Comments on: Downtown Thoughts Over A Pint

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:18:45 +0000

City of Raleigh needs to strongly atract Corporations in downtown instead of Suburban office parks.That is so 1990′s.Look at Charlotte for example,Raleigh has such potential. What about the plans for building around the RBC Center with offices and Hotels,what happened to that.Or the So called Solei center that was suppose to be built near Crabtree. Boy what a Bummed deal. They should of Built it Downtown,Folks know that Condos dont sell that well in this market anyway, Good or Bad. That would have been an awesome sight to see,and the tallest building in Downtown Raleigh at 43 stories.Build more Hotels and guest will see what Raielgh is really all about.

By: Mirelanski

Mirelanski — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:59:23 +0000

In recent new it was stated that GSK has decided to name RTP it’s headquarters. Mind you, they are not abandoning their high-rise in Philly that was one part of their dual headquarters setup. But, I would of thought that we could sway them into consolidating their locations (all 35 of them in RTP) and perhaps coming to the Raleigh’s core. I’m sure all 35 aren’t labs. The good news for Raleigh’s core is as RTP rapidly runs out of land more office components should come online DT.

Prime example, look at Quintiles and their 10 story mid-rise (nice looking building by the way). That could of put a Westin downtown. How are we losing these opportunties. I wish i knew more about how these negotiates are handled once a business even expressed mere interest in our region (the triangle).

By: Jake

Jake — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:46:39 +0000

I tend to agree with the observation about the outdoor music venue. As for the sports arena point, I believe the city has more or less thrown its weight behind the RBC out of necessity — while it is considerably out of the way (nice foresight in planning that one), it still has a great deal of shelf life left. I remember reading something to the effect that having the RBC so far removed was in line with the spread-out concept behind the Triangle as a whole…

It would definitely be great to have that arena saddled up to downtown, but I’m content with the setup now (though I totally agree on a shuttle-type system).

By: Levi

Levi — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:59:55 +0000

Given the recent shake-up in the banking/finance world and the inevitable consolidation that will follow, I wonder if we couldn’t do more to attract more banking/finance HQs and offices. High-rise buildings and finance go hand in hand – take a look at what Charlotte has accomplished over the past few decades. Finance jobs offer the highest return per capita [and probably per office space square foot], for a city – with well paid individuals spending and investing their high incomes in the community. This will not be easily done, but there are a lot of companies and people who are now looking to “start over” – and a physical/geographical change (with the right incentives) could be a start. Again, Charlotte definitely has a huge head start – but now would be as opportune a time as any to take some “market share”. And it’s not like we’re starting from scratch – look at some of the buildings that we already have downtown – RBC, BB&T, Wachovia.

An even grander idea is to take advantage of an industry that many consider to be the next big opportunity – equal or greater to the computer industry of the late 70s – while still in its relative infancy; the so called “green industry”. No matter your view on this, the billions of dollars being invested into companies that are in this industry cannot be ignored. Private equity and VC dollars are being funneled directly into companies who provide an array of products and services related to renewable energy. Many financial funds and companies are being created for this sole purpose.

Why not make Raleigh the center of all of this? Why not try and attract Green Tech VC and Private Equity groups to downtown Raleigh? Attract the HQs of startups and established renewable energy companies to the area. The greater metro area has plenty of available manufacturing space for which these companies can perform their necessary operations. Take for example a company like SunPower Corp. who makes high-quality and efficient solar panels. They could have their HQs in downtown Raleigh with next door access to all kinds of “green” capital. SunPower could have manufacturing facilities just up the road in Wake Forest. And we have a very capable port 2 hours down the road in Wilmington in which they can import their low-cost supplies from China and export their final product throughout the world. Not to mention the university system containing some of the brightest minds in the world that make up the different industries that can contribute to and benefit from sustainable energy. I am reminded of Marshall Brain’s plan for Raleigh as “City of the Future” (http://marshallbrain.com/raleigh/) – why not make a play on this and really make Raleigh the green capital of the US. An east coast silicon valley for the renewable energy industry. All the resources are here; it just takes some organization and the will to attract the necessary players.

By: Leo

Leo — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:28:34 +0000

Ernest, I agree. It is an interesting conversation but I think right now, residents drive retail, not the other way around. Some places will take risks and stay open late or on weekends. These are the businesses that are really helping downtown grow, the risk takers. Their success will put confidence in other developers keeping an eye on downtown.