by Leo Suarez

The L Shows Off Updated Renderings

June 2013 rendering of The L.

There’s lots of momentum behind one of downtown Raleigh’s longest stalled projects and The L may finally break ground.

Above is the latest rendering of The L, not the final but pretty close, and it shows how it will wrap the Wake County parking deck at the corner of Davie and Cabarrus Streets. This mixed-use project will consist of 93 studio, 1, and 2 bedroom apartments and 8,000 square feet of office space above 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail.

Ground breaking is planned for this Fall with a project completion around Fall 2014.

by Leo Suarez

Raleigh Industrial Bank Renovation On Salisbury Street

If you haven’t been following along in the news and other blogs, there’s a fantastic building renovation, more like restoration, going on at the intersection of Salisbury and Hargett Streets. The modern facade that glossed over 200 South Salisbury Street is coming down and look what was underneath all this time.

I didn’t have a photo of my own but here’s the Google Streetview image dated April 2012 followed by my own similar view taken in May 2013.

Google Maps

200 South Salisbury Street, May 2013

In addition to the corner building there is another smaller one on West Hargett that has been restored, shown in this photo.

Building on West Hargett Street, May 2013

What once was a small office building will now have ground floor restaurant space with renovated office space above. Cheers to developer James Goodnight and his team for making this happen in downtown Raleigh.

by Leo Suarez

City of Raleigh Museum Celebrates 20 Years With Time Warp 2013

Time Warp 2013

Last year, the city museum on Fayetteville Street went through a few changes. The Raleigh City Museum is now the City of Raleigh Museum, with a whole new ‘COR’ branding scheme. They are in the process of upgrading and this weekend, the folks behind the COR Museum are having a fundraiser, not just to help pay for future additions but to also celebrate the 20 year anniversary.

If you can make it, it sounds like a great event.

Time Warp 2013

Date/Time: Sat., June 1 2013 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
220 Fayetteville Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
919.996.3775
Buy tickets

From the press release:

The Museum will unveil plans for its new space and programs at Time Warp. Museum staff look forward to inviting the community into an updated space for guided tours, student engagement and private and public events. Last year, over 22,000 people visited the museum or participated in its programs. To continue the effort of engaging the community with Raleigh’s past, present and future, the Museum plans to

  • Install new interactive physical and digital exhibits over the next two years.
  • Enhance programming and events for public and community participation including an updated Raleigh Timeline, First Friday features, smart phone scavenger hunts and guided walking tours of the city.
  • And expand engagement into schools through new elementary and high school educational programs.

by Leo Suarez

Bike Racks in Downtown Raleigh Evolve, Show Attitude

Bicycle racks seem to be popping up all over downtown Raleigh and it’s a trend that doesn’t seem to be losing steam.

In 2011, the city installed about 75 U-shaped racks around downtown to accommodate the growing cycling population. In the Spring of this year, North Carolina’s first bicycle corral was installed near the corner of Hargett and Wilmington Streets.

The love for the cycling community continues with some more unique bicycle racks, shown below, that have been installed recently or in the past year. There’s even more to come so keep an eye out.

Bicycle racks outside of Beasley's Chicken and Honey on Martin Street.

Bicycle racks outside of Beasley’s Chicken and Honey on Martin Street.

Bicycle racks outside of The Flying Saucer on Morgan Street.

Bicycle racks outside of The Flying Saucer on Morgan Street.

Bicycle rack along Seaboard Avenue.

Bicycle rack along Seaboard Avenue.

Bicycle rack along Wilmington Street near the State Capitol building.

Bicycle rack along Wilmington Street near the State Capitol building.

Bicycle rack in Exchange Plaza.

Bicycle rack in Exchange Plaza.

Bicycle rack near Moore Square.

Bicycle rack near Moore Square.

by Leo Suarez

Spring 2013 Restaurant Roundup

I hope everyone is spending as much time as possible outside before the heat kicks in. This is one of the best times of the year in downtown Raleigh for walking and outdoor eating.

Here’s the latest list of restaurant news.

  • Dos Taquitos Xoco is now open in Glenwood South. Besides sitting outside on the outrageously decorated patio, the booths with the toy train serving chips and salsa are pretty enjoyable.
  • Kimbap, a Korean cafe, has opened in Seaboard Station. There is a lot of sustainably grown food served here as well as a very gluten-free friendly menu. The dumplings are excellent!
  • They have been open for some time now but Trophy Brewing has been making progress on their new kitchen and outdoor space. Expect that to be open soon.
  • The Videri Chocolate Factory in the warehouse district has added a coffee bar.
  • Fiction Kitchen has now been open for two or three months and is 100% vegetarian. The tinga tacos are way tasty!
  • Cafe de los Muertos is opening a store in The Hue building and should be open late this summer or early fall.
  • Another coffee shop, Joule Coffee, is still being worked on in the former Wilmoore Cafe spot. According to the (silent) Twitter account, it’s still planned for a Spring opening so expect it soon.
  • This fall, a doughnut shop, Donut Theory, is planning to open in a space near the intersection of Saunders and South Street.

Also, a little bird has told me that the space between Neptune’s Parlour and King’s on Martin Street may be serving food out of the window this weekend. Is The Garland finally going to open? Perhaps we’ll know in a few weeks.

by Leo Suarez

The Lincoln Will Bring 224 Apartments To Emo Raleigh

Corner of Hargett and East Street

Corner of Hargett and East Street as seen in March, 2011.

Emo Raleigh (East of Moore Square) may be getting a big influx of housing units if a new development gets approved by the city. According to a newly submitted site plan, The Lincoln is a full-block apartment building for the mostly empty, grassy lot bounded by Hargett, Martin, East, and Bloodworth Streets.

Currently, just a single house sits on the lot and for years the developers behind The Lincoln have been working to acquire property, move houses, and get everything ready.

The site plan tells us that the 70′ high building will be designed by JDavis Architects and offer one, two, and three bedroom apartments. Looking at the preliminary site plan we can see that there will be apartments along all four faces of the block with an enclosed parking deck and pool.

If I’m looking at this map correctly, the deck entrances look to be on Bloodworth and East Streets. See for yourself on this extracted image I created, posted below.

This is great for the Moore Square area as well as the adjacent Thompson-Hunter neighborhood. This side of town has been quiet on the development front. If successful, The Lincoln could raise more interest in new projects for East Raleigh as there is relatively cheaper land here.

The Lincoln Preliminary Site Plan

by Leo Suarez

Rendering of The New Holy Trinity Church on Peace Street

Rendering of the Holy Trinity Church on Peace Street.

Rendering of the Holy Trinity Church on Peace Street.

In addition to doing a wonderful restoration job to the Jordan House at the corner of Peace and Blount Street, the Holy Trinity Church of Raleigh is building new digs.

Above is an architectural rendering of the new building which will be located along the 100 block of East Peace Street. The land was just surface parking for more than 20 years to the best of my knowledge and adds some diversity to what could be a heavily residential area if the Blount Street Commons project is ever fully completed.