Category / New Construction

by Leo Suarez

Checking in on Kindley Street and City Gateway

Photo of the City Gateway construction, July 2026.

A lot of land has been cleared around Kindley Street. If you drive around downtown, you most likely have seen it going up and down Western Boulevard and MLK Boulevard as the big hill near the 401 cloverleaf interchange used to be pretty green but now it’s showing that red clay of barren earth. Right now, an automated parking garage, the first of its kind in the state, is being built. We’ll also see the extension of Kindley Street connect to MLK at a new interchange. We’ve talked about this extension before so I walked down to the site to check it out.

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by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Photo of the 500 block of Hillsborough Street, July 2026

The buildings that lined the block of 500 Hillsborough Street have been removed and, shocker, most of the surface spaces are being used for parking now. That seems to be the next step in most cases (not all) before development takes place and after demolition. In reporting from the TBJ earlier this year, the plans for a residential development have been put on pause so we have to get used to this empty lot for awhile.

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by Leo Suarez

Closed Holiday Inn to Reopen as a Hotel Indigo This Fall

Photo of the upcoming Hotel Indigo renovation, July 2026

I’ve been overlooking this one for a awhile so I’m glad to be circling back to it. If you haven’t been following the news for the Raleigh “Hair Curler”, the cylindrical structure on Hillsborough Street that was the Holiday Inn, then I hope this update is seen as a good one. Later this year, the building will reopen as a Hotel Indigo after a big renovation. A few years back, there were plans to demolish it. However, here in 2026, the building now has historic status and we’ll soon be able to enjoy the views from the 20th floor once again.

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by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Photo of The Acorn Hotel construction, July 2026

If you swing by Blount Street these days, you can see the hotel construction taking shape in the middle of the block. This is starting to look like nice urban form here and I absolutely love the sharing of the parking with the development behind it. I formerly had it down as a TownePlace Suites-branded hotel but today I’m seeing it has changed to an Element by Westin, a first for the Triangle. I’ll have to confirm that but either way, the first floor is being put in place now.

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by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Photo of the construction of Highline Glenwood, June 2026

A lot has taken place since we last checked in on Highline Glenwood about three months ago. The lower floors are in place and there’s even some glass being put in. By my count, the ninth or tenth floor is being worked on so this thing should really rise up throughout the Summer. As a reminder, this will become Raleigh’s tallest residential tower by floor count when completed sometime in 2028.

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by Leo Suarez

Walking Along New Bern Avenue Bus Rapid Transit

It certainly doesn’t look like a bus lane but if you squint, you can see the future dedicated lane along the southern side of New Bern being worked on. Actually, it’s all pipe work at the moment as workers replace an old waterline. It’s not transit but it makes sense to get that done so we can have stable road space for a high-frequency bus line in the near future.

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