I’m a fan of Nash Square. It’s probably one of the few places in downtown where I can sit and people-watch while being in this kind of hybrid comfort where the busier city streets meet the slowness of the trees and greenery. I’d change a few things for sure but mostly, it works for me, and I have no complaints. When the city recently released plans to start a process to reimagine the square, I was intrigued. What could they be up to?
Continue reading →During the July 1, 2025 city council meeting, there was an update on a collection of projects, most taking place in the downtown area and I thought briefly touching on these projects here would be a nice way to summarize what’s going on and coming up. If you want to dive in to the presentation itself, the video is above or can be seen here.
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Lichtin Plaza, or the space in front of the performing arts center, will soon get a remake. Aimed at making the space more accessible, the plaza will make way for a drop-off lane and you can see what that might look like in the rendering below. This seems to make sense as South Street is jammed before large events at the performing arts center and an improved drop-off process helps groups access the area more easily.
Continue reading →Last week’s City Council meeting (watch on YouTube here) featured an important update on downtown Raleigh, covering public safety and ongoing improvements to our public spaces. The primary focus was on Fayetteville Street and security enhancements at GoRaleigh Station. There were some great takeaways, and overall, things seem to be moving in a positive direction.
On the Glenwood South front, Raleigh Police Department (RPD) is satisfied with its current strategy, and we’ve shifted from focusing on violent crime to managing noise issues. That, in itself, is a positive sign.
Looking further ahead, the Fayetteville Street Streetscape Plan is expected to be officially adopted by Winter 2026. What does that mean? I take it to mean that the plan is agreed upon and when looking into my crystal ball, I hope the following takes place:
I didn’t time it at all like this but exactly a year ago, I posted about the city’s plan to reimagine Commerce Place. After last week’s First Friday event, which I could not make, we can see the latest iteration of this plan in the photo above. It’s a bad photo because there are no people in it but you gotta get those pics when opportunity strikes, am I right?
Continue reading →Above is the Raleigh City Council meeting (watch on YouTube) that included a presentation, public comments, and a vote on the plan to rebuild the Red Hat Amphitheater just south of its current location, resulting in the closure of South Street between Dawson and McDowell Streets. It’s worth watching, as you can really see the council’s thoughtful deliberation on this issue. I encourage readers to give it a view.
Continue reading →Recently, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) released the final draft of the Downtown Raleigh Economic Development Strategy, the ongoing study that hopes to revitalize urban Raleigh post-pandemic. We talked about part 1 earlier this year, with a heavy focus on Fayetteville Street, and now we have the complete report which lays out new ideas and a bold vision for downtown. Here are the many ways to dive right into it:
Rezoning case Z-92-22, or better The New Bern Avenue Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) case, is now in the books. Or “on the map” as I prefer to see these things. The final votes took place in July and I wanted to kind of wrap up these changes as the city council has been working it since January of this year. Above is a screen grab from iMaps where you can see the applied TOD zoning in East Raleigh.
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