The Boylan Wye, April 2016. Click for larger
I call it the “Boiling” Wye as the activity has really heated up!
The photo above was taken from the Boylan Avenue bridge and ahead of the Raleigh skyline, you can see the construction site of the upcoming Raleigh Union Station. More than the building itself, work is/will be taking place for the parking lot, concourse, and new platforms at the tracks.
The future Raleigh Union Station has been stripped down to its steel bones. The renovation of the former warehouse building for Raleigh’s new train station is creating a flurry of activity at the south end of West Street in the Warehouse District.
The new station is scheduled to open in 2017.
Corner of East and Hargett, March 2016
New development plans for Hargett Place, a 19 townhome project, were submitted to the city. After a successful rezoning in July 2015, the plans are moving forward to wipe out the surface parking lot on the 400 block of East Hargett.
The one acre lot will consist of 2-bedroom units spread across four buildings. The site plan below shows the makeup of the townhome buildings.
The plan doesn’t show much but I want to say these will be similar to Peace Street Townes, at least in the building configuration. Vehicle driveways will be on Hargett and Bloodworth. As Hargett is identified as a key bicycle route, having the vehicle driveway doesn’t quite make sense. At the same time, 19 townhomes probably won’t generate that much traffic to make a difference so for me, not too worried about it.
Not much else here, except to reiterate the fact that I love seeing surface parking disappear. Bring it on.
A crane has shown up at the construction site of the future Residence Inn hotel on Salisbury Street. The image above shows a view down Salisbury in front of the Raleigh Convention Center. The hotel will be seen above the front courtyard of the convention center when it tops out in the future.
Stone’s Warehouse, February 2016.
Plans are surfacing a bit on the future of Stone’s Warehouse, the former bus repair facility and senior health care center located at 500 East Davie Street. The future mixed-use site will include retail across both the existing warehouse building and a new construction building. 15 townhomes will also be built on the site.
If not familiar with the site, pan around it here on Google maps to see Stone’s Warehouse and the former Rex Senior Health Care Center buildings. The warehouse will be renovated while the white building where the health center once was, will be removed. To the south, the open area will contain a public plaza and new building for additional retail space.
View of Stone’s Warehouse from Google Maps
Looking at the plans, I see some smart, urban aspects to the layout of the buildings and how the plaza incorporates into the fabric of the neighborhood. The Administrative Alternate Request that was submitted for this project shows the public plaza and crosswalk creating a connection through the block from the Chavis Way greenway on to East Street. From the request:
The pedestrian access will physically and visually connect Chavis Way and the adjacent greenway to the plaza amenity and through to East Street through a series of cross-access agreements, effectively segmenting the parking where an island would normally be located. The plaza will be open to the public as well as tenants and is supported as an approporiate use of an urban open space for a mixed-use proprty by City of Raleigh through their RFP process.
Trees that are currently at the site will be moved to align with this plan, as shown in the sketch below.
Pedestrian Cross-access planned for Stone’s Warehouse. Click for larger.
The 15 townhomes will line Chavis Way, built in sets of five resulting in three separate groups of units. The plans appear to show garages for the townhomes so residents won’t have to compete for parking. 52 parking spaces will be included as well to support the retail buildings.
This is a great, unique project in a transitional area. Residents in the core should have an easy time walking to the site while those in neighborhoods should not have difficulty getting here by bike or car. It’ll be great to watch the renovation take place.
The Gramercy Apartments in Glenwood South is taking shape for their projected Spring 2016 opening. There isn’t much info posted yet but their website, as of today, allows you to sign up for future emails.
It’s not confirmed but I’m putting my money that the reported Glenwood South pharmacy (see tweet below or here if you can’t see it) is going here. Just a guess though.
Exciting news for Glenwood South a pharmacy/convenience store coming next year. Adding #DTretail and making glenwood more livable! #goodnews
— Downtown Raleigh (@DowntownRaleigh) October 19, 2015
From my inbox to yours.
Mayor Nancy McFarlane is the featured speaker for the GoRaleigh Station renovation groundbreaking ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 19, at Moore Square Transit Mall, 214 S. Blount St. She will be joined by City Council member Corey Branch who is also the Raleigh Transit Authority’s Council liaison, and by Raleigh Transit Authority Chairman Jason Horne.
Formerly named Moore Square Station, the GoRaleigh Station renovation is scheduled to take nine to 12 months to complete. Renovations will improve the transit experience for riders in several ways, including expanded passenger waiting areas; new restroom facilities; a new information booth; Wi-Fi; real time passenger information; aesthetic improvements to the reconstructed courtyard and more. Visuals will be on-site to display the final project.
The new GoRaleigh station will be reflective of the new GoRaleigh brand. The goal is to enhance the future of transit in Raleigh and the Triangle by building a positive impression, not only with daily riders and commuters, but with the many visitors who frequent the city.
*Mayor McFarlane to Kick-off GoRaleigh Station Renovation Groundbreaking on Feb. 19
Demolition was taking place last week in front of the future Raleigh Union Station site. The smaller warehouse in front was planned to be removed for a grand entrance plaza for the train station. Below is a rendering of that entrance plaza.
