The latest addition to Christ Church is starting to really take shape these days. You’ve got to hand it to them for trying to make their newest expansion along Edenton Street match the historic building. They have an album of construction photos on their Flickr page.
After years of being empty, the old Esso gas station on Hillsborough Street now has life in it. Dram and Draught, a whiskey and cocktail bar, is now open and adds some neighborhood bar vibes to this area of downtown Raleigh.
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The Dillon Supply Company warehouse is mostly gone and the walls that are planned to be saved as part of the new development, The Dillon, have been braced up by steel supports.
The former Greyhound Bus Station on Jones Street has now been demolished. With the site cleared, construction of the Greyhound Apartments should begin. Personally, I hope they change the name but that’s just me.
Imaps shows the property having a built date of 1971 so the Greyhound Station made it 45 years if that is what the data is referring to. The small warehouse next door, at the corner of Jones and Harrington, probably was around longer. Not demolished was the Levin-Tarlton House which rolled through downtown this February to its new home on New Bern Avenue.
The new apartment building should go from Jones to Lane Street. I expect a similar configuration as The Lincoln because the footprints are about the same and so is the developer.
Last thought, looking at a map of the nearby area I can’t help but wonder if Lane could be extended to West Street? (or even Glenwood) A traditional street with sidewalks and travel lanes may not work but perhaps something nontraditional that is only for bicycles and pedestrians. Lane doesn’t end at the state government complex like other nearby streets but rather goes way east.
Riding a bike or walking, in some way, to Glenwood Avenue would be fantastic down Lane.
Here’s a photo (click for larger) through the construction fencing at the GoRaleigh Transit Station. You can see the foundation (if that’s the correct term) for the bathrooms on the left and the start of the crew kiosk in the center. The kiosk will have the ticketing/information window, the office for the crew and security.
You can see more details on the city’s project page. They have a link to a webcam that’s set up across Hargett Street also.
If you were a fan of the large brick “facade” on Hargett, it was recently removed and really opens up the space in a big way now.
Construction site for the future Residence Inn.
The future Residence Inn is showing a few floors of progress here on Salisbury Street. The nine-story hotel comes after years of delays and changes so it’s great to see this moving.
The renovation of the Albemarle Building is well underway. The project on Salisbury Street is part of the governor’s Project Phoenix, a plan to upgrade the state government complex in downtown Raleigh.
This renovation may or may not have a big impact on the surrounding area. A modern office upgrade isn’t going to create new activity during off-hours especially on weekends. The government may save on maintenance costs in the long run but this project, I feel, won’t support any of the governor’s claims of creating new development activity and life in and around the state government complex.
It’s possible that if the capacity of workers in the Albemarle Building has increased, more downtown workers may create more business. I feel like that’s a stretch though. Either way, great for the folks working there but this “suburban-urban” building may bring a negligible contribution to downtown’s revitalization.
Demolition is taking place at The Dillon. The former brick warehouse is coming down to make way for the mixed-use project that will include apartments and a 17-story office tower.