by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Townhomes at Blount Street Commons
The townhomes on Person Street, as part of the Blount Street Commons project, have been mostly built out. The more northern units look almost done and give us a sense of what they will look like.

I am a big fan of these types of residential units and hope to see more, a lot more, in the future in and around downtown Raleigh. Hopefully future projects can have a better sidewalk entrance as these are pretty bare.

Townhomes at Blount Street Commons

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11 Comments

  1. Agreed! These and I share the same private street (Peace Townes) so i’ve done the unofficial tour. What looks like a 4 story unit is actually 2 units. One unit on the first and second floor and the second unit on the third and fourth floor.

  3. I like the traditional look of row houses and brownstone’s but these look very suburban and cheap. It’s almost like having a cookie cutter neighborhood, downtown. Looking at the other neighborhoods Stanley Martin Homes has built I’m not surprised at this generic design.

  5. bam, thank you for providing a link to what SHOULD have been done. While the overall form of the Blount Street townhomes may be an improvement over the usual garbage we see in suburban neighborhoods, neither the quality, nor the architecture of these structure is what that location deserves. I know that there was a lot of screaming about “affordability”, but I am not sure this is what we had in mind.

    The funny thing – and sad, at the same time – is that there are some older “townhomes” that were built for office/commercial use, in a faux Georgetown/colonial style. While they are 2-3 story buildings , they would probably fit better architecturally in the Blount Street Commons. Nothing spectacular, but feasible. Check these:

    https://www.google.com/maps/@35.8222162,-78.6294026,3a,46.8y,119.81h,93.57t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sLdBBg_K9DvzgfpIccg5EHw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

    Pembrock Square (much prettier in real life):
    https://www.google.com/maps/@35.8702063,-78.6402059,3a,89.9y,358.14h,81.37t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s56yRz3diNAzgrajkXkZr6g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

    Anyway, another opportunity was lost and it makes me wonder where we’ll see the next bunch of “duplex” townhomes popping up. My guess is East of Moore Square or even Glenwood South. This may become a new trend, much like the cheap monolithic apartment buildings we see everywhere.

  6. FWIW, I’m in DT Los Angeles for a week and the place is full of stick built apartment buildings. This includes one that is going up right now against the Interstate highway….I mean, literally right against it. Rest assured that this cheap stick built stuff isn’t a Raleigh issue/problem but a national model for urban housing.

  7. ^Hardly reassuring… Raleigh could be- should be- the “City of the Future” – we shouldn’t just follow the status quo. We should be setting the trends.. we have the power to. If only, if only…

  8. I look forward to driving by here to see these in person. Balconies, shutters, and planters (instead of the small hill with bushes) would’ve went a long way. However, maintaining a certain price point would certainly take these feature out quickly.

  9. @Jake, I wasn’t trying to reassure anyone. I was only setting some national context to the discussion.

  11. http://www.wral.com/park-planned-for-downtown-raleigh-to-highlight-african-american-legacy-in-nc/14986576/

    This park has been in the making for a long time… some progress… but i am unsure if it will ever get completed in a timely manner! I do think it could be a great thing for that area… especially if the Governors plan to domesticate that general area happens. (Hopefully it will enhance a new government complex while freeing up lots for building a New Raleigh skyline!) The park may help pave way for new development…both residential and business.

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