The North Carolina History Museum is all fenced up and renovations are underway for what will be a pretty major facelift to the inside and exterior of the building. The state is pumping around $180 million into the project and outdoor plaza and will really look modern when it’s done. Just take a look at this rendering to see the new museum.
Continue reading →Earlier this year, I took a family trip to Paris, and it’s easily one of my favorite cities that I’ve visited in my adult life. The sights, the food, the walking — all of it was fantastic. But with every trip I take, I typically find one small detail to hyper-analyze. It was one of those things that, once you notice it, you can’t unsee it.
I’m talking about the corners of buildings. Not the inside ones. The outside ones. The ones that meet at intersections. But in Paris — especially in the older parts of the city — they don’t just meet. They gracefully arrive at the corner with a flat or sometimes even curved face that greets the street like it’s welcoming you inside.
Continue reading →During the February 6, 2025 Design Review Commission meeting, there was a presentation (YouTube link here) related to the plans for the upcoming Red Hat Amphitheater, which should start construction this year. The video really speaks for itself and it’s a highly recommended watch. While the images aren’t final by any means, they do a great job of giving you a sense of what’s being built along Lenoir Street, more specifically to the south of the current amphitheater site as it sits today.
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It’s been talked about all over the place that Fayetteville Street has still not bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. From my point of view, the street does seem to be in transition as a once office-heavy corridor adjusts to a region that has embraced work from home culture. I’m optimistic and am showing patience these days, believing that the street will find it’s way over time. That’s why I’m happy to read this article from Axios Raleigh highlighting the first glimpses of change taking place on North Carolina’s Main Street.
I thought it could be fun to go block-by-block and describe what’s to offer on the ground floor as of the end of 2024. The more places to visit, the more people there should be. That, in the end, adds to the vitality of the street.
Continue reading →The DRA has released the first part of their Economic Development Strategy for Fayetteville Street and the list of recommendations are quite numerous. We’ll still get even more recommendations later this year but this initial piece focuses on the central business district with Fayetteville at the center of it all.
Above is a video of a city council work session where the report’s highlights are presented to council and is a very good watch. Scott Page from Interface Studio, the consultant team on the project, gives us a very comprehensive overview of the plan so watching, or just listening, is highly recommended.
Continue reading →Above is a video recording (watch it directly on YouTube) of a virtual meeting hosted by the Downtown Raleigh Alliance and Interface Studio where they take attendees through some of the things coming out of the Downtown Raleigh Economic Development Strategy project currently in progress. We’ve mentioned this project earlier in the year and this video is worth watching as it focuses mainly on Fayetteville Street. The team shares ideas that may lead us to new ways to reinvigorate the street.
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It was considered a pilot program at first but I think it is safe to say we’re official now. Sip n’ Stroll is ready for prime time as new signs have been installed around downtown Raleigh. The social district, which allows people to drink beer and wine throughout certain areas of downtown, has been around for a year now but this August, enhancements to the district have been put in place.
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Have you seen, or even used, the new skate park along Capital Boulevard? The new Conlon Family Skate Park has been set up near Capital Boulevard and Dortch Streets. You can spot riders and skaters at all times of the day from what I have seen.
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