Author / Leo Suarez

by Leo Suarez

Credit Slowing The Raleigh Skyline


The Hillsborough site remains the same since January

I wanted to highlight this interesting article in the Triangle Business Journal that gives you an idea of the problems that the lagging developments in Raleigh are facing. Some are related to downtown.

“It’s just a lousy environment,” says Reynolds, who along with his father, Ted, is trying to finalize an agreement to buy the rest of the city-owned property on which The Hillsborough tower would rise at the corner of Hillsborough and Dawson streets.

Via TBJ

Not all new developments are affected however.


Full speed ahead; double cranin-it at The Hue

by Leo Suarez

[UPDATE 6:58pm]222 Is A Key Player In Glenwood South

Walked down Glenwood South recently? 222 Glenwood is putting the finishing touches on and is only a couple months away from completion. I’m pretty eager to see this condo building up and running; as well as getting the sidewalk back. This building is a key part of expanding the entertainment factor for Glenwood South as well as helping to connect the district.

Parking options will increase with the addition of 222’s deck. All the residents will have their own spaces and the rest should be used by the public. However, it is yet to be determined whether spaces will be used for valet or for business purposes only. If available for the public, I would expect a small fee during peak nightlife hours. The deck has two entrances/exits but the traffic pattern is yet to be known either. See the picture below for possible ways in and out.

222 almost covers the entire length of the block and there is a good stretch of windows that give any pedestrian some eye candy as they stroll by. There appears to be retail/restaurant space on every stretch of the Glenwood sidewalk, besides the small space for the resident lobby. The “window shopping” effect will be attractive to people walking by and I expect this part of the street to get some good foot traffic.

Lastly, 222 will help bridge Powerhouse Square and the rest of Glenwood South. The zigzag walk down West and up Jones St. is lined with Blue Martini, Napper Tandy’s, 42nd St. Oyster Bar, Prime Only, 518 West, Mosaic, and Turkish Delights. This building will fill the gap up to Lane St., where Zely & Ritz, Sushi Blues, Hibernian, Cody’s, and The Rockford get things started again.

For Glenwood South to grow, we need to fill the gaps that it has with pedestrian oriented buildings and shops. 222 hits it dead on.

[UPDATE 6:58pm]
I noticed some commenters were not so happy with the look, especially the color. I just noticed this today and had to throw it up to get some opinions. Check out the paint job on the parking deck seen from the back, West St.

by Leo Suarez

EnviroCon: Are You Participating In Earth Hour?


Earth hour was started last year in Sydney, Australia and the event is growing in popularity with more cities participating this year. Raleigh has not signed up and I wish I knew of this sooner to get us on there. You can still participate by shutting off your entire house for an hour at 8pm tomorrow, Saturday March 29th. Even in its second year, there are huge contributions to this planned event.

So on March 29th, whenever 8pm rolls around, over 350 cities in 35 countries, millions of individuals, the Sears Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge, and 2,100 corporations including HP, Coca Cola and McDonald’s, are all turning off their lights.

Via Ecogeek

by Leo Suarez

DTR’s Pieces of Flare: The Shimmer Wall

News is slow but conversation never dies. With that, I wanted to dig up an old post that talks about the shimmer wall that is going to be put on the west side of the convention center. For all the juicy details, click here. The wall will cover about 9,000 sq. ft. which is quite large. Here are some renderings and recent pictures of the shimmer wall skeleton.

Right now there are no towers blocking the view when you are driving up South Saunders St. or looking from Dorothea Dix campus. The dancing lights will add some flare to the Raleigh skyline.

by Leo Suarez

Slow Goings At The Atrium

The Atrium is still not complete. It is actually in standby mode and there has not been work here in months. I do not know of what will eventually happen here but it is not looking good so far. Could this be another dead project?

Anyway, I wanted to highlight the facade change. Here are two pictures; a before and after sort of speak. I think they went from plain/boring to dull/”red brick again?” I’m sure they were just trying to match the 112 property next door but instead failed miserably to create anything exciting.


Oct. 2006


Mar. 2008

How would you feel if 112/114 Fayetteville St. were torn down for something taller?