Category / News

by Leo Suarez

Municipography, Outdoor Seating, Wilmington Street Hotel, Moore Square, and Stone’s Warehouse

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

I recommend email readers click through to the website to see the embedded video.

I need to think of better titles for these posts.

Lots of downtown Raleigh related items were on this week’s council agenda. I don’t see the video for the daytime session on the city’s website so no video will accompany some of the sections today. They said they were experiencing some technical difficulties that day so perhaps that is why.

Either way, let’s recap.

Outdoor Seating
The hottest topic of the week was the discussion around PUPS, Private Use of Public Space. I’ve covered this before, even sent a letter to city council, but this week the council has changed the hours of operations of our outdoor seating. This is a city-wide ordinance change by the way.

Outdoor seating now has to be closed at midnight Sunday-Thursday, 1am Friday and Saturday nights. To be clear, this only affects outdoor seating that takes place on public property, basically sidewalks. Private outdoor seating is unaffected.

Affected downtown businesses fought this as some of them depend on the sidewalk space for a higher quantity of customers. Reducing their capacity earlier means less dollars. Others against the change claim that we’re biting into our economic success.

Those for the changes claim that downtown is not vibrant and the rowdy bar scene is a burden. It boils down to nearby residents who’ve complained about noise and the inability to get adequate sleep.

My thoughts, in short, are that the reduction in hours are unlikely to do anything while hurting businesses. No one wins, only people lose. The market for bars is thriving. That’s not the problem. The problem is the lack of diversity in downtown business. Opening a bar, clearly, is the most profitable, least risky business right now in downtown Raleigh. How can we make other services and retail more attractive? We don’t have any leadership on this issue currently and I’m disappointed that the Downtown Raleigh Alliance was not an active leader in this debate.

Wilmington Street Hotel

The rezoning request for the proposed 12-story hotel at the corner of Wilmington and Lenoir Streets was approved. From the agenda:

A hearing to receive a request of the Trustees of the General Baptist Convention of North Carolina and Derrick L. and Heather Z. Scales to rezone approximately 0.51 acres from Neighborhood Business with Downtown Overlay and Historic Overlay District-General (NB w/DOD & HOD-G) to Downtown Mixed Use – 12 stories – Urban General – Conditional Use (DX-12-UG-CU). The property is located on the southeast quadrant of the intersection of S. Wilmington and E. Lenoir Street and extends eastward on the south side of E. Lenoir Street.

To catch up on this project, read 12-Story Hotel Planned for Wilmington Street Moves Forward.

Moore Square
The Moore Square redesign plan is moving forward. From the agenda:

Staff seeks authorization to proceed with the second phase of the Moore Square improvement project which generally includes master plan adjustment and development of a preliminary schematic design process for the period of August through December, 2015. This phase will also include regulatory meetings with the Department of Administration, the Raleigh Historic Development Commission and the State Historic Preservation Office. Schematic design will be presented to the public through an open
house; to the Parks, Recreation, and Greenways Advisory Board; and to the City Council for final approval in December.

This item was approved and that means that the redesign moves into Phase 2, schematic design. As a note, I’m on the Moore Square Public Leadership Group for this project so will report here after the next meeting when some work on design is released.

Stone’s Warehouse

If the embedded video doesn’t show for you, click here.

The sale of Stone’s Warehouse was approved. Transfer Company will be buying the site for $2.02 million. Plans for the space include a food entrepreneur incubator as well as a general store and community hall. Market-rate townhomes will be built as well as another building for additional food business space.

Catch up on Stone’s Warehouse here.

by Leo Suarez

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.

by Leo Suarez

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

by Leo Suarez

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…

by Leo Suarez

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.