A Walk Around Shaw University

There’s a big rezoning case that’s now being discussed at council. Basically, a majority of Shaw University’s campus is up for an increase in height, if approved. There has been a lot of public comment on this one, from residents and alumni, with concerns. In short, the university is sitting on very valuable land and with the ability to build taller, they can explore options to expand or even partner with developers to lease land for new development.

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Gale Street Rezoning For Greater Height, Less Surface Parking

One of the latest rezoning cases for downtown Raleigh, Z-87-22, is up for a public hearing at the city council. This has all the indicators of passing without issue. The planning commission discussion was light, which you can watch here and here. There are very few nearby homeowners. The Raleigh Convention Center is next door. Finally, I’m not sure you can find that many better spots for taller buildings in downtown.

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Char-Grill Gets Rezoned, Lots of Historic Preservation Upcoming

Multiple properties around, and including, the Char-Grill on Hillsborough Street have now been rezoned. Submitted around June 2022, the developer and various property owners have made historic preservation a key component of this rezoning. It also helps that a Char-Grill will be the first business to open in the future developments.

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West Johnson Street Rezoning Analyzed

Today, let’s jump over to the corner of West Johnson Street and St. Mary’s. A collection of properties is up for rezoning (Z-55-22) and we’re almost one year into it as the case still has not been denied or approved. Negotiations with residents, mostly from the nearby Forest Park neighborhood, started in May 2022 and the conditions on this rezoning are starting to get a bit much. The latest public hearing, from March 7, 2023, about the case is shown above or you can watch it directly on YouTube here.

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Pic of the Week

The site of the future Raleigh Union Station Bus Facility, or RUS Bus, is looking fresh as the final portions of the former warehouses have been removed. A subset of the walls from the old warehouses were saved and will be incorporated into the new building. You can see them at the corner of West and Hargett as well as the corner facing the Union Station plaza.

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