by Leo Suarez

Municipography – Stone’s Warehouse and Plaza Upgrades

Stone's Warehouse on East Davie Street

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

I recommend email readers click through to the website to see the embedded video.

At this week’s city council meeting, progress was made to two very interesting projects. The overhaul of Market and Exchange Plazas was approved and money will be spent to start construction. The city owned Stone’s Warehouse and nearby buildings should be sold soon to Transfer Company LLC, who want to renovate the building, add more space, and include townhomes on the site.

Market and Exchange Plaza

Watch the video snippet above. If it doesn’t work for you, click here.

From the agenda:

On December 12, 2014 formal bids were opened to perform improvements to Market Plaza and Exchange Plaza; each plaza provides pedestrian access between Fayetteville and Wilmington streets. The project involves renovations and improvements to both plazas, which are in varying states of disrepair. Improvements include the installation of new concrete unit pavers, concrete paving, seat walls, planting, site lighting, storm water drainage, electrical service, water service, irrigation, screen enclosures, and shade structures.

A total of four bids were received. The lowest bid was submitted by Holt Brothers Construction, LLC in the amount of $1,129,897. Funding is appropriated in the capital budget and will be transferred administratively. SDMWOB participation is 100%.
Recommendation: Authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with Holt Brothers Construction, LLC in an amount not to exceed $1,129,897

Council members continuously made comments about how they didn’t know about this project but there have been images, plans, and public meetings about it for about a year now. We’ve discussed it on the blog already and it’s great to see this plaza project move to the next step.

I am pretty sure that this project will then wipe out any last remnants of the previous Fayetteville Street Mall design that is still left from the 1970s. Go get a taste of it, if you want, before it’s gone.

Stone’s Warehouse

Watch the video snippet above. If it doesn’t work for you, click here.

From the agenda:

During the January 6, 2015 Council meeting, the Budget and Economic Development Committee presented the following recommendation:

The Committee recommends upholding staff’s recommendation to select Transfer Company, LLC for the redevelopment of the Stone’s Warehouse site, authorizing Community Development to coordinate preparation of a purchase agreement, and authorizing staff to amend zoning application Z-25-14 to include split zoning, with conditions to accommodate the proposed uses as proposed by Transfer Company, LLC. The Committee’s recommendation was with the understanding that a majority of the proceeds from the disposition of the property would go toward development of affordable housing in this area and to assist with the Rex Senior Center relocation.

After discussion on the future of the Rex Senior Center, it was directed that the item be placed on this agenda and that administration work with the parties involved to determine Transfer Company, LLC’s proposal for the Rex Senior Center. A memorandum from staff outlining the discussion is included with the agenda packet.

Council can take action to proceed with the recommendation as outlined by the Budget and Economic Development Committee.

The ongoing conversation here is how to move the Rex Senior Health Center but that didn’t stop council from approving the Budget and Economic Development Committee’s recommendation for city staff to start work on selling the property to Transfer Companny, LLC. Another council approval will be needed for the sale to take place.

For some more reading on this project, check out Stone’s Warehouse and Affordable Housing

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12 Comments

  1. Leo, you made reference to the fact that those plazas are the last remnants–or at least the biggest and most conspicuous remnants–of Fayetteville Street’s pedestrian mall era. While it’s not currently fashionable to be nostalgic for the Fayetteville Street mall, and like most people I generally don’t miss it and much prefer it the way it is now, it’s an undeniably huge (if notorious) part of Downtown Raleigh’s cultural legacy, and I guess I’m a little uneasy with obliterating all traces of it. I’ve actually had the thought a number of times that I wish they would preserve at least a little piece of the old Fayetteville Street mall, as a reminder and a tribute to a concept that seems ridiculous in hindsight, but was integral to the geography of the city center for more than a quarter-century. Anybody else agree?

  2. Raleigh has a nice legacy of slavery. Wouldn’t a plaque mentioning it be better than having a few enslaved people around for old times’ sakes? I’m just kidding, but seriously, the plazas are still going to be there. It’s not like they’re putting buildings over them. They’re just sprucing them up so people actually feel safe using them.

  5. what a waste to cut down the maple trees and spend 1,200,000 dollars on this! The plans are terrible. lights strung from OEP to 227 building. it’s just money and the homeless use the doors to OEP as there bathroom over the weekends. nasty

  6. @ bc…The homeless use the doors to OEP because the cover the trees provide and the terrible lighting that the area has. Once this is cleaned up and lighted (hopefully led lights) it will make it extremely harder for the homeless to use the area as a public bathroom

  7. We could also have the police actually enforce all those laws about public urination, intoxication, littering, aggressive panhandling, etc. and get some of the less social homeless folks off the streets. I feel as bad for them as the next person, but we have to expect some level of decency from everyone across the board. If I got drunk and peed in someone’s doorway, I’d expect to be arrested. As much as everyone hates to admit it, gentrification like this helps some of this in its own way.

  10. My tax money going towards something I can actually use, and for only $2.50 per resident. Not a waste.

  11. Amen @Jeff! I totally agree with you. I remember when I former mayor made his entire campaign about the city having spent $50,000 on the Time & Light Tower (essentially less than 50 cents per citizen at the time) and my logic was the same as yours.

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