The hole that was created by the demolition of 301 Hillsborough has now been filled. I’ll use this as a sign to move on from the former tag of ‘The Hillsborough’, the project that was planned here, and start with a new tag of ‘301 Hillsborough‘.
There has been talk of paving over the land for a parking lot in order to generate revenue rather then let the lot sit there vacant. It is expensive property so I cannot argue against that plan. We’ll keep watch for now.
City Plaza seen from up high. Click image for an extremely large version.
A tower crane is going up at the Green Square construction site. Another picture of the site below. Thanks for the tip, Ernest.
It does not take a scientist, or some fanboy blogger, to tell you that more people are spending time downtown. Overall, more restaurants are opening up and being patronized by people outside of the nine to five work week hours. It still takes a major event to bring more people downtown on a weekend day then a weekday but the once sleepy ghost town has recently found new life. Visitors are on the rise because of the options on nights and weekends and the amount of downtown residents have slowly risen as well. I’ve always thought that downtown is at an interesting point with new businesses and new residents. New places may not open because of the lack of residents living close by. At the same time, people may not want to move downtown because of the lack of available shops and convenience stores. Slowly, downtown Raleigh will break this cycle when it reaches a certain amount of residential density and I see potential in Dawson St. leading the way.
I want to mention The Hue condo building and how it may be a key boost in residential density in downtown. The Hue and its neighbors, Park Devereux and The Dawson, form a cluster of people living close to each other unlike any other area. According to the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, these three buildings have 319 units between them. Spanned across only two blocks, this will be the densest residential area when The Hue opens. (dense by Raleigh standards) Putting their look and architecture aside, I think I like what has been built here. The five to seven story buildings do not feel overwhelming and create a more livable environment compared to a corridor of twenty plus story towers. If another condo building in the seven to ten story range was built across the street from The Dawson, we may have a condo neighborhood district forming.
With a couple hundred or even a thousand homes so close to each other, new types of restaurants and shops may pop up. This location, away from the more ‘touristy’ centers of Fayetteville St. or Glenwood South, should see neighborhood style cheap eats, convenience stores, and could support a small grocery store too. I’m not knocking on some of the great places to eat and drink around Fayetteville St., I spend most of my time there right now. The only problem with the core downtown area is the higher cost, resulting in much higher rents. The places that are now open need to draw in people from outside of downtown and become a destination to be very successful. They also rely heavily on pedestrian traffic. Downtown Raleigh will really reach a new level when we have businesses that can solely survive by the condo-dwellers that live within a few hundred feet around them.
I’d be curious to know if the Urban Design Center has any plans or strategies to encourage this kind of density.
Click for larger
The underground parking deck is still under construction and Charter Square is planned to be built above.
I know very little about this warehouse but it is my favorite one in downtown. You may have passed it a thousand times before noticing it because the warehouse is tucked away on the right as you come into downtown on Dawson St. at Lane St. I bring it up because there has been some small amount of activity here recently. A brick wall has been built in front with two openings, wide enough for a single car. My first guess is that there will be a parking lot in front for possible offices in the building.
I took a picture of the warehouse almost a year ago. Below is that picture followed by a recent one showing the new additions. If anyone has any information about the warehouse, please share in the comments. A Sanborn map from 1903 (pdf) shows the warehouse and that the Melrose Knitting Company was here.
The deck is coming down at the future site of the new Justice Center. Unfortunately, we may be stuck with a nice gravel lot for awhile until the county decides to start on construction.
We are getting closer and closer to another day of destruction. Fencing is going up around the parking deck behind the Garland Jones building which is the future site of the new justice center. The new county deck a block down McDowell will open soon and replace the older one.
For what it is, the new county deck is pretty nice. On the ground floor, there is an indoor lobby with city info, mostly maps, of places around downtown. There are also pay stations to make things more convenient.
I had to take a long look at the map that was put up inside the lobby. Here are some things I noticed.
– The new justice center and Clarence E Lightner Safety Center are listed as ‘future’ projects.
– The amphitheatre across from the convention center is listed as ‘planned’.
– Green Square is not on the map.
Interpret it as you will but I’m sure this doesn’t mean much really. I just thought it is a little interesting the things they put on these maps when it comes to ‘future’ or ‘planned’ projects.
