Ten vans with satellite dishes are lined up on the 100 block of Fayetteville Street right now. They are here covering the Mike Nifong court case happening right down the street. All the national media stations and even Court TV are here. RalCon is not the place to get coverage of the event, but check out the pics below of the scene. The last one is definitely a good one. Something like this you do not see very much here in downtown.

The Raleigh Chronicle has written up a great article about one of the most influential people for downtown Raleigh. Greg Hatem and Empire Properties have been responsible for many downtown properties including the Raleigh Times building, the Helig-Levine building, the Duck and Dumpling, and much more. From the article:

It’s hard to find any single person who has had more of an impact on the revitalization of downtown Raleigh in recent years than Greg Hatem, the founder of Empire Properties.

With a new upscale hotel on the horizon, a whole street under development, several restaurants and bar under his belt, and many other projects underway, the leader of Empire Properties has been hard at work.

But unlike other downtown developers, Hatem has focused not on erecting shiny new skyscrapers that are meant to impress, but instead has been steadily refurbishing brick and mortar buildings with character that have been central to Raleigh’s past.

The 2007 Downtown Raleigh Criterium turned out to be a success. The News and Observer blogs say that about 12,000 to 15,000 people came out for the event. I went out for the women’s race but had other plans and did not make it to the men’s. I got some fairly good pictures, posted below. WRAL has a great video on it also.

So everybody knows that Raleigh is so hot right now. CBS has come once before and now they will be coming back to do the early morning news on Fayetteville St. The Triangle Business Journal has the scoop:

It’s not often that a major network television program is broadcast live from Raleigh. But that’s exactly what will happen July 13, when CBS’ “The Early Show” will set up shop in the City of Oaks for its Summer in the City Tour.

The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau confirmed Friday that one CBS anchor, as well as weatherman Dave Price, will be on location to tout the Capital City.

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance has not had steady leadership in four years but hopefully that has changed now. David Diaz has been hired as the new head of the DRA. The Triangle Business Journal reports:

David Diaz, head of a downtown booster group in Roanoke, Va., is pumped up to be the new president of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, and he hopes to help make the Capital City’s core “hip and cool.” Diaz confirmed Wednesday that he will take the position at the head of the group, which has five full-time employees and three part-timers. He will replace Nancy Hormann, who stepped down in October but has stayed on during the search for her replacement. “If you look at almost every magazine that rates cities, Raleigh’s always coming out at the top now,” Diaz told Triangle Business Journal. “I’m always amazed, and I’ve been aware of it for a long time. I feel blessed that I’m getting an opportunity to come to Raleigh.”

It sounds like a good hire and I like his focus on the smaller buildings over the larger. The taller buildings will take care of themselves and if Diaz focuses on revitalization of the older, smaller buildings, it will have a greater impact on street level activity and create a greater impression to residents and visitors.

N&O story.

It seems that the growing nightlife, which is mainly focused in downtown, has put raleigh on the map for young singles. The N&O reports:

Call it a meat market. Or a college town grown up. Or, like Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, you can call Raleigh one of the best cities for young singles.

The Capital City joined Washington; Denver; Austin, Texas; and Lexington, Ky., in the magazine’s June issue as the best cities for young singles.

Among Kiplinger’s criteria:

“For young singles, two factors can be crucial to choosing where to live: Can I afford the rents? And what can I do there? Finding an apartment that fits a starting-out budget is key.

“And whatever money is left over often goes to meals out, concert tickets and bar tabs. These metro areas all scored well on rental affordability and have a high number of restaurants and night spots per capita. Each area also scored highly on our bohemian index — a measure of the city’s diversity and cultural amenities.”

HERE’S HOW RALEIGH STACKED UP

•Cost-of-Living Index: 99 (100 being national average)

•Bohemian Indicator: 110

Being a young single myself, I agree with the rating but have not been to the other cities for a good comparison. The nightlife will continue to improve and become larger, there is no doubt about that. Let’s hope other forms of entertainment come to downtown to create a mix that can attract all kinds of people to the area.

The N&O reports that Kimley-Horn, the engineering and planning firm is moving downtown. They will be vacating their offices in the Briggs Building and moving to Capital Bank Plaza, that’s just one block down Fayetteville St. The article says:

RALEIGH – Engineering and land-planning firm Kimley-Horn and Associates agreed to sublease 11,000 square feet from Capital Bank in Capital Bank Plaza at 333 Fayetteville St.

Kimley-Horn, which occupies about 4,000 square feet in the Briggs Hardware building at 220 Fayetteville, plans to move in July.

Available downtown office space is dropping but as we all know, there are big plans for more in the near future. Its good to see a Raleigh firm taking up more space and hopefully expanding within downtown.

A relaxed crowd showed up Saturday for the “Artspace paints Fayetteville Street” event. There were various art activities on the two blocks of the street as well as a wine/beer garden and live music. With a beer in hand, I walked around to take some pictures of the event.