Renovation Near Complete at 501 South Person Street, New Restaurant Planned

The building at 501 South Person Street has been under heavy renovation.

The building at 501 South Person Street has been under heavy renovation.

I love seeing building reuse stories and this one has really piqued my interest.

The building located at the corner of Cabarrus and Person Street is done, or nearly done, with its renovation and the owner, Phuc Tran, wants to put a restaurant here. The blocker from starting work on the restaurant is zoning as the lot is currently zoned for Residential Business (RB) and Mr. Tran wants it to be Downtown Mixed Use. (DX) The DX zoning would allow him to open a restaurant that serves alcohol.

For a great catch-up on the issue, check out the story on the Raleigh Public Record.

Since 1922, the site had been home to a Seventh-day Adventist church. They continued to use the facility until the 1980s, by which time the congregation had outgrown the facilities. After that, it had been the place of worship for other churches, but when the building was damaged by a tornado in 2011, the church was abandoned. Scheduled for demolition, Phuc Tran stepped in and repaired the church.

While the planning commission had voted 8-2 in recommending approval of the rezoning, the central citizens advisory council had voted unanimously in disapproval of the rezoning. A valid statutory protest petition had been filed as well.

Speaking at the meeting, several members of the audience said their primary concern was the selling of alcohol and that litter might become a problem because of the restaurant.

*Downtown Rezoning Divides Neighborhood Residents

Even though the Raleigh Planning Commission voted in favor of the rezoning, the Raleigh City Council still has to approve it. That vote came up recently, on June 2, 2015, and was delayed after some discussion. Here’s the video of it which also includes some great photos of the renovation work and interior of the building.


If the video doesn’t show for you, watch it here.

No vote was made as it was delayed two weeks because city staff needs to determine the validity of the submitted protest petition. The council should discuss it again at their June 16, 2015 meeting.

The residents immediately around the site came out to voice support or concerns about this rezoning request, as you can hear in the video. (lots of comments by the way)

Those for the rezoning want to see Mr. Tran open a restaurant here. Reasons are that it will bring some vitality to the area and possibly raise property values.

Those against do not want restaurant, especially alcohol related, activity nearby and feel it inappropriate to be near college students (Shaw) and young children of the nearby youth centers. Possible trash, smells, and public drunkenness were other reasons to be against the rezoning. There were also worries that if the rezoning was approved and the owner changed later, what holds the new owner to the same promises as the old one?

In my opinion, there are two way to look at this issue. One is to decouple the restaurant opening and the rezoning case. The other is to see them as linked together.

As far as the rezoning goes, the city’s comprehensive plan and unified development ordinance (UDO) have pretty much included this property into the downtown mixed-use (DX) camp. Actually, the proposed rezoning for that entire area is to be downtown mixed-use zoning. You can verify it with this tool by entering in the address.

The case here is that Mr. Tran wants to have the rezoning now so work can get started on the restaurant and not wait until the new UDO rezoning goes into effect. It’s completely consistent with what the city wants already and city staff confirmed that everything is indeed consistent with all policies.

Proposed UDO map around 501 South Person Street.

Proposed UDO map around 501 South Person Street with 501 South Person highlighted. It is surrounded by DX rezoning under the new UDO. Click for larger.

As a rezoning case, this is a no-brainer and the council can point to the adopted policies in order to make a decision. The rezoning should be approved.

One major difference I noticed between those that are for and against the restaurant at 501 South Person is the difference of time each resident has lived in the neighborhood. Those against have decades under their belts of living nearby. Relatively speaking, those for the rezoning are new to the area. I’m generalizing sure but if you watch the video and note the addresses given, the sale dates of the properties of those for the rezoning are less than 15 years compared to those against who claim to have lived in the neighborhood for multiple decades.

I could be wrong but there’s something to this.

East Raleigh doesn’t have experience with a restaurant of this type right in the neighborhood so they have every right to scrutinize. If you look at history, the past few decades have shown very little new businesses in the area so the neighborhood that these residents have grown to love and protect is being challenged by something new.

The new residents most likely came to the area riding on the downtown revitalization wave and of course a new restaurant appeals to them. That is what has been happening around here in case you haven’t noticed.

Another view of the building at 501 South Person Street.

Another view of the building at 501 South Person Street.

My personal opinion is that a renovated one-story building turned neighborhood restaurant is a much better contributor to any neighborhood than an empty lot or future development. The building, which has been now saved, maintains character and honors those that built the neighborhood in the past.

I think whatever the outcome, a lot of good has taken place with the building being saved. The community, new and veteran residents, should come together and work out the concerns in an open communication instead of coming off as rivals during a government meeting.

In the many more decades to come, the building may evolve to serve more than just the new downtown residents as the nearby culture embraces it. I think that’s the first step and is something worth supporting.

Charter Square Accident

Downtown Raleigh will keep moving along but I wanted to put something up here for those that were injured and lost their lives putting together a piece of something that we keep an eye on constantly here on the blog.

Please take a pause or a moment of silence sometime soon for the families and friends of those hurt or lost.

  • Jose Erasmo Hernandez
  • Jose Luis Lopez-Ramirez
  • Anderson Almeida
  • Elmer Guevara (injured)

3 dead, 1 injured in downtown Raleigh construction accident via WRAL

RalCon Turns Eight

Construction of then RBC Plaza

Just like downtown Raleigh, this website is never finished but always a work in progress. RalCon is now eight years old and there are a ton of good things to talk about and photograph this year.

The photo above was taken on April 13, 2008. In the photo, you can see the construction of the then-called RBC Plaza tower, now PNC Plaza, and Raleigh’s tallest building. I like the photo because while the building might be the tallest, the crane used to assemble it was the tallest structure ever in Raleigh’s history. (to the best of my knowledge)

And back to the conversation…

Summer 2014 Restaurant Roundup

Death and Taxes
Summer nights in Raleigh are good for sweets and ales. Maybe not at the same time but if you happen to like a beer after a sweet treat, this season’s eats news has you covered.

For a complete list of eats, drinks, and coffees in and around downtown, make sure to bookmark the DT Eats page. Try something new!

  • We’re still waiting on the newest Ashley Christensen restaurant, Death & Taxes, to open at the corner of Salisbury and Hargett Street. Fancy signs are up covering the windows. Oooooooo.
  • Nearby along Fayetteville Street, Happy and Hale has opened in one of the city plaza kiosks. Their salads and juices look pretty tasty.
  • The dessert and cocktail bar, Bittersweet, has opened in PNC Plaza along Martin Street.
  • After closing down Isaac Hunter’s Oak City Tavern at 112 Fayetteville Street, the guys behind the outfit have opened a Roaring Twenties themed bar called Common 414 at 414 Fayetteville Street. They officially open in less than two weeks.
  • Meanwhile back at 112 Fayetteville, someone else has put some work into the space and is opening up another bar. No official word is out there about it but I heard they have had a soft opening and should be open soon. [UPDATE: Just learned today that the place is called Capital City Tavern and they are indeed open.
  • A small shop, Harvest Sundries & Deli, has opened in the Progress Energy building. Sounds like a good place for a cheap breakfast or lunch.
  • The people behind Tasty 8’s Hot Dogs is doing a big renovation job at the space where Spize Cafe used to be and I think it looks great. Gourmet hot dogs are in our future.
  • Lucettegrace is a bakery that’s “Coming Soon” according to their website. They plan to be on Salisbury Street kind of behind Capital Club 16.
  • A new coffee shop is coming to Seaboard Station. Brew plans to open in the row of shops along Seaboard Avenue and they are crushing their kickstarter! Raleighites love their coffee.
  • Also in Seaboard Station, Night Kitchen Bakehouse and Cafe will be opening in October, according to a TBJ article. The bakery will have “breads, pastries, sandwiches and salads” and be open for lunch and breakfast.
  • A bread shop, Boulted Bread, has opened on South Street. You can find their goods at the shop or at the Wednesday afternoon Farmer’s Market at City Market each week.
  • Work is slow but progressing on the empty space between Second Empire and the Holiday Inn, future home of Taverna Agora. The restaurant is relocating from Glenwood Avenue to this space on Hillsborough Street. Their website says they will move this winter.
  • Chef Scott Crawford has, or is, leaving his spot at Herons, the fine-dining restaurant at Cary’s Umstead Hotel. He is taking on two new projects in downtown Raleigh. First, is Standard Foods, a grocery and restaurant in Person Street Plaza.
  • Crawford’s second project is Nash Tavern, a classic American style tavern, in one of the buildings on the south side of Nash Square. A lot of planning is going into this one so it most likely will be a 2015 project.
  • In Glenwood South, DeMo’s Pizzeria & Deli has opened in the 222 Glenwood building.
  • Clouds Brewing, formerly called Storm Clouds Brewing, in the old Napper Tandy’s space near Powerhouse Plaza is looking close to opening. There are some construction photos on their Facebook and the TBJ has a nice article about them, saying they will open next month.

you’ll be able to pay when you enter, receive a bracelet and pour your own beer from 40 different taps.

*Hey Triangle: Order your fall beers from Facebook

  • Visible work hasn’t yet started on the Raleigh Beer Garden or the 100 taps that will be inside this place.
  • We’ve watched construction on the building at the corner of Tucker Street and Glenwood Avenue, planning to house a Carolina Ale house, all year. I read awhile ago that they planned to have the Ale House open before football season so there really isn’t much time left. Will they make it? Not sure.

Raleigh [ ] Space Kickstarter Seeks Funds For First Parklet in Downtown Raleigh

Go to the Raleigh [ ] Space Kickstarter page

The folks behind the Raleigh [ ] Space project, which plan to bring a parklet to Salisbury Street, are trying to raise awareness for their Kickstarter campaign. I want to pass along the message that an anonymous donor has emerged with plans to match the funds but only through Friday July 4.

If you’ve seen it before and are holding off on contributing, please consider it this week for this very reason.

The Salisbury Street parklet would be the first in downtown Raleigh. The funds would be used for materials, permits, and the cost of the parking fees as two spaces will be displaced for this community space.

For more info, jump over to RaleighSpace.org

Medical Services Expanding in Downtown Raleigh

MedFirst Medical Center

I noticed recently that 131 South Wilmington Street, the space where the Pop-up Ice Cream Parlour used to be, was made into a small medical office. By chance, they then contacted me to in order to try and get the word out about the new business.

Restaurants and bars are great but residents needs stuff and services too. A few years ago, WakeMed opened a primary care physicians’ office on Davie Street, which was new at the time and was pointed out as another sign of downtown Raleigh’s revitalization by the news.

Medfirst Medical Center on Wilmington Street is now the only stand-alone urgent care facility in downtown. Locally owned and operated, they specialize in urgent care, basically non-emergency situations that still need to be seen within 24 hours. Walk-ins are welcome without appointments.

Make sure to check them out.