This is the current progress of 213 Fayetteville St. I have not heard any news or rumors on what may be going in this space.
Category / New Construction
EnviroCon: Green Square Project Moving Forward
Here is a sleeper project that I think is not talked about much. The Green Square project will involve two new buildings and a parking deck on the south side of Jones St. between Dawson and Salisbury St. The billboards placed around the site give the following details:
- Headquarters for the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources
- The Nature Research Center, an expansion of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences
- Visitor and employee parking deck
- Retail store and restaurant
They also mention the following actions in the near future:
- Sustainable demolition of three existing buildings
- Reuse of demolition materials
- Recycling of construction material
- Applied energy-efficient building technology
- Monitoring for potential wind and solar energy
- Monitoring for rainwater retention and runoff
A friend of mine is involved in a small aspect of this project and he told me that these buildings will be coming down very soon. So for those that want to see these brick boxes for one last time, you better make your way out there. Here are the three buildings being demolished and an area map in Google.
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From what I’ve heard about this project is that both buildings will be connected with a walkway over McDowell St. The Nature Center will also be connected to the existing Natural Science Museum with its own glass walkway over Salisbury St. There are no new renderings available except this one on the city’s Livable Streets website, which may be a little old.
Looks like this old rendering during “Bugfest 2004” supports some of the stated bullets. You can see a couple wind generators and lots of green rooftops. The rumor is that these buildings are seeking a Gold LEED standard. I really doubt that a couple of wind generators will be running this building; these will probably be on display as part of the museum. Just my guess though.
At this point, the only thing I’m curious to know about is the parking deck. Will it be well placed behind the office buildings such as The L? If it is put directly next to the sidewalk, will it have retail space on the street? We’ll wait and see.
City Plaza Will Not Be Ready For Convention Center Opening
I sent off a couple e-mails about the current state of the City Plaza project. I thought it was a no-brainer that getting this plaza done at the same time as the opening of the Raleigh Convention Center and Marriot Hotel was important. The response I got was not so pleasant.
Leo,
Thanks for your inquiry. In the City Plaza, we are completing the negotiation of the easement with the owners of the Bank of America building – this should get us ready for a full funding, design approval and authorization to proceed at the last Council meeting in March or the first of April, Which completes construction in May of 2009. I have enclosed a rendering. ThanksDaniel T. Douglas AICP
Division Manager
Raleigh Urban Design Center & Communications Group
Department of City Planning
By the way, the attached rendering has already been posted on the city’s website. Here are more for your viewing pleasure.
The convention center and hotel will be open September of this year. It looks like we’ll have a nice construction site in the middle of Fayetteville St. for eight months after this. Before you start getting all upset like I did, you may need to think consider some other factors.
The perfect scenario would have been for the plaza to be ready for all the new visitors, and current residents, to see and enjoy. It can be argued that first impressions are important and getting this thing done on time should have been something to fight for. But honestly, this is only eight months and we have booked some conventions through 2020. Fayetteville St. is not the only district downtown. There are plenty of other areas that will be ready to serve visitors in the mean time. It is also important to note that this is out of the city’s hands as the owners of One Hannover (BoA building) are the major player in this little project.
It is unfortunate that we have to wait even longer to do a drive or walk from one end of Fayetteville St. to the other. I would have preferred it to be ready for the September opening, but if eight more months is needed then I’ll deal with it.
EnviroCon: AIA Creating New Headquarters Downtown
The American Institute of Architects, NC chapter, just wrapped up a design competition for their new headquarters to be located in downtown Raleigh. They are currently located in the old water tower on Morgan St. but will move in 2010 to their new location in Blount Street Commons.
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NewRaleigh has all the details about the competition and awards ceremony that took place last week. The N&O also has an article that talks about the building and its green, enviro-friendly features:
North Carolina’s architects hope to break ground this year on a headquarters in downtown Raleigh.
And naturally, being architects and all, they want to make a statement. In this case, a “welcome to the 21st century, carbon-neutral, energy-efficient, deep green” statement.
Initial sketches suggest plenty of windows to let in light and an overhanging roofline to shield the building from the sun.
A geothermal energy system, considered the most efficient way to heat and cool a building, will keep things comfortable inside, Frank Harmon said.
The goal is to create a building that uses at least 55 percent less energy than traditional styles when it opens in 2010.
Harmon thinks his company can easily meet that goal, along with the ultimate standard: creating a building that uses no energy derived from fossil fuels by 2030.
The efficiency goals that the AIA have set are bold and I support it 100%. I wish them luck in reaching them.
Click here for some renderings of the design.
The Edison Parking Deck Progress
This may just be the largest Lego set I’ve ever seen. The parking deck is going up very fast. This picture was taken yesterday, Jan. 16th.
To further my point, here is the picture from a previous post, taken on Nov. 29th. Only 46 days later!(including some holidays)
‘The Hillsborough’ Construction Site
In case you have not seen it yet, here is the flattened construction site at 301 Hillsborough. The Hillsborough’s final rendering has not been released it seems. Until then, Dawson residents can enjoy their new view.
The Hillsborough site with Bloomsbury Estates in the background
Convention Center Opening Date?
This may or may not be news to you but it is to me. I was not aware of an official opening date for the new convention center but it is posted on the Raleigh Convention website, shown in the pic above. Here are some details from the webpage.
Come September, be the center of attention at the new Raleigh Convention Center. Join tens of thousands of your friends and neighbors at the Raleigh Convention Center Grand Opening.
Just what are we celebrating? First, the new 500,000-square-foot convention center will be a state-of-the-art stunner. It will bring people from near and far to Raleigh where they’ll discover a dynamic downtown surrounding a rare array of convention attractions – the new center, the new Marriott City Center, the Sheraton Raleigh and the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts.
It looks like we have about 8 months to go. Click here for the rest.
Click here for old news on convention center bookings.
Bloomsbury Throws Up A Brick
Here is a quick construction update on the first of two buildings at Bloomsbury Estates. The brick looks very nice and I think this condo building will stand apart from the rest of the ones going up downtown.
Sidetrack Brewpub is also coming along but at a snail’s pace. The bar is just now taking shape. Perhaps they are planning to open when the first of the BE residents move in. Who knows.
