Category / Pic of the Week

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Have you been under the Capital Boulevard bridge at night lately? It seems like it was delayed (what isn’t delayed these days?) but the art installation for the bridge over Peace Street looks finished and is lit up very nicely now.

I’d like to think this project is finally done now that the lights are on. The Capital Boulevard project is a pretty long-lasting one as far as this blog goes, with posts about it going back to 2010. The area will probably see even more public investment as Devereux Meadow park, right next door to this bridge, goes through its planning phases.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

More demolition this week. However this time, it’s the buildings along Jones and Dawson Street, damaged from the 2017 apartment fire, that have come down. Half a city block has been cleared as a result.

The site had three, low-rise office buildings built in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. The NC League of Municipalities has owned all three lots for over 20 years.

Demolition sometimes means change is coming but at this time, no plans have been made for these lots. The site is currently zoned for buildings up to 12-stories tall. What might be built here in the future is anyone’s guess.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Have you seen the First Citizens Bank building recently on the corner of Martin and Fayetteville? The building was undergoing a renovation for the last year and they really opened that building up. Significantly more windows have been added and the ground-floor lobby has a nice contemporary refresh.

Buildings along Fayetteville Street have been getting modern refreshes lately. This is probably a result of landlords attempting to lure higher paying office tenants as rents are much higher compared to decades ago when they were first built. Constructed in the 1980s One City Plaza was given a new facade and lobby in 2015. The lobby in the Wells Fargo tower, from the early 1990s, was given a refresh in 2019 and 333 Fayetteville from the 1960s is being renovated right now.

Back to First Citizens, here is a photo pre-renovation.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Readers have seen site work taking place at 200 West Davie Street, the location for a long-time planned Hilton Garden Inn hotel. Plans go back to even 2015 but earth is being moved at the site and sidewalk fencing was added about a month ago. I may be stretching a bit but perhaps construction will start on the 13-story, 259 room hotel here, which was covered in this 2017 post.

The hotel amenities also list a rooftop bar and restaurant facing McDowell street. Parking is also included in this project. There’s no indication of ground-floor retail but that’s not surprising as the The L building’s retail across the street has never been 100% full. It would be great for the hotel to support nearby activities such as new retail/restaurants and conventions.

Hopefully the next update is a crane in the air at the site.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

construction at 615 west peace street

Land has been cleared at 615 West Peace Street, not to be confused with 615 East Peace Street, for a building named 615 Peace. The mixed-use building will bring residential units over retail space. You can see a rendering of the building in this September 2020 post.

Peace Street has been through a lot over the last few years. The Capital Boulevard bridge is structurally finished and now we’re waiting for the decorative elements to be completed. As part of that project, the street was widened a bit and reconfigured. I think it took almost 3 years of construction to complete it. In the future, Smoky Hollow will add a lot and a new park at Devereux Meadow, more on that in the coming weeks, will bring accessible greenspace to the street.

I believe it’s been shelved but a streetscape plan for the western side of Peace Street would really add some nice elements here. The thought of even more construction though might irritate some neighbors but that’s the way it goes I feel. Bring it on.

Get to know 615 Peace at their website: 615peace.com

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

The sky’s the limit over at the Marbles parking lot along Morgan Street. As long as the sky can be reached with only 30 floors.

The city council recently approved a rezoning request for 40 stories at the triangle shaped lot shown above. However, the request had a condition to max out the floor count to only 30. This goes to show you that a new zoning request floor count of 30, in between the current 20 and 40, may be needed in the future.

No definitive plans have been announced but I’d love to see an expansion to Marbles, an already big-time attraction to downtown. With that kind of height, mixed-use would also be great to see. As downtown adds density, I think it allows Marbles to expand without moving or demolishing parts of their existing buildings. These structures are in, what looks like, decent shape so it’s great to see an addition to downtown buildings rather than a replacement.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Shown above is Raleigh Crossing on a gray, Spring day. More and more glass is starting to appear on the largest office tower to be built in recent history. I’m loving that upward curve going along the eastern side!

Raleigh Crossing will primarily house Pendo, a local software firm that’s growing big time. The renderings show their name on the crown and with their primarily pink branding, might look quite nice when lit up a night.