Category / New Construction

by Leo Suarez

Revisiting 301 Hillsborough Street and Plans For 20-Story, Mixed-Use Building

Email readers: This blog post has a virtual reality image. Read the post on the blog to see it.

Looking at 301 Hillsborough Street from across Dawson Street.

Recently submitted site plans for 301 Hillsborough give us some more details as to what might come for the surface parking lots along Hillsborough and Morgan Streets.

SR-93-2016, listed on the city’s development page, shows almost a full-block development consisting of a “mixed use building with approximately 220,007 sf office; 242 residential units; 40,832 sf retail, 176 hotel units, and structured parking (991 spaces)”

SR-093-2016 map

Click for larger

Mixed-use indeed.

The site plan shows a floor plan that will encompass practically everything on that block except for the 3-story brick building at the corner of Harrington and Morgan Street. You can kind of see the new building coming up against the old so perhaps it’ll blend right in.

All the existing surface parking will be gone. In addition, the two-story house at the corner of Hillsborough and Harrington will also be removed. That house seems like a perfect candidate for a relocation.

House being used as offices for a Raleigh law firm

House at 327 Hillsborough being used as offices for a Raleigh law firm

There are a couple things we can see from looking at the site plan. Remember that it is preliminary so things may change but from my assessment Morgan, Hillsborough, and Dawson will change dramatically.

Along Morgan starting from the west:

  • Service driveways, garages (trash, service unloading/loading, etc.) are planned approximately across from the ones in The Dawson.
  • A parking garage entrance will go along Morgan also.
  • In between, there will be retail space.

Along Dawson:

  • Retail and lobby space only.

Along Hillsborough starting from the west:

  • There will be primarily retail and lobby space for the hotel and residential units.
  • A parking garage entrance closer to Dawson.

Overall, the parking garage entrances on Hillsborough and Morgan line up and on the inside of the building, there is a roundabout for hotel parking. You can also access the upper levels of the parking deck from here.

Just a detail, the site plan also shows 30 foot planters along the sidewalks of Hillsborough Street and with numerous bike racks. That’s a nice enhancement to the pedestrian space as well as supporting the dedicated bike lanes along Hillsborough Street.

I’m definitely excited for this one as an infusion of this many different uses is sure to add activity on the streets and sidewalks to all different times of the day and week.

Corner of Morgan and Harrington Streets

Corner of Morgan and Harrington Streets. Flying Saucer will be getting lots of new neighbors.

SR-093-2016 map

Another site plan map. Click for larger.

by Leo Suarez

Christ Church Expansion Completed on Edenton Street

Christ Church along Edenton Street.

I’ve been a little behind on posting about completed projects so expect a few of those over the coming weeks.

The Christ Church expansion looks to be completed, at least from the outside. The new accessible entrance and meeting spaces were built over some of the surface parking at the corner of Edenton and Blount Streets.

Christ Church along Edenton Street.

The expansion maintained the stone, exterior look of the historic church and while it takes a sharp eye to notice the difference, I bet once there’s a little wear on the exterior, it’ll match the historic parts of the church.

In the photo above, the addition starts at the stairwell behind the tree in the center and goes to the left. The new addition adds rooms for a library, parlor, kitchen, and other amenities, according to the proposed floor plan on their website.

by Leo Suarez

South Street Area Plans More Residential with 522 South Harrington

The end of South Harrington Street

The end of South Harrington Street. November 2016.

We just can’t seem to get away from the South Street area.

Recently submitted site plans for 522 South Harrington Street are for a “47 unit mixed use residential building with structured parking and street-level commercial space.” The building will be 5 stories tall at 75 feet in height.

The address puts it at the dead end of South Harrington, near the current Amtrak Station, but the development also faces Lenoir and West Street. The reason Harrington dead ends rather than connects to Lenoir is because of a drastic elevation change. You can walk down stairs off Harrington to Lenoir though.

The new project looks like it will take out the auto parts warehouse at the end of Harrington. Parking for that building is located at the very end of the street and faces Lenoir before the elevation drops downward.

Site Plan map of 522 South Harrington

Site Plan map of 522 South Harrington

The stairs from South Harrington Street to Lenoir Street

The stairs from South Harrington Street to Lenoir Street

Lenoir Street

Lenoir Street

Around the intersection of Lenoir and West Street, the development will also take out two houses on West. Perhaps there’s an opportunity to move the houses? The corner is mostly an empty lot and surface parking.

Houses on West Street

Houses on West Street

With this end of Harrington sitting on higher ground, the units will have a fantastic view of the downtown Raleigh skyline. It’ll be through the power station across the street but it still should be pretty nice.

by Leo Suarez

New Site Plans Show 42 New Residential Units for South Street

Looking East on West South Street.

Looking East on West South Street, October 2016

That momentum thing? West South Street seems to have it.

We’ve taken a look at the area before and now new site plans at the city show 42 residential units for a fairly large, combined parcel at the corner of Saunders and South Street.

Lambert Development South Street LLC will clear out most of the properties from Saunders to Florence Street and bring two new residential buildings. At 3-stories in height and a combination of surface and covered parking (covered by the units) it looks like townhomes and/or apartments are planned.

Site Plan Map of 611 West South

Click for larger

Site Plan Map of 611 West South

Click for larger

Simply called 611 West South for now, the plan will take out the Ice Market and Grill building, some empty lots, older homes, and auto-oriented business buildings on that side of South Street.

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

This area of South is a hugely neighborhood retail area so the lower-scale apartment/townhome combination (or whatever it ends up being) seems like a good transition out of the Boylan Heights neighborhood heading towards downtown Raleigh.

I enjoy seeing units brought up to the sidewalk as well. With 42 units and 78 parking spaces provided, it isn’t the most urban of setups. However, some residents might prefer a quick trip down Saunders and to I-40 for commuting by car.

As the two-way conversion of South Street continues, more residents may find that the 600 block of West South becomes closer to destinations that it was in the past.

by Leo Suarez

Raleigh Union Station Construction Update

Boylan Wye and Raleigh Union Station Construction, October 2016.

Boylan Wye and Raleigh Union Station Construction, October 2016. Click for larger.

We haven’t visited the construction site for Raleigh Union Station in a few months and this weekend, I went out to catch up on the progress. The weather was nice and the clouds were amazing, helping me land some great exposures of the site.

The photo above is the “money shot” of the station, taken from the Boylan Avenue bridge. A lot has happened since I grabbed a photo from the same spot in April.

Looking around we can spot a few things taking shape. Check the above photo out on Flickr so you can zoom in, out, and around.

In the foreground in front of the Dillon Supply Co. sign, the ticketing and baggage claim area is coming together. This area will also house Amtrak offices and general operations rooms.

The station will actually be bigger than the old warehouse that was at this location as this kind of exoskeleton of steel is starting to wrap it.

Boylan Wye and Raleigh Union Station Construction, October 2016.

Boylan Wye and Raleigh Union Station Construction, October 2016 as seen from Hargett Street.

It wasn’t much of a renovation but rather a reuse of some parts (and that’s still a stretch) as the building was gutted to the bones. This new framing should create the spaces for the new retail and restaurant space and their outdoor balconies and walkways.

I can probably guess that the mound of earth around the site came from the Union Station project as lots of land had to be moved for the parking lot and the new entrance along West Street.

Boylan Wye and Raleigh Union Station Construction, October 2016.

West Street being lowered to go into the parking lot of Union Station.

Above, you can see what the end of West Street looks like today. This mess will eventually have West Street going underneath the rail line and into the station. For additional reference, I’ve thrown up the site plan, with a few minor edits, which you can see how vehicle traffic is supposed to flow.

Raleigh Union Station site plan.

Raleigh Union Station site plan. Click for larger.

The last major thing I noticed was the process of working with the tracks themselves.

Track work taking pace around Raleigh Union Station.

Track work taking pace around Raleigh Union Station, near Cabarrus Street. Click for larger.

Track work taking pace around Raleigh Union Station.

Track work taking pace around Raleigh Union Station, near Cabarrus Street. Click for larger.

Looking at the station from Cabarrus Street, you will notice that only the active line to the current train station is intact. The rails on the left in the two photos above serve the station today while the rails on the right end before the construction site. It looks like that line is down for awhile until the bridge is built over the lowered West Street.

There also used to be other rail lines, two of these offshoot kind of tracks, in this area but those are gone now. Here’s an aerial shot from Google Maps to show you the four tracks mentioned here.

Track work taking pace around Raleigh Union Station.

Track work taking pace around Raleigh Union Station. Click for larger.

No doubt, this track rearrangement is making room for the new platform that will take passengers through a concourse underneath and between two new tracks. You can see that if you jump back up to the site plan.

Here are some other photos from my walk around the site.

Raleigh Union Station in October 2016 as seen from Hargett Street.

Raleigh Union Station in October 2016 as seen from Hargett Street.

Raleigh Union Station in October 2016 as seen from West Street.

Raleigh Union Station in October 2016 as seen from West Street.

by Leo Suarez

Boylan Flats Plans 48 Apartments on Boylan Avenue

Future site of Boylan Flats

Future site of Boylan Flats

Site plans for Boylan Flats were submitted (SR-066-16) to the city recently, a new development consisting of 48 apartments at 615 North Boylan Avenue. This is the surface parking lot directly behind the McDonald’s that faces Peace Street and The Paramount across Boylan Avenue. Rather than a 200+ unit, multi-property building that we typically see, the footprint of Boylan Flats is much smaller. (0.233 acres)

Site Location

Site location. Click for larger

According to the site plan, the new building will be five-stories tall at 72 feet. Parking will be on the ground floor with a gated entrance and lobby facing Boylan. The plan also mentions a 1,025 square foot rooftop open space.

Per the planning process, the sidewalks will be completely redone, 14′ feet wide, and bike racks will also be included with the parking spaces. No renderings are this point and with any site review like this ones, details may change.

We’ll follow this one for sure cause if you’ve been following this blog for awhile, I love anything that removes surface parking.

Site Location

Site layout (proposed). Click for larger

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Rendering of Hargett Place

More like Render of the Week.

Above is the rendering for Hargett Place, a group of 19 townhomes for East Hargett Street. I’m into this project because of the high-quality (perceived anyway) as well as unique townhome design shown in these renderings. This is a housing type that I think is hugely lacking around downtown Raleigh and I would like to see much more of it.

For sale, rather than for rent, units are also nice to see in a part of Raleigh where rentals dominate so some balance to the market always seems like a good thing to cheer for.

The rendering reminds me of brownstone rowhouses that you can spot in older cities in the northeast. I can see a very comfortable street face along East Street with these homes facing City Cemetery. Once new sidewalk trees mature it’ll be a nice place to walk in the future.