A volunteer group of good folks in Glenwood South came together and put art on the streets. Three designs from local artists have been applied to three crosswalks on Glenwood at Jones, North, and Tucker Street.
These citizen-led projects are always high-quality. The bottom-up approach is fueled by passion and if you haven’t participated in one, it can be a grueling test of patience. Doing creative things within the public realm is quite a challenge and I applaud anyone who takes a stab at it.
The city’s top-down culture directly clashes with people’s big ideas for their neighborhood or city in general. You can make a lot of people nervous by proposing outside-the-box ideas. This is why you sometimes see guerilla urbanism take place in some cases, where asking for forgiveness is easier than permission.
Thank you to Donna Belt and the entire team behind this. I think this is simply fantastic!
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Outside of money: Just a question, why only 3 crosswalks and not all 4 to complete the intersection?
@Anthony, they are at three different crossroads along Glenwood.
We need more of this!
Just received some very reliable info. from a good friend of mine & wanted to pass this to everyone on downtown . Residence Inn @ 616 S. Salisbury St. permits will be ready mid- Nov. Edison Tower Plans will be in Dec./Jan. , permits in spring ! Charter North , spring/summer 2016 , Apts. @ old Greyhound site , 4/5 story , West 11 plans are in preliminary stage on Harrington St. , Mr. Kane’s Tower looks awesome , 19 stories & will start in a few months ! “Go Raleigh”!
Thanks Dwight. The city is really on a roll. Let’s hope these all get going as soon as possible. More projects just inches the city center closer to significant retail options.
Dwight,
Where can we see the rendering of the 19 story Kane building (is this one of his 3 building that is part of The Dillon)?
Also, what is West 11?
Thx
@ Anthony , When the city makes the Kane project available to the public , it should be under “Current Development Activity” on their Business & Development Heading , which is @ the top of their raleighnc.gov page . The West 11 is a apartment project on Harrington St. , close to The West Apartments .
All of these are good J-Davis projects..FYI
The site plan for Dillon is on the city’s internet. One thing that looks like some cool potential… the existing railroad tracks that run through the building may be left in place for the ground floor retail spaces along Martin Street?!!
What do you mean “The West 11” I can find no reference anywhere to such a project. Do you mean The West Apartments II (as in roman numeral 2?) proposed by Sandreuter about 4-ish years ago?
@ Orulz , It’s The West ll Apartments that you are referring too ! Sorry for not explaining better .
The Dillon’s main tower will be 226 feet, about the size of Charter South with an extra floor? Not quite as tall as I thought it would be.
I read 17 and 6 stories???
Dillon ground floor is 22′ tall, leaves an average floor-to-floor height of 12’9″ for floors 2 through 17.
Regarding “West 11” There actually was a submission to the city for a parking lot at the address 11 N. West St earlier this year. This is a tiny chunk at the northern end of the triangular block bounded by Hillsboroguh/Edenton/West. This may be the root of the confusion, perhaps.
225 ft isn’t bad for a part of DT that doesn’t have any tall buildings at this point. The Dillon “complex,” Citrix, Union Station, and the Raleigh HQ project are the beginning of a huge transformation in the Warehouse District. That part of DT hasn’t seen new construction in 50 years at a minimum. It’s hard to wait, but I think by 2020 DT Raleigh want have much choice but to go taller.
@Bob, I love your enthusiasm and completely agree. :-)
To be honest so long as a building is over 10 stories (the NYC average floor height) I think we should view it as a net benefit.
Personally, I am pleased with Kane’s project. For one, this is a somewhat transitional area and we cannot expect – at this point – anything really tall. Just bringing an entire block to life makes me happy and optimistic, provided it will have a decent urban form. Anything 5-stories and above would be great use for this area, but I would also love to see some true big city type Victorian brownstones, like the Back Bay Brownstones in Boston. Like many of you, I am anxious to see the renderings :)
@Ernest I have some good news and bad news. The good news: Duda Paine will design one of the buildings in Kane’s Dillon project! ….. the bad news: J Davis is designing the MAIN building in the project -_-
Jake, I am under the impression that Duda Paine designed the main building, which is the office component. Council woman Crowder mentioned that, too, during the time she was still thinking about how to vote. One thing that is confusing is the rendering that leaked a few months ago. In that rendering, the taller building is the residential, whereas now things are different: the office building will be around 17 floors and the two residential buildings will be 6 floors each (one of them will be across from the main project. I suspect that the residential component will be designed by JDavis.
PLEASE, don’t misunderstand me. You may be 100% right, which means that something changed. Can’t say that I am happy, but not because I don’t like JDavis, but because I want the component that stands out the most to be a more contemporary design, and Duda Paine is one of the best candidates. Who knows, if JDavis does the main building, they may create something like the original Edison ;)
Or 17 stories of beige vinyl siding! ;-)
HAHA! The only source I have is a post New Raleigh put on Facebook the other day. I hope you’re right, though, Ernest!
According to the Triangle Business Journal, the Raleigh based Lundy Group has won the battle for 301 Hillsborough st property. What will they build?
@Robert. I just noticed the article as well. This is very interesting. I think that this would be a blow if we don’t get a minimum of 15 stories at this lot and it really should be the maximum 20 that is allowed at this time. I think the Lundy Group is prime to bring the much needed grocery store to this lot. But I have a bad feeling the height is going to be a let down. Let’s keep our fingers crossed on this one. A grocery store on the bottom of 20 stories would be a dream come true!
Well then. That does not inspire much confidence. The other, Texas based development group that was fighting for it has a FANTASTIC portfolio, and had some buildings with HEIGHT. The Lundy group’s portfolio? Suburban office parks and 1-2 story medical office buildings. UGH. WTF. If whatever they plan for that lot is not AT LEAST 20 stories (I think it’s absolutely insane that they’ve capped it off there), then no matter how decent it looks it will be a massive, massive disappointment.
The renderings being shown is J-Davis’s initial Renderings when the site was configured in a different way. Jeff, I don’t think that they have ever put vinyl siding on a building. JDavis is now doing the residential portion and Duda Pane has a 7 story garage rising out of the existing warehouse with an office on top.
$6.3 million is a very respectable amount and I truly hope that the Lundy Group goes above 20 floors because it will be a good test for our city council members to prove that they do not aim to discourage heights where they make sense. Still, the following excerpt from the article concerns me:
“The property was rezoned by the city in the spring to allow for construction of a building with up to 20 floors of commercial, retail and residential development.”
I am fully aware that it is possible to go higher, but I fear that in order for the developers to have a quick approval, they may end up with a “fat” building that makes the most out of the available space, instead of putting step backs, which could offer the Dawson people more air to breath and place a taller component along Hillsborough Street.
On the other hand, I am happy that this is over and I hope that the Lundy Group will maximize their investment in the best way possible, both in terms of height and uses. I would love to see a grocery store that could serve the downtown proper well. I understand that they are mostly focusing on suburban locations, but let’s give them a chance. Many suburban office developers want to diversify their portfolio and Lundy Group may want to make a statement with something unique. As long as they have the money and/or credibility, we can hope for something great on this parcel.
Instead of coming on here and whining about how you don’t like this and that, you could just email the Lundy Group. Now that you know who will be developing the lot might as go directly to the source and let them know how you feel.
@ Chad
We can do both when it comes to how we would like for our city to grow. Just like yourself this format offers all views…IMHO
Chad, speaking just for me, I intend to send Lundy Group a nice email to congratulate them and *encourage* them to make the most of their investment. Obviously, being a company that has actually delivered projects, they know how to maximize their profits and don’t need us to tell them “what” or “how”, especially when they spend over $6 million for land acquisition.
The issue is not Lundy Group, though, as much as the city leaders who keep using discouraging language that puts emphasis on limits, rather than freedom to think outside the box. I’ve done my part in that department and I am not sure that the city leaders are willing to agree with me. If we want to make some impact, we should also encourage the city council to change their tone a little and think of possibilities, rather than limits. Given the current circumstances I think that some whining is well justified, but that is just my opinion.
Is everyone here forgetting that the Lundy Group also developed Greenbridge? Which is about as far from “box” development as it gets in the Triangle.
Michael, I believe that the original developer was Greenbridge Developments, and if I am not mistaken the property was foreclosed. Lundy Group helped the developer originally and they were recently involved in sales and management. Not to downplay their involvement, but they have not really done anything of urban nature, yet. I surely hope that their Hillsborough Street project will be of good quality and their way of entering Downtown Raleigh.
The TBJ is reporting that The N&O downtown 3 acre lot has sold for 20.2 million . The closing is suppose to be in the spring .
@Dwight… I read that article as well… I am not sure how I feel about the group that is mentioned. Without further research… first reaction is…they seem to be associated with smaller projects… perhaps more modern… but smaller none the less!
This is a major sale and I hope that the developers will be able to deliver something beyond our expectations. I am confident about the developers having what it takes to get this project moving. Andrew Sandman was behind The Paramount – at a time when building something of that size in Glenwood South was a tough sell – and the 39-story One Glenwood vision, which is not dead, as far as I know.
While I do believe in the ability of this group to move forward without much stalling, I will maintain some reservations with regards to the size of the project – considering the location. I don’t want to be disappointed, even though this is one of the last few parcels where we hoped to see at least two skyscrapers. Now, if we get the up-to-20-stories crap (which is what I expect to see) then some of you will have to allow me to say the famous: “See, I told you so…” Hopefully, I will be completely wrong.
I don’t usually do a lot of complaining BUT!!!!!! A lot this size and in this location,should be nothing less than Raleigh’s new tallest. Anything short of that will be a GIANT disappointment.
Great news about the N&O lot! The price and location, I see maybe two tall ones! Several buildings will be kept, and if they keep and expand the parking deck, two buildings may be all that will fit.
This development could do wonders for the skyline, filling in the gap between PNC and Wells Fargo. With the Dillon, 301 Hillsborough, Charter North and the Edison office, things are really looking good! Will the police lot be next?
@ William , I have talked to Ruffin Hall on the city lot , ( police site ) , & currently the city is doing a study on whether to sell to a developer or to build a city complex . He said that a lot depends on if the study shows that there is enough land to build what the city will need for their future plans .
Dwight, thanks. The PD lot seems to be two blocks from everything DT and has Nash Square across the street and a parking deck already there, a great spot for something 20-25 stories. The city should definitely consider building something tall on one of those two lots (PD or city hall).
Is there any information or statistics after this project was implemented in reference to the safety of pedestrians?
Yes. I use one of these crosswalks twice a week, and I have made it safely across 100% of the time.
I think the real question is why a higher grade paint wasn’t used. It faded almost immediately.