Category / Pic of the Week

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

The Saint townhomes under construction. January 2018.

The Saint townhomes are moving right along with the first wave of units topped out. I like to think of this particular property as trying as hard as possible to balance the benefits of both urban and suburban living. They have spacious units but with a great location. Space for two cars but in an entirely walkable neighborhood.

Downtown won’t turn urban overnight but I’d like to think these new developments are moving the needle a few notches in the urban direction when you take in the entire city’s growth direction.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Moore Square, January 2018

Moore Square, January 2018

The renovation of Moore Square is very much underway with a lot of small shrubs and short trees being removed. The holidays were a distraction but I noticed the difference recently and just had to grab a photo.

In the winter, with the leaves off the old oak trees, you can really see right through the square which makes it feel a lot bigger than it really is.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Raleigh Amtrak Station, October 2017

Raleigh Amtrak Station, October 2017

Happy New Year all!

Shown above is a photo of the Raleigh Amtrak Station in October 2017. I show this because the Triangle Business Journal had an article stating that once our new train station, Raleigh Union Station, opens this year the former station will be demolished.

Perhaps the archivists, including myself, need to get down there to photograph the station before it’s cleared.

The North Carolina Railroad Company, owners of the building and nearby property, have not announced any firm plans yet for that area. Your guess is as good as mine but I’m betting on a more functional use such as surface parking for train-related or utility-type vehicles. (at least for the foreseeable future)

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Construction site of The Metropolitan, December 2017

A crane has shown up at the site of The Metropolitan. The parking deck is being put together and foundation work has begun. It’s great to see the site being rebuilt after the fire in March of this year. The area nearby is undergoing a lot of change so it’s nice to see planned residential come through.

Hopefully, the roads will reopen sometime soon. Feels doubtful though as the Quorum Center is still in pretty bad shape from what can be seen on the outside.

Harrington Street, December 2017

by Leo Suarez

Map of the Week

Retail Street maps of downtown Raleigh in the comprehensive plan

Click for larger

I was perusing through the latest updates for the city’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan when I spotted this beauty of a map. Technically, it’s not new but just a revised (better looking) map of proposed retail streets in downtown Raleigh.

I wanted to post it here for reference. New developments along these identified streets should be encouraged to provide continuous, ground-floor retail and/or active spaces. That’s something to keep in mind for new proposals.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Boylan Flats construction site, November 2017

The construction site at Boylan Flats is really moving now. The 48-unit apartment building on the 600 block of North Boylan will most likely finish sometime next year.

I wonder if those south facing units may one-day be just a few feet away from a future development on the corner of Boylan and Johnson. That may just be a risk when building a narrow development mid-block with interior windows I guess.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

10 Arros Townhomes, October 2017

10 Arros Townhomes, October 2017

Here are the 10 Arros townhomes being built along New Bern Avenue. With all 10 “arros” basically built up, you can get a sense of their presence onto the street. It’s a nice change from the empty parking lot, wide openness to a more comfortable, urban-fringe kind of presence.

I am also loving this section of New Bern more with the townhomes across the street from Raleigh City Cemetery. Below is a wide shot of the townhomes with the cemetery across the street to try and show it off a little.

If the city can get a handle on the nighttime illegal activity that takes place in the cemetery and can have all three entrances open to the public every day, strolls through the cemetery would actually be quite pleasant. At this time, the city’s approach is to close two of the three entrances to prevent pedestrian through traffic, a more blunt approach to the problem in my opinion.

10 Arros Townhomes, October 2017