later, the street finds itself cleaned up, however the economic climate has been slow to follow.
That all changed with the announcement of an Aloft Hotel , set to replace Sadlacks and the strip that includes SchoolKids’ Records, two thriving, organic businesses that survived a tumultuous streetscape project. The two have found new homes (Berkeley Cafe and Mission Valley, respectively). Hopefully the West Raleigh community is set to embrace a much-needed hotel that, frankly, will be an exciting upgrade to Hillsborough Street both functionally and architecturally.
The preliminary plans show the hotel containing 135 rooms in a single 7-story building. There will be about 6,500 square feet (2 parcels) of street-level retail space that are better-suited to the pedestrian experience than the current buildings. Most likely the second level will contain Aloft’s branded WXYZ hotel bar with a balcony. Behind and under the hotel there will be 99 parking spaces and a tiny pool.
The exterior of the building will be a superb addition to the street. The Hillsborough St. side will appear like two separate buildings, likely to stay consistent with the pattern of buildings on the street that are “1-store” wide. According to the Site Plan (pdf) (which gives more detail than the rendering posted by TBC), the left half will be brick and feature columns of windows sets of varying widths. The center stepback section will highlight the building’s entrance with a building-tall sculpture. The right side, though, will be covered with insulated light gray metal panels and feature color cathode lighting at some of the window trims. The design will be the most sleekly modern commercial building in Raleigh, which is appropriate given the hotel’s proximity to the NCSU School of Design.
Raleigh has a Hillsborough Street problem and it has a Starwood Hotels problem. Since the Phase One renovation of Hillsborough Street completed, the street has had trouble gaining the economic footing for which planners hoped. The Aloft project joins the apartment project down at Morgan as well as the coming IHOP project as the first wave of a coming massive overhaul of the street, and it can’t come soon enough.
Starwood Hotels , one of the world’s largest, has an inexplicably paltry presence in one of the fastest growing areas in the country. There is an Aloft and Sheraton Chapel Hill and a couple of Four Points and the Sheraton Imperial in RTP. However the only other Starwood property in Raleigh is the Sheraton downtown (former Radisson); BIG problem. Though we continue to wait for a Westin property, we will certainly celebrate the arrival of the Aloft, only the second new hotel inside the beltline in 30 years. We need it, and we need it fast.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/10/21/grubb-bringing-more-apartments-to-lake-boone-area/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/10/21/grubb-bringing-more-apartments-to-lake-boone-area/#comments Mon, 21 Oct 2013 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7012 Due to the overwhelming demand for apartment space (as mentioned last week), Gordon Grubb is developing a remote parcel near Lake Boone Trail and the Beltline with 3 medium-sized apartment buildings. The project, named Greenway Village (pdf), will be tucked into existing woods behind the Palms Apartments. The project will only replace about 28,000 square feet, a small portion, of the Palms Apartments, but will add 5X the space in 143 units. map...
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Due to the overwhelming demand for apartment space (as
mentioned last week
), Gordon Grubb is developing a remote parcel near Lake Boone Trail and the Beltline with 3 medium-sized apartment buildings. The project, named
Greenway Village
(pdf), will be tucked into existing woods behind the Palms Apartments. The project will only replace about 28,000 square feet, a small portion, of the Palms Apartments, but will add 5X the space in 143 units.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/10/15/apartment-complex-coming-to-glenwoodoberlin/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/10/15/apartment-complex-coming-to-glenwoodoberlin/#comments Tue, 15 Oct 2013 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7003 Good news, Raleigh. Your worst building, the Kip-Dell Homes office at Glenwood and Oberlin is finally coming down, soon! This week the Raleigh Appearance Commission will consider another addition to Raleigh’s booming apartment market. The 2600 project will contain roughly 150 apartments in a six-story complex that will replace both the Kip-Dell office and the neighboring U-shaped, brick apartment building. That site and height will be ample for some excellent views overlooking the Carolina Country Club golf course from the north-facing upper floor units. The complex is being developed by Gordon Grubb, and the architect is J Davis (as if you can’t tell from that rendering). The decision to develop the property with apartments was apparently an easy one for Grubb, as I recently learned that the 290-apartment complex replacing Balentine’s received over 6,400 applications. While apartment projects around St. Mary’s, Hillsborough Street, and Oberlin are rocketing upward, we can...
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Good news, Raleigh. Your worst building, the Kip-Dell Homes office at Glenwood and Oberlin is finally coming down, soon! This week the Raleigh Appearance Commission will consider another addition to Raleigh’s booming apartment market.
The 2600 project will contain roughly 150 apartments in a six-story complex that will replace both the Kip-Dell office and the neighboring U-shaped, brick apartment building. That site and height will be ample for some excellent views overlooking the Carolina Country Club golf course from the north-facing upper floor units. The complex is being developed by Gordon Grubb, and the architect is J Davis (as if you can’t tell from that rendering).
The decision to develop the property with apartments was apparently an easy one for Grubb, as I recently learned that the 290-apartment complex replacing Balentine’s received over 6,400 applications. While apartment projects around St. Mary’s, Hillsborough Street, and Oberlin are rocketing upward, we can probably expect more and bigger project announcements in the coming year (especially around Crabtree).
It will be interesting to see if the plans for the 2600 project will cause as much angst in the community as we’ve seen historically with that property. Around 1983 Guest Quarters announced plans to develop the site with a suite hotel of an approximately similar size to the planned 2600. Neighbors and Carolina Country Club members posted yard signs and used all available political clout to eventually cause Guest Quarters to cancel the project.
This is 2013, however, and the political climate in Raleigh and in the club are different. A different generation is in charge at the club, and the top ranking members have strong real estate backgrounds. Grabbing the popcorn…
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/11/charter-square-enters-new-chapter-with-announcement/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/11/charter-square-enters-new-chapter-with-announcement/#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:52:37 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/11/charter-square-enters-new-chapter-with-announcement/ Today city officials and developers joined together to announce the new plan for Charter Square. The 11-story project will contain 225,000 square feet of commercial space in a single glass tower. Currently 35,000 of the space is committed. Some of that space will be another ground floor restaurant by Echelon Hospitality. Construction is set to begin this fall, with a 1-year construction window. The newest chapter in Charter Square is led by developer Dominion Realty Partners and architect JDavis. The site occupies the east half of the footprint of the former Raleigh Civic Center and was once referred to as “Site One”. The project vision was for a two-tower mixed use development with one tower containing residential and the other commercial. As part of the development of the Convention Center and Marriott hotel, the City of Raleigh moved forward with the underground parking garage construction for the Charter Square plan. Then 2009 happened, and the economy hit developers in...
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Today city officials and developers joined together to announce the new plan for Charter Square. The 11-story project will contain 225,000 square feet of commercial space in a single glass tower. Currently 35,000 of the space is committed. Some of that space will be another ground floor restaurant by Echelon Hospitality. Construction is set to begin this fall, with a 1-year construction window.
The newest chapter in Charter Square is led by developer Dominion Realty Partners and architect JDavis. The site occupies the east half of the footprint of the former Raleigh Civic Center and was once referred to as “Site One ”. The project vision was for a two-tower mixed use development with one tower containing residential and the other commercial. As part of the development of the Convention Center and Marriott hotel, the City of Raleigh moved forward with the underground parking garage construction for the Charter Square plan.
Then 2009 happened, and the economy hit developers in every city hard. The new project will still be built on top of that investment. Thankfully the climate is such that progress on this site can move forward once and for all.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/01/28/tbj-presents-new-north-hills-renderings/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/01/28/tbj-presents-new-north-hills-renderings/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2013 22:24:05 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/01/28/tbj-presents-new-north-hills-renderings/ Today TBJ posted a slideshow of upcoming North Hills projects that is worth a look. The photos show renderings for a 19-story building that will go between Sparians and Six Forks Road, the 6-story Midtown Green apartments, an amphitheater, a free-standing Chuey’s, and details of the upcoming Allister apartment complex on Ramblewood Drive. Tucked away, however, in the slide show are images of some other unannounced projects, too: The high-rise condos planned for the space next to the Brothers Cleaners drive-thru are still present. The two high-rise buildings that were once denied by the Raleigh City Council still appear in the plan. The buildings would sit in the vast surface parking lot between Six Forks Road and Coquette, and Lassiter Mill. The plan shows the removal of the Exxon station at the corner. First Citizens’ low-rise crescent shaped office building adjacent to their odd circular building at Lassiter Mill and Six Forks is also present. At North Hills East,...
]]> Today TBJ posted a slideshow of upcoming North Hills projects that is worth a look. The photos show renderings for a 19-story building that will go between Sparians and Six Forks Road, the 6-story Midtown Green apartments, an amphitheater, a free-standing Chuey’s, and details of the upcoming Allister apartment complex on Ramblewood Drive.
Tucked away, however, in the slide show are images of some other unannounced projects, too:
The plan looks good from the birds eye view, though the complex is going to have to have a lot more parking than it currently has. When that parking is built, hopefully it will make more sense than the CapTrust tower’s parking; the creepiest parking garage in Raleigh.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/01/01/2013-predictions/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/01/01/2013-predictions/#comments Tue, 01 Jan 2013 18:58:33 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/01/01/2013-predictions/ Happy New Year, everyone! 2012 was an fascinating year, with the Olympics, the Election, and a little bit of economic traction, the year turned out to be more interesting than expected. With the close of the year, it’s time to pull out the old crystal acorn and make a few quick predictions (30 to be exact) for the upcoming year. (Don’t take these to the bank, though! If this thing were any good, I’d be in Vegas with it.) Publix will begin construction on their first Triangle store…in Cary in the Davis/54 area. Publix will pick Creedmoor/Millbrook for their first Raleigh store location. The new owners of Falls Village will make a strong play for Publix, offering to raze half of their center to accommodate a large grocery store. Raleigh will begin discussions to tear down Memorial Auditorium – with the dominant bookings of the DPAC, Raleigh people are increasingly irked by having to go to Durham for so many good events. Leaders in Raleigh will talk about removing...
]]> Happy New Year, everyone! 2012 was an fascinating year, with the Olympics, the Election, and a little bit of economic traction, the year turned out to be more interesting than expected. With the close of the year, it’s time to pull out the old crystal acorn and make a few quick predictions (30 to be exact) for the upcoming year. (Don’t take these to the bank, though! If this thing were any good, I’d be in Vegas with it.)
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2012/12/06/publix-eyeing-triangle-sites/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2012/12/06/publix-eyeing-triangle-sites/#comments Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:08:09 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2012/12/06/publix-eyeing-triangle-sites/ It appears that some may have missed TBJ’s announcement last week concerning Publix. It appears the excellent supermarket chain is eying sites in the Triangle. The Lakeland, FL-based chain has nearly 1,100 stores spread throughout Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. The expansion would mean direct competition for Charlotte-based Harris Teeter, which has stores Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, DC, Maryland, and Delaware. If Publix wants a slam-dunk site in Raleigh, they should go into the former Hannaford and Lowes grocery store spot between Costco and Trader Joe’s. (map it) The complexion of that retail neighborhood has considerably improved since the failure of those stores, and the addition of Costco and Trader Joe’s draws people from across the entire eastern half of the Triangle already. The site has convenient I-440 access, and is a location where both Inside The Beltline and Outside The Beltline shoppers feel...
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It appears that some may have missed
TBJ’s announcement
last week concerning
Publix
. It appears the excellent supermarket chain is eying sites in the Triangle.
The Lakeland, FL-based chain has nearly 1,100 stores spread throughout Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. The expansion would mean direct competition for Charlotte-based Harris Teeter, which has stores Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, DC, Maryland, and Delaware.
If Publix wants a slam-dunk site in Raleigh, they should go into the former Hannaford and Lowes grocery store spot between Costco and Trader Joe’s. ( map it ) The complexion of that retail neighborhood has considerably improved since the failure of those stores, and the addition of Costco and Trader Joe’s draws people from across the entire eastern half of the Triangle already. The site has convenient I-440 access, and is a location where both Inside The Beltline and Outside The Beltline shoppers feel comfortable. The site is currently leased by a workout gym, but who are we kidding? Right?
An alternative might be the newly razed lot between the old grocery store site and Trader Joe’s. My limited understanding of this former ITT industrial property is that it has had brownfield contamination issues. Depending on the progress of the cleanup, this site could be, and should be developed into a multi-use retail/residential development that ties in to Holly Park to the north, the future light rail corridor to the east, and the Costco area to the south. It is an excellent opportunity looking 10 years forward.
As far as other areas of older north and west Raleigh go, unless an existing grocery store’s current lease is not renewed, it is hard to imagine another site for Publix that could be gracefully executed, to be honest. Perhaps Kids Hill behind Crabtree? Perhaps a corner on Blue Ridge Road? These don’t have nearly the visibility and ease of access. Old Raleigh has very few non-industrial commercial corridors. Therefore the Wake Forest/Six Forks area is absolutely the best option for capturing old Raleigh. There are other lots in that area, such as the Southern States Nissan property, but considerable terraforming will need to be accomplished to deal with the flooding that property periodically experiences.
To be honest, though, Publix could go into any safe area and do well in Raleigh. The sooner the better!
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2012/05/14/dental-school-puts-two-hotels-on-north-carolina-avenue/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2012/05/14/dental-school-puts-two-hotels-on-north-carolina-avenue/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 19:19:10 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=6434 UNC School of Dentistry Welcomes Modern Era with Dedication of New Building At the end of April, the UNC School of Dentistry opened a $118 million expansion that greatly enhances the school’s ability to accommodate not only larger class sizes, but to educate more effectively. The facility also positions the school as a worldwide leader in dental research. The UNC School of Dentistry started out of a Quonset hut in some woods near the UNC Hospital in 1954. A few years later the “Old Dental Building” was erected and set the school on the path to being one of the South’s finest. However in 1969 the school opened Brauer Hall, 5-story complex that housed both clinical and educational spaces. It was an important step as the school was able to both grow its class sizes and split its clinics into specialized spaces. However as the next couple of decades passed, the school found itself unable to keep up with the state’s burgeoning population, and found itself with outdated...
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UNC School of Dentistry Welcomes
Modern Era with Dedication of New Building
At the end of April, the
UNC School of Dentistry
opened a $118 million expansion that greatly enhances the school’s ability to accommodate not only larger class sizes, but to educate more effectively. The facility also positions the school as a worldwide leader in dental research.
The UNC School of Dentistry started out of a Quonset hut in some woods near the UNC Hospital in 1954. A few years later the “Old Dental Building” was erected and set the school on the path to being one of the South’s finest. However in 1969 the school opened Brauer Hall, 5-story complex that housed both clinical and educational spaces. It was an important step as the school was able to both grow its class sizes and split its clinics into specialized spaces.
However as the next couple of decades passed, the school found itself unable to keep up with the state’s burgeoning population, and found itself with outdated clinical spaces that no longer met the standards of modern dental technology. With a boost from Butler leader Bud Tarrson and his wife Linda, the school opened Tarrson Hall, a 5-story companion to Brauer Hall, in 1997 that solely included clinical spaces to meet the school’s needs.
While Tarrson Hall greatly improved the patient care the school provided, it was an architectural paradox. At the dismay of myself and many Class of 1996 classmates, the school chose to extend the 1969 Internationalist façade from Brauer Hall onto Tarrson Hall. Yes, it was aesthetically consistent, but so are his-and-hers El Caminos. Functionally, however, the folks at Odell in Charlotte designed a masterpiece. Tarrson Hall pulled the patient experience toward the corner of the complex closest to the parking decks, allowing the school to renovate the opposite end of the school in a manner that best satisfied educational and research needs. No longer were patients seen ambling through student locker rooms and janitors’ closets looking for hidden clinical spaces. Tarrson simply restored logic to was the functional spaghetti of the 70s and 80s dental complex.
In 2000 the citizens of North Carolina approved a massive bond initiative that saw every UNC campus greatly improve its physical campus. At the end of this parade is the Koury Oral Health Sciences “building”. Composed of two fused buildings that greatly resemble hotels in the game Monopoly, the facility replaces two minor buildings of the once 5-building dental complex. It adds a new hands-on simulation lab for teaching clinical skills to dental students, a large auditorium, a large classroom, research labs, and numerous conference spaces. Not only will current and future students benefit, but also practicing dentists, as continuing education courses can perhaps find their way back into the “schoolhouse”. Koury is its own building, but that is easy to forget as architects utilized the resulting gangway as a large multipurpose atrium.
I took a brief tour of the facility last week and was duly impressed with the amount of detail and foresight that went into not only the design but the execution as well. The building is so well integrated that one is almost surprised to encounter any disconnect with the old complex.
It is better to think of Koury as a crescent that lines the western border of the complex. The needs for this building are quite different than those served by Brauer Hall, so architects eschewed floor height constraints set forth by the existing complex. Lab and large class spaces need high ceilings, so each floor is taller than those in Brauer, which creates a “malocclusion”, if you will, between the upper floors in the complex. The connection to Brauer Hall’s third floor is on a floating stairway landing, and connections to the Old Dental building are engaged by stairway landings and a two-sided elevator as well.
The teaching lab space in Koury is fantastic, easily serving a class size of 100 or more (Since 1969 the school could accommodate class sizes in the 75-83 range). Not only is the space bigger, the lab benches are updated with brand new equipment, and the A/V presentation system is up to date. More impressive, though, is the open space afforded by surprisingly few columns. This is more helpful to large class lab teaching than one would initially expect. The column issue is quickly noticed upon entering one of the recently renovated labs in Brauer Hall.
The large auditorium and the classroom are also fantastic, and are on par with the superb facilities found in other graduate school spaces on campus such as the Kenan-Flagler Business School. Additionally, the lab spaces are excellent, and presumably are the finest educational setting dental lab research spaces in the world.
As the science of Dentistry has evolved of the last half-century, so has the science of Education. In our four year period in the school, we were largely “lectured at” in lecture halls scattered throughout the dental and medical complex. They were cramped, run-down auditoriums that had been long-since converted into low-rise movie theater arrangements. Today’s era of education, however, advocates many more small group/discussion experiences. We saw hints of this style coming on in the 90’s, but the school, frankly, did not have the facilities to host such a model. Koury affords several locations for small group learning. I counted six conference rooms, but other minor spaces also exist.
The delivery of information has greatly changed since the mid-90’s. When we were not in lecture halls, we were in the basement of the Health Science Library viewing tapes of the driest of content. Now with the internet aiding this content’s delivery and the variety of spaces in Koury, students can learn the same material in a variety of ways with more flexibility.
The L-shaped atrium is one of the most fascinating pieces to the new dental complex. What was once a baron, dirty service entrance to Brauer Hall is now an excellent multipurpose space. Hallways in all of Koury’s five floors overlook the space which is largely lit by skylights during the day. The floor space of the atrium contains a new offering to the dental complex; a snack bar. The adjoining tables in the atrium all are located near numerous inset electrical receptacles in the floor, so the space can be used for small group study and other purposes at any hour.
Perhaps the most interesting element to the atrium, however, is the multifunctional elevator/stair column that now sits in the old connector space between Brauer Hall and the Old Dental Building. The landing facing the rest of the atrium contains a lectern, allowing one to address the cavernous room. From the the lecturer’s point of view, the atrium floor is not the only location imagined for the audience. There are perches on higher floors as well as the far corners of the atrium. This allows excellent sightlines for the audience of potentially hundreds in a space that for so many similar projects is discarded.
Most notable to drivers on Manning Driver, however, is the new pedestrian bridge that connects the second floor of Koury to the cafeteria in the Bowles building. This is another example of flawless design and execution, as pedestrians no longer have to dangerously cross one of UNC’s grand avenues.
Crossing the bridge is a pleasing experience. The walkway is covered in bricks, and feels like a continuation of the plaza spaces on each end, and is consistent with the more aesthetic older areas of the campus. The east view from the bridge is one of the best public views in Chapel Hill, too. Finally, the drainage system for the bridge is outstanding without causing a danger to those wearing heels.
There are a few problems with the additional facilities, though. The entire West façade of the South half of Koury integrates the sidewalk, offering pedestrians a covered walkway insulated from cars on Columbia Street. However this cover stops short of the Koury main pedestrian entrance, leaving a disjointed experience. Furthermore, the walkway extending north to the Health Sciences Library immediately swerves toward the road and exposes pedestrians to what is essentially a highway. Also, there is a clearing of land where the old Dental Office Building was that could have been converted into a small transportation plaza that would have been better than the current Health Sciences Library bus stop.
Also, the west end of the atrium floor is on a level that is a couple of steps up from the main room. These two terrazzo steps, found at the bottom of the main Koury staircase, are not permanently marked and are not seen easily by those who have completed their move down the stairs. Finally, the receptacles in the floor of the atrium are already getting torn up by the café furniture. A different design is needed for these to continue to be functional and safe.
There is so much more to the Koury building than can be appreciated in a simple tour during a dormant week for the school. A whole chapter could be written about the lab spaces as well as the building’s pursuit of LEED Gold certification. However it is fair to say that the complex almost perfectly satisfies the needs of the school in the Modern Era. The steering committee, designers at Flad & Associates, and builders are to be commended for making the UNC School of Dentistry the marquis dental education facility in the world for years to come.
[ See image gallery at www.gogoraleigh.com ]
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2012/03/20/ncmns-nature-research-center-gala-grand-opening-set/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2012/03/20/ncmns-nature-research-center-gala-grand-opening-set/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:41:07 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2012/03/20/ncmns-nature-research-center-gala-grand-opening-set/ The expansion of the the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is almost open! On April 20 and 21 the museum will host Our Universe is Expanding, a 24-hour celebration. The facility will house four research laboratories used by scientific staff from the Nature Research Center (NRC), the museum, UNC System, and visiting scientists. Visitors can observe these spaces as well as participate in interactive and multimedia exhibits. There is a slate of events scheduled for the opening, and all events are free to the public. Grand Opening: Gala The weekend before the grand opening, however, is the Grand Opening Gala. The event, which takes place on the evening of Friday, April 13, will feature performances from the TFC Band, Mark Wells QUartet, The Magic of African Rhythm, Mickey Mills Steel Drum Band, and Infinity Circus. There will be food and an open bar at this black tie optional event. Tickets are $200 each and include the After Party events. The Gala After Party begins at 10pm...
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The expansion of the the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is almost open! On April 20 and 21 the museum will host
Our Universe is Expanding
, a 24-hour celebration. The facility will house four research laboratories used by scientific staff from the Nature Research Center (NRC), the museum, UNC System, and visiting scientists. Visitors can observe these spaces as well as participate in interactive and multimedia exhibits. There is a slate of events scheduled for the opening, and all events are free to the public.
Grand Opening:
The weekend before the grand opening, however, is the Grand Opening Gala . The event, which takes place on the evening of Friday, April 13, will feature performances from the TFC Band, Mark Wells QUartet, The Magic of African Rhythm, Mickey Mills Steel Drum Band, and Infinity Circus. There will be food and an open bar at this black tie optional event. Tickets are $200 each and include the After Party events.
The Gala After Party begins at 10pm and includes a late night menu, test tube shooters, an open bar and dancing to
The Crooked Smile Trio
,
TFC Band
, and
Al Ski-Love
(a video DJ) in the three-story surround screen “Daily Planet Disco”. Tickets for this event are $75.
Gala:
The NRC will be an excellent addition to downtown Raleigh this year, and its stellar grand opening isn’t to be missed!
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/10/22/the-edison-redesigned-service-not-brilliance/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/10/22/the-edison-redesigned-service-not-brilliance/#comments Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:58:59 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/10/22/the-edison-redesigned-service-not-brilliance/ Yesterday the Raleigh downtowner released some renderings for the new, scaled-down vision for the Davie Street side of The Edison. Previously the plans for Gregg Sandreuter’s development called for four towers of 30-40 stories each, containing office and residential components on a retail base. It is disappointing to see the project being scaled down, but frankly, with the bath that Sandreuter ended up taking on the oversized West at North Project, it is obvious that banks are putting pressure on Sandreuter to do something with the land. The truth is that the economy is worse than the media is portraying, and a project like the one originally proposed for The Edison is now probably more than 20 years away for Raleigh. In fact it will be at least 12 years before anything changes the Raleigh skyline. With conditions as they are, we are lucky to see something proposed for this land. As it stands now, the block stands as a blank and a few run-down old buildings in the middle of a...
]]> Yesterday the Raleigh downtowner released some renderings for the new, scaled-down vision for the Davie Street side of The Edison . Previously the plans for Gregg Sandreuter’s development called for four towers of 30-40 stories each, containing office and residential components on a retail base.
It is disappointing to see the project being scaled down, but frankly, with the bath that Sandreuter ended up taking on the oversized West at North Project, it is obvious that banks are putting pressure on Sandreuter to do something with the land. The truth is that the economy is worse than the media is portraying, and a project like the one originally proposed for The Edison is now probably more than 20 years away for Raleigh. In fact it will be at least 12 years before anything changes the Raleigh skyline.
With conditions as they are, we are lucky to see something proposed for this land. As it stands now, the block stands as a blank and a few run-down old buildings in the middle of a downtown that has much organic energy. We are now at the 3-year mark of a development drought in downtown Raleigh, and if we get too arrogant, we will lose all of the roaring momentum that Raleigh had six years ago. In other words we cannot afford to be too choosy now about downtown projects. Given the number of empty lots in downtown, we can afford to put up some bad projects because the momentum is what will eventually bring good projects, not our own stubbornness. Too much of that will make us a has-been. We need energy on the street, and this project does that.
Much hand-wringing has been going on over the last two days regarding the design of the project. I will caution readers, though, that the proposal looks more like a massing portrayal than a specific design, so even with this sized project, it can be something appealing. That said, the images look waaaaay too much like the horribly bland project on Glenwood where Tobacco Road is.
Hopefully the mass of building can be broken up with varied materials, colors, window frames, and window heights. Designers at North Hills East attempted this kind of breakup with windows and color on an EFIS-faced building, but forgot that relief also has to be in the design. Some sections should set back, others protrude. Another facet ignored is massive projects is the window height. North Hills is a godo project, but could have been great if the windows for each section were at differing heights. IT would have added some authenticity badly needed over there.
Nevertheless, I’m glad to see something going forward. I just hope that developers will still have some sense of pride in their developments while they try to please banks. Perhaps the name of the project should be renamed The Gillette, as the focus has clearly gone from being a brilliant idea to being something serviceable that we will one day throw away.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/08/16/allen-son-bbq-variant-coming-to-five-points/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/08/16/allen-son-bbq-variant-coming-to-five-points/#comments Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:19:39 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/08/16/allen-son-bbq-variant-coming-to-five-points/ It appears that Jimmy Stubbs from the Pittsboro Allen & Son Barbecue will be opening a store called “Five Points BBQ” in Raleigh. You can follow them on Twitter @5PointsBBQ. At this point I still don’t know if the restaurant will be in the old Audio Buys building or if it will go into the old Johnson’s Pharmacy spot (at Oberlin and Fairview). Word has been that the people who overhauled the old Audio Buys were hoping the space would be retail, but would upfit the space for a restaurant if that is the only potential suitor they could...
]]> It appears that Jimmy Stubbs from the Pittsboro Allen & Son Barbecue will be opening a store called “Five Points BBQ” in Raleigh. You can follow them on Twitter @5PointsBBQ .
At this point I still don’t know if the restaurant will be in the old Audio Buys building or if it will go into the old Johnson’s Pharmacy spot (at Oberlin and Fairview). Word has been that the people who overhauled the old Audio Buys were hoping the space would be retail, but would upfit the space for a restaurant if that is the only potential suitor they could find.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/07/26/last-call-for-the-brewery-many-memories/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/07/26/last-call-for-the-brewery-many-memories/#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:15:57 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/07/26/last-call-for-the-brewery-many-memories/ The Brewerrrryyyyyy’s run as the best live music venue in the NCSU area will come to an end on Friday with Embracing Goodbye. The building has been bought, and it, Time Out, Katmandu, and the Farmhouse will all be torn town and replaced with part of the planned Valentine Commons, a mixed-use development. The latest information on the city’ website deals with the zoning change, and it is case Z-012-11 (.pdf). Not many details are included in the document or are anywhere else, but it appears that a building of 3-5 stories in height will go in with street-level retail (rumored to be a Kerr Drugs) with office units above. There are many, many good memories of The Brewerrrryyyyyy (said in a monster truck-type voice). My first visit to the space was to see the Sex Police, a fantastic live band. They played The Lorax from a film projector on a movie screen behind them, which made the whole performance kind of artsy. Next was Detroit’s “Rhythm Corps” (in the Fall of ‘88 ) whose...
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The Brewerrrryyyyyy’s
run as the best live music venue in the NCSU area will come to an end on Friday with Embracing Goodbye. The building has been bought, and it, Time Out, Katmandu, and the Farmhouse will all be torn town and replaced with part of the planned
Valentine Commons
, a mixed-use development. The latest information on the city’ website deals with the zoning change, and it is case Z-012-11 (.pdf). Not many details are included in the document or are anywhere else, but it appears that a building of 3-5 stories in height will go in with street-level retail (rumored to be a Kerr Drugs) with office units above.
There are many, many good memories of The Brewerrrryyyyyy (said in a monster truck-type voice). My first visit to the space was to see the Sex Police, a fantastic live band. They played The Lorax from a film projector on a movie screen behind them, which made the whole performance kind of artsy. Next was Detroit’s “Rhythm Corps” (in the Fall of ‘88 ) whose sound was eerily echoed later by a Seattle band named Pearl Jam. Earlier that week, if I recall, a woman named Melissa Etheridge apparently blew the roof off the joint. (back then she played rock music and was extremely energetic). The venue also played host to Jane’s Addiction, Black Flag, and many other big acts, however my occasional drop-ins were just to see great regional acts like Johnny Quest, Hootie and the Blowfish (gawd – did they play The Brewery every other Friday or what? It’s a tossup between them and Jennyanykind), Pipe, Mr. Potatohead, Follow For Now, Southern Culture on the Skids, Dillon Fence, and a few others.
What I loved about The Brewerrryyyy was the layout. The room was square with the band playing on a triangular stage in the corner, so sitelines were great, even after they bumped out the back. It was always scary-packed in there, too, and getting a beer from the likes of Nikki Coury was always kind of a mosh act (her father, an OBGYN, delivered me). Glenn Mitchener and Randy Richardson worked the door, so it was always fun to catch up with those guys when I went in.
Since those days, however, the billing has been decidedly metal, the barking dog variety, and I haven’t been back. I’ll miss my days there, but to be honest, they were gone long before the news hit Twitter on Saturday.
Times at The Brewweerrryyyyy were actually not my fondest in that block, however. The little place to the left of the The Breweerrryyyyy was once Mr. Ribs, a fabulous rib joint in the ‘70s. While those same ribs are now served at Crowley’s, Mr. Ribs was special. It was a dark restaurant with captain’s chairs and 4-tops throughout. However it wasn’t dark enough for me to recognize State’s tallest student, Junior Tommy Burleson. I was so excited to see one of my heroes that I squealed to my family that “Montie Towe” was sitting two tables away, which Burleson easily heard and responded with a laugh. (I say the opposite of what I mean sometimes when I get tired or overly excited).
The Cantina was also one of the most fun bars in the State ‘hood. The real deal there was a bucket of Rolling Rocks, which was pretty cheap (but not like the $3 pitchers at Trolls in Chapel Hill). They also were one of the first places in Raleigh to serve soft flour tacos, which weren’t bad.
While those memories live on, I have to say that this development can be a real seed to improvement through a section of Hillsborough street that needs some redevelopment. Hopefully it will be the first step toward a small, walkable urban village where students can afford to rent an apartment as well as a place to continue finding good “wholesome” entertainment.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/06/20/mixed-use-mid-rise-planned-for-boylan-ave/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/06/20/mixed-use-mid-rise-planned-for-boylan-ave/#comments Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:40:57 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/06/20/mixed-use-mid-rise-planned-for-boylan-ave/ The site plan (.PDF) was recently submitted for a mixed-use, mid-rise building at the corner of Boylan Avenue and Tucker Streets, across from 712 Tucker in downtown Raleigh. The building will be less than 80’ high (so, likely 7 or 8 stories), and includes a parking garage, internal pool/courtyard area, and residential space at ground level. It appears this will be a 250-unit apartment building. Mixed Use Project:...
]]> The site plan (.PDF) was recently submitted for a mixed-use, mid-rise building at the corner of Boylan Avenue and Tucker Streets, across from 712 Tucker in downtown Raleigh. The building will be less than 80’ high (so, likely 7 or 8 stories), and includes a parking garage, internal pool/courtyard area, and residential space at ground level.
It appears this will be a 250-unit apartment building.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/01/31/cold-krispy-kreme-closes/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/01/31/cold-krispy-kreme-closes/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:29:31 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/01/31/cold-krispy-kreme-closes/ On Friday, on the cusp of Raleigh’s biggest tourism weekend in history, the Krispy Kreme location at City Plaza closed. The site, which only sold room temperature, unfresh doughnuts, was reported to stay open thru the All-Star weekend. However when the biggest fans of flat round things were swarming, KK folded, passing up one last opportunity to make money in a city-subsidized facility. The Peace/Person location will remain open. Like we couldn’t see this one coming from a mile away. The appeal of Krispy Kreme lies in their hot, fresh product. The greasy, room temperature product has never been appealing, and was set for failure in City Plaza from the getgo. Had the chain focused on delivering hot, glazed doughnuts instead of variety at that site, there was ample opportunity for success. I still adamantly feel that a small, Hot Doughnuts Now stand in the RBC Center would be a booming success. So what is next for this site? Success in City Plaza will not come from sales during...
]]> On Friday, on the cusp of Raleigh’s biggest tourism weekend in history, the Krispy Kreme location at City Plaza closed. The site, which only sold room temperature, unfresh doughnuts, was reported to stay open thru the All-Star weekend. However when the biggest fans of flat round things were swarming, KK folded, passing up one last opportunity to make money in a city-subsidized facility. The Peace/Person location will remain open.
Like we couldn’t see this one coming from a mile away. The appeal of Krispy Kreme lies in their hot, fresh product. The greasy, room temperature product has never been appealing, and was set for failure in City Plaza from the getgo. Had the chain focused on delivering hot, glazed doughnuts instead of variety at that site, there was ample opportunity for success. I still adamantly feel that a small, Hot Doughnuts Now stand in the RBC Center would be a booming success.
So what is next for this site? Success in City Plaza will not come from sales during special events. There aren’t many of these kinds of events and the plaza is not interesting enough to be the hangout the city was hoping it would be. It is the business that can attract a steady stream of customers from lunch thru the afternoon that will make it. For sure, the easiest slam dunk is a good, basic, hamburger or taco stand. This facility is essentially a food truck, so the aim should be to serve quick food that is good. Only Burger or Char-Grill would do well in this site because good burgers sell; period. Another idea is a taco stand featuring good ingredients. Chubbys and Los Cuates could handle the job. Food from Fonda Y Birrieria Jalisco would be even better (just get a better name!). The beauty of a taco stand is that it would attract tons of traffic during non-peak hours. There are many like me who could eat a good taco appetizer at any hour of the day.
Raleigh now sits in a position similar, but on a smaller scale, to Atlanta’s once the Olympics was over. The long-awaited event has passed, and it is time for the City to get back to making Fayetteville Street a “sustainable” destination for residents on every day of the year. There still is important work to be done.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/01/22/terminal-2-opens-sunday/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/01/22/terminal-2-opens-sunday/#comments Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:04:56 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2011/01/22/terminal-2-opens-sunday/ The second half of Terminal 2, the replacement for RDU’s 1987-era Terminal C, opens today. The 920,000 square foot completed project will have 36 gates, 13 shops and restaurants, and a central atrium containing an art piece called “Triplet”. The 4th and 5th baggage claim carousels will also open. The project cost approximately $570 million. The completed project now designates the new terminal with two concourses, C and D (map), though they are technically on the same hallway. The gates that opened in 2008 are on the C concourse, and the gates opening now are on the D concourse. Airports have now gone to new nomenclature with terminals numbered and their concourses distinctly designated with letters. Terminal 2 is now the host of Air Canada (D5, D9), American Airlines and American Eagle (C17- C18, C20-C25), Continental and Continental Express (D1, D3, D6), Delta and Delta Connection (C1, C3, C7, C9, C14, C15), Frontier (C25), United and United Express (D5, D9), and US...
]]> [ See image gallery at www.gogoraleigh.com ]
The second half of Terminal 2 , the replacement for RDU’s 1987-era Terminal C, opens today. The 920,000 square foot completed project will have 36 gates, 13 shops and restaurants, and a central atrium containing an art piece called “Triplet”. The 4th and 5th baggage claim carousels will also open. The project cost approximately $570 million.
The completed project now designates the new terminal with two concourses, C and D (map), though they are technically on the same hallway. The gates that opened in 2008 are on the C concourse, and the gates opening now are on the D concourse. Airports have now gone to new nomenclature with terminals numbered and their concourses distinctly designated with letters.
Terminal 2 is now the host of Air Canada (D5, D9), American Airlines and American Eagle (C17- C18, C20-C25), Continental and Continental Express (D1, D3, D6), Delta and Delta Connection (C1, C3, C7, C9, C14, C15), Frontier (C25), United and United Express (D5, D9), and US Airways and US Airways Express (D10-D13). The following airlines remain in Terminal 1, the one that should have been replaced: AirTran, JetBlue, and Southwest Airlines.
In May 2010, the RDU Airport Authority voted to spend an extra $500,000 in order to accelerate construction so the project could be completed before next week’s NHL All-Star game. Let’s hope that all of the media, tourist, and athletes all arrive in Terminal 2.
The terminal is gorgeous. It is the “first major airport to be constructed with wooden struts”, but those really only encompass the fascinating roof. Much stone is used to compliment the wooden tones in the ceiling, and the attention to detail is impressive. While the overall idea was conveyed with Phase I of the building, the true scale of the roof and use of light could not be appreciated until now. Whether it is with carefully placed artwork, mosaic patterns in the terrazzo flooring, or bag hooks at the bathroom sinks, an impressive number of details were considered in constructing the building.
There was one unfortunate oversight, however: the choice of glass for the ticketing area’s South Wall. Apparently the glass did not filter enough light, so an enourmous curtain was created to tone the intensity of the sunlight that hits this wall most of the day. While the giant white curtain is dramatic, it will likely be dirty and unsightly in a few years.
Terminal 2 will truly be an impressive gateway for visitors and prospective business clients who enter this terminal. For those who do not arrive via the terminal, the building will certainly find its place among citizens’ driving tours for out-of-towners (unlike another award-winning facility that recently opened). Hopefully the airport authority can make necessary changes to Terminal 1 in order to bring it up to Terminal 2’s high standards.
If you are interested in visiting the terminal, be sure to park in the “Hourly 2” parking area. The entrance bays are to the far left in the deck’s entrance plaza. Parking is $1/hr. You will not be able to access the concourses without a plane ticket, but the atrium and baggage claim areas can still be appreciated by casual visitors.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/12/30/glenwood-hampton-inn-gets-site-plan/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/12/30/glenwood-hampton-inn-gets-site-plan/#comments Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:36:38 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/12/30/glenwood-hampton-inn-gets-site-plan/ After about a year and a half of latency, it looks like the Hampton Inn project in Glenwood South is moving forward. A Site Plan (.pdf) for the project, slated for the NW corner of Glenwood and Johnson, has been posted to the city’s site. The shoebox-shaped project will actually face Hi-5 on Johnson Street, and feature 950’ of unrelated retail space on its Glenwood Avenue street-level facade. The City of Raleigh requires 145 parking spaces for the building, but the plan is currently unclear about how those will be offered. The project once showed 157 rooms planned, but now appears to be 126 units. The hotel will not have any special terracing or setback from the Glenwood Avenue sidewalk, but will only rise 5 stories on that face of the building. Thanks, Chris! map...
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![abbeycarpet[1]](https://www.gogoraleigh.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/abbeycarpet1.jpg "abbeycarpet[1]")
After about a year and a half of latency, it looks like the Hampton Inn project in Glenwood South is moving forward. A
Site Plan
(.pdf) for the project, slated for the NW corner of Glenwood and Johnson, has been posted to the city’s site. The shoebox-shaped project will actually face Hi-5 on Johnson Street, and feature 950’ of unrelated retail space on its Glenwood Avenue street-level facade. The City of Raleigh requires 145 parking spaces for the building, but the plan is currently unclear about how those will be offered.
The project once showed 157 rooms planned, but now appears to be 126 units. The hotel will not have any special terracing or setback from the Glenwood Avenue sidewalk, but will only rise 5 stories on that face of the building.
Thanks, Chris!
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/09/27/total-wine-moving-to-the-lassiter/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/09/27/total-wine-moving-to-the-lassiter/#comments Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:34:27 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/09/27/total-wine-moving-to-the-lassiter/ Ever since Harris Teeter’s disastrous move across the Mississippi (Six Forks) to North Hills East, there has been a lot of talk about what would fill the old North Hills Plaza grocery store space. Many have lobbied for a specialty foods vendor or a bookstore. However word from a viable source is that Total Wine will move from its space tucked away in North Hills to the large, empty space in The Lassiter. While it is a huge step up from the little wine shop that once sat on the back side of the plaza, the news comes as a disappointment to people hoping the space would add a new opportunity for...
]]> Ever since Harris Teeter’s disastrous move across the Mississippi (Six Forks) to North Hills East, there has been a lot of talk about what would fill the old North Hills Plaza grocery store space. Many have lobbied for a specialty foods vendor or a bookstore. However word from a viable source is that Total Wine will move from its space tucked away in North Hills to the large, empty space in The Lassiter. While it is a huge step up from the little wine shop that once sat on the back side of the plaza, the news comes as a disappointment to people hoping the space would add a new opportunity for shoppers.
]]> http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/09/27/total-wine-moving-to-the-lassiter/feed/ 7
http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/08/03/rail-recommendation-coming-for-council-today/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/08/03/rail-recommendation-coming-for-council-today/#comments Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:41:57 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/08/03/rail-recommendation-coming-for-council-today/ The Raleigh City Council’s Passenger Rail Task Force will present their report and recommendations at today’s City Council meeting. The group analyzed three proposed plans for High(er) Speed Rail and how it will impact residents and businesses along corridors. The three plans are online, and viewing them before today’s 1:00 meeting (televised on RTN) will ease the viewer’s understanding of the subject matter. The three maps for downtown are the most interesting (map 1, map 2, map 3 – all pdf). The show alternative routes and possibilities for new crossing arrangements. One proposal puts the railway between Capital Blvd and Whitaker Mill Road. The other two put the railway on the Mordecai side of Capital Blvd. The Task Force presentation falls on page 19 of the City Council’s 24-page agenda. So, while the agenda is not followed at a constant pace, and is sometime ignored, we can at least get a sense of when the presentation will...
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The Raleigh City Council’s Passenger Rail Task Force will present their report and recommendations at today’s City Council meeting. The group analyzed three proposed plans for High(er) Speed Rail and how it will impact residents and businesses along corridors. The three
plans are online
, and viewing them before today’s 1:00 meeting (televised on RTN) will ease the viewer’s understanding of the subject matter.
The three maps for downtown are the most interesting ( map 1 , map 2 , map 3 – all pdf). The show alternative routes and possibilities for new crossing arrangements. One proposal puts the railway between Capital Blvd and Whitaker Mill Road. The other two put the railway on the Mordecai side of Capital Blvd.
The Task Force presentation falls on page 19 of the City Council’s 24-page agenda. So, while the agenda is not followed at a constant pace, and is sometime ignored, we can at least get a sense of when the presentation will be.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/06/17/little-walter-wont-become-an-alcoholic/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/06/17/little-walter-wont-become-an-alcoholic/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:11:07 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2010/06/17/little-walter-wont-become-an-alcoholic/ Today the State Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission denied Raleigh’s request for an exception to a law prohibiting alcohol-based naming rights. The new amphitheater, which ought to be named after Sir Walter Raleigh, will have to be named after something other than an alcohol product, notably Bud Light. Apparently carrying the Bud Light name would result in scores of alcoholics in the area, so the City of Raleigh will have to make a contract with someone else, perhaps a company that serves palm-oil based fried food, radiation spewing personal electronic devices, or personal transportation devices people use in running up highway death tallies. Just so long as we don’t become like those people who live near the formerly named Molsen Center in Montreal. Now that is a bunch of worthless alcoholics if I’ve ever seen...
]]> Today the State Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission denied Raleigh’s request for an exception to a law prohibiting alcohol-based naming rights. The new amphitheater, which ought to be named after Sir Walter Raleigh, will have to be named after something other than an alcohol product, notably Bud Light.
Apparently carrying the Bud Light name would result in scores of alcoholics in the area, so the City of Raleigh will have to make a contract with someone else, perhaps a company that serves palm-oil based fried food, radiation spewing personal electronic devices, or personal transportation devices people use in running up highway death tallies. Just so long as we don’t become like those people who live near the formerly named Molsen Center in Montreal. Now that is a bunch of worthless alcoholics if I’ve ever seen any.
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