Author / Leo Suarez

by Leo Suarez

Hard Hat Tour From The Top of the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown

View from the upcoming rooftop bar at the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown.

View from the upcoming rooftop bar at the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown.

A big thanks goes out to Summit Hospitality, a local development group behind the Residence Inn hotel on Salisbury Street, for inviting me along one of their recent hard hat tours of the building. The hotel is nearing completion and should be welcoming guests in June.

View from the upcoming rooftop bar at the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown.

View from the upcoming rooftop bar at the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown.

With a contemporary flare, the hotel is not the typical Residence Inn. Included is a rooftop bar that the owners want the locals to embrace as well. Situated on the southeast corner of the building, the outdoor patio overlooks the performing arts center and the lush green tree canopy south of Raleigh. (shown in the two photos above)

Once finished, it should be a draw as it’ll be the highest outdoor bar in downtown Raleigh. The owners are also local conscious rather than make it “hotel bar generico”.

I’m excited but I just can’t help be teased at the view from a top floor corner suite on the northeast corner and think, “Why wasn’t the bar on THIS corner?”

View from a tenth floor suite at the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown.

View from a tenth floor suite at the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown.

by Leo Suarez

Fourth Ward Plans 10 Townhomes For South Street Area

Corner of Dorothea Drive and Saunders Street, April 2017.

Corner of Dorothea Drive and Saunders Street, April 2017.

At the corner of Dorothea Drive and Saunders Street, ten 2-bedroom townhomes are planned for an area that’s seeing a lot of new residential. SR-036-17 shows two buildings with five units each at the corner with a driveway along Dorothea.

The property is actually much bigger than this actual townhome cluster with some of it being used as a riparian buffer to the nearby stream. (if I’m reading this site plan correctly)

Site plan

Click for larger

Site plan

Click for larger

The property is mostly wooded with a pair of houses along Saunders that are set to be demolished.

Houses along Saunders Street, April 2017.

Houses along Saunders Street, April 2017.

With the amount of activity in this area, the Fourth Ward units aren’t alone so I created a Google map showing the activity taking place in the area. If you can’t see the map, click here.

Let me know if you think of anything else to add in this area. I’ll update it as announcements come out. This also does not include any onesie-twosie house renovations that are taking place nearby in Boylan Heights and Rosengarten Park.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

227 Fayetteville, April 2017

It was announced last week at the Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s State of Downtown Raleigh 2017 event that the YMCA will be opening a space on Fayetteville Street later this year. The new location at 227 Fayetteville will take up about 26,000 square feet in the upper floors of the building.

That’s a great amenity for downtown workers and residents, supporting the 7-day, 18-hour type downtown that we’re slowly becoming.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

GoRaleigh Transit Station, April 2017

A sneak peek at the GoRaleigh Transit Station as it wraps up construction. We’re in the final weeks here and next week, all the bus routes will move back into the station. The renovations include new bathrooms, an upgraded kiosk, lots of digital signage, and smart card pay stations among others.

The walk from Moore Square to Fayetteville Street through the station as well as Exchange Plaza will be just delightful.

by Leo Suarez

Waiting For Moore Square’s Latest Makeover

Moore Square April 2017

Moore Square April 2017

While walking through Moore Square recently, I couldn’t help but feel that the square is primed and ready to go on its upcoming renovation. With the nearby GoRaleigh Transit Station renovation wrapping up, Moore Square’s number is coming up.

Indeed, the square is planned to start construction this Spring but the bus station needs to finish and be able to operate all the bus routes within rather than along the square’s Martin Street side. That should take place on May 1, according to GoRaleigh.

The acorn’s been moved and the bus station’s facilities are up and running. That makes it feel like we’re in the last few weeks of the current iteration of Moore Square.

Also, the city’s parks department has announced a new information center for Moore Square in the Norwood House located next to City Market on Martin Street. The house has seen businesses come and go over the years. There’s a great renovation story, with photos, from Maurer Architecture on the house:

Built around 1877 for Sheriff J.M. Norwood, this 1,600 sq ft historic renovation and relocation project utilized historic tax credits for commercial use. Located in downtown Raleigh near City Market, the Norwood House was home to the offices of Maurer Architecture from 1996 to 2008. This project received the Anthemion Award from Capital Area Preservation and the Sir Walter Award for Community Appearance.

*maurerarchitecture.com

Norwood House April 2017

Norwood House April 2017

Moore Square has so much going for it organically that it doesn’t need to act like an event space any more, something that I would argue was overdone here in the 2000s. The new design should enhance the spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment occurrences that can take place, an essence being in downtown.

You can see more about the project on the city’s website. The Moore Square makeover should be finished in Spring 2018.

by Leo Suarez

Municipography: Peace Street West Streetscape Improvements

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.

West Peace Street

A project older than the blog, a section of Peace Street has been marked for upgrades for over a decade. Buried power lines, more street trees, and new sidewalks could happen soon for the section between St. Mary’s and West Street.

There was a good overview of the project, including its history, during a recent city council meeting and I have the presentation and discussion for you here on the blog. If the embedded video isn’t showing for you, watch it here on YouTube.

The project’s main goal is to improve vehicle and pedestrian safety. The street will also get a few aesthetic upgrades with street trees, new crosswalks, and new signal poles.

One interesting piece of the project that we can pull from the discussion is the work to decrease the number of driveways in front of Peace Street Market and Fallon’s Flowers. Simply put, the solution presented would have been a one-way driveway across both shops with angled parking. This is similar to spots on Hillsborough Street such as the Fedex/Gumby’s lot or the Wells Fargo.

Google Maps of 800 West Peace Street

Google Maps aerial of the 800 block of West Peace Street. Click for larger.

Fallon’s Flowers did not support that so the plan isn’t happening. At the same time though, it was mentioned that the property was sold recently and perhaps plans for redevelopment are taking place. There are no public plans at this time for that lot.

This project, Peace Street West, should take place at the same time as all the other construction along Peace Street, including Smokey Hollow and the Capital Boulevard bridge, so expect a ton of activity in the area over the next few years.

Project timeline:

  • Right-of-Way Acquisition: Summer 2017
  • Advertise and Bid: Fall 2017
  • Begin Construction: Early 2018
  • Completion: Mid 2019

by Leo Suarez

WakeUP and Explore: 2017 City Livability Tour is on April 29

Whiskey Kitchen on Martin Street

Whiskey Kitchen on Martin Street, an example of adaptive reuse

On Saturday, April 29, WakeUP Wake County is hosting their 3rd annual livability tour with stops all over the southern parts of downtown Raleigh. The “go at your own pace” tour will have stops at a lot of the projects we talk about here on the blog including Union Station, The Dillon, Hargett Place, and Charter Square among others. The tour also highlights some reuse examples in retail and food as well as affordable housing.

You can get your tickets early for a discount and all proceeds go towards supporting the work of WakeUP Wake County, “a non-profit that leads public engagement on issues important to our quality of life: transportation, affordable housing, land use, water quality and education.”

WakeUP and Explore: 2017 City Livability Tour

Date/Time: Sat., Apr. 29 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Map pick up starts @ 12:30pm)
Pick up pin, map, and swag at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts
2 East South Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
919.828.3833