by Leo Suarez

Café de los Muertos To Open In The Hue This Summer

Café de los Muertos

Look out for a new coffee shop in downtown Raleigh this summer. Confirmed by a sign on the space and some chatter on their website, Café de los Muertos will be setting up along West Hargett Street in the Hue building.

Their site has everything you need to know about these guys:

We are Café de los Muertos (Coffee of the Dead), and we are supremely dedicated to the perfect coffee cup, the perfect espresso, the perfect coffee experience. Café de los Muertos is a artisan coffee roastery that specializes in organic Fair Trade and Direct Trade coffee. We hope to promote coffee sustainability by supporting truly beneficial relationships among coffee bean farmers and our customers.

*Café de los Muertos – Who

Currently, this coffee shop is online only but the space in the Hue gives them a new home.

Reading through some of their material, it sounds like they will be keeping things local and open to collaborating rather than competing. I’ll sip to that.

by Leo Suarez

Talk of a Midtown Raleigh Bus Circulator, The M-Line, Begins

R-Line Bus in downtown Raleigh

We’re in a lull when it comes to transit news in downtown Raleigh. It feels like the plans are made but the funding of a half-cent sales tax increase to go towards transit improvements is stuck at the county level.

While politicians on the County Commission continue to debate the possible tax increase, one of the most successful transit stories in Raleigh recently has been the R-Line. This fare-less service that circles downtown has been increasing its ridership every year since it was launched in 2009.

So it’s only natural that others around Raleigh want to get in on the great service.

I recently heard of the Midtown Raleigh Alliance’s (MRA) idea of pitching a service called the M-Line, a bus circulator between midtown Raleigh and downtown Raleigh. There’s not much behind this idea really, just talk and a blog post. [UPDATE: Broken link]

Either way, let’s speculate and see if this idea is at all feasible.

According to the MRA, midtown Raleigh is the “area within a 2-mile radius surrounding North Hills.” The about page on their website claims the area has a “Distinctive skyline and 24/7 walkable urban center.”

Whether that’s actually true or not, the most likely place for the M-Line to arrive and depart would be from a spot in North Hills, the most urban area in midtown.

A park and ride situation could work but with parking so plentiful in downtown, once people are in their cars then it’s likely they will just go straight to downtown rather than transfer to a bus.

Using Google Maps, the quickest way from North Hills, the Renaissance Hotel to be more specific, to downtown, the state Capitol, is along Lassiter Mill Road, St. Mary’s Street, and Glenwood Avenue. Google also estimates the trip to take 13 minutes.

The trip could take longer if the route is changed to make more stops around midtown. So to keep the numbers easy, let’s say the trip takes 15 minutes. With one bus running the route, a round-trip takes 30 minutes with an average wait time of 15 minutes.

Compared to CAT

If there is a truly interest in an M-Line, this again shows citizen support for transit and perhaps readiness for this area to increase transit effectiveness.

Capital Area Transit’s Route 8 – Northclift is the closest route that goes from downtown to midtown. It’s similar to the route suggested by Google Maps. Route 8 starts at the Moore Square bus station and goes through downtown, north on St. Mary’s and Lassiter Mill Road to North Hills.

The current operating schedule of Route 8 is:

  • 5:55 AM to 8:52 PM | Monday – Friday
  • 7:00 AM to 8:12 PM | Saturday

The route has frequencies of 30 minutes during rush hour and an hour outside and on Saturday. That makes wait times of being 15 minutes on average during rush hour and 30 minutes outside.

With a similar route already being offered by CAT, supporters of an M-Line have quite a bit of work to do in order to justify it.

Just like my post back in July 2011 about the petition to expand the R-Line to Cameron Village, this is an example where adding another bus circulator would provide redundant service to the current CAT system.

If anything, M-Line supporters should be interested in taking what money that could be put towards this new line and into making Route 8 much more effective through greater frequency and expanded operating schedules.

by Leo Suarez

Today, RalCon Fills a Six Pack of Blogging History

We’ve made it to six, SIX years of blogging.

Let me get up and dance real quick………..

I really have no interesting story about how this website was started. I was bored at work one day and started blogging. It just stuck and here we are.

What can you expect from this blog in the future? Absolutely nothing different. I plan to continue geeking out about downtown Raleigh, meeting new people, and taking photos.

2013 should be a good one as the Urban Design Center wants to start talks of a new downtown plan. Stay tuned for more as it comes out.

As a birthday treat, I’d like to post this photo I took before the blog was started. This is of the early construction work on the RBC Plaza tower, the current PNC Plaza on Fayetteville Street.

RBC Plaza - Downtown Raleigh

Photo taken on October 19, 2006

by Leo Suarez

Weekend Reel: Economics of Downtown Development

I recommend email readers click through to the website to see the embedded video.

Here’s a great video that’s required watching for the connoisseur within. Raleigh’s Chief Planning and Development Officer, Mitchell Silver, gives a presentation about the return on investing in downtowns versus the suburbs.

I was at this presentation and thought it very informative. Enjoy!

by Leo Suarez

Innovate Raleigh Opens Up 227 Fayetteville Street, Renovations Underway

227 Fayetteville Street, January 2013

Here is some great news for the core of downtown Raleigh. The former Wachovia bank building at 227 Fayetteville Street, the building shown above, was recently bought up and renovations are underway for 110,000 square feet of office space. On top of that, Innovate Raleigh, Raleigh’s public/private partnership in fostering innovation, hosted an event last night to show off the building and how it will be built for technology companies and new startups.

I went down to the event and found a packed house with the usual players and more in our city’s ever growing startup scene. Jesse Lipson, founder of ShareFile, was showing off the new Citrix offices being planned for West Street. Adam Klein talked about American Underground in Durham. These speakers and others told stories to a crowd of close to 200 about what startups are doing across the entire triangle.

227 Fayetteville Street, January 2013

We’ve discussed coworking space, a real incubator for startups, within downtown Raleigh but 227 is a step up. The people behind this building seem to be really tied into the community and this is a perfect spot to pipeline the rising startups out of the small spaces and into real offices. The Fayetteville Street location provides easy access to all of downtown’s services and is a great location to set up shop.

So on to the building itself and the renderings. Key points to notice in these renderings.

  • There is an emphasis on more natural light with many more windows being added.
  • One rendering suggests street level retail along Fayetteville Street which is something the building did not have previously.
  • The office entrance may be that red square along the side of the building. This may leave the Fayetteville Street facing entrance for a future retail space.
  • The outdoor spaces alongside 227 Fayetteville, Exchange Plaza and Market Plaza, may also be getting a facelift.

Rendering of 227 Fayetteville Street
Rendering of 227 Fayetteville Street
Rendering of 227 Fayetteville Street
Rendering of 227 Fayetteville Street
Rendering of 227 Fayetteville Street

by Leo Suarez

Trophy and Crank Arm Bring New Breweries To Downtown Raleigh

Trophy Brewing Company Growler

The craft beer choices within the bars, shops, and restaurants in Downtown Raleigh are some of the most varied and plentiful compared to the rest of the city. Downtown has several bars that only serve craft and there are many occasions where patrons ordering Bud or Miller are trying something new. Coming soon are two new offerings for downtowners to sip on.

Trophy Brewing Company, a new project by those behind the Busy Bee Cafe, will be serving seasonal beers in the former Burger Hut location on Morgan Street. Set to open in February, the small brewery stays true to its homebrew roots.

I stopped by Trophy recently and talked to David Lockwood and Chris Powers about the new place. With a glass of “Batch #1” in my hand, they took me through the tasting room and the brewery room. Brewer Les Stewart was there, wading through a web of wet hoses as he explained their brewing process. “Stainless steel is a beautiful thing,” he said while wrapping up for the day. This guy is genuinely excited about taking on the challenge of running this small brewery.

Size is not something Trophy is concerned about right now, the place is already full of equipment. With that, you’ll most likely only catch Trophy’s beers on Morgan Street. Since experimentation is so key to the guys behind the new brewery, expect new tastes every season by Trophy or through collaborations with others.

Unique to Trophy is also the option of a 32 ounce growler, pictured above. The thought is that smaller amounts will serve drinkers better than the typical 64 ounce sizes since growlers are essentially an open beer bottle so freshness takes a hit.

Trophy Brewing Company

The new bar will cater to the occasional beer drinker as well. A full bar and some wine will also be available. At first, the new place will be open from 5pm to midnight, Sunday to Thursday and closing at 2am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Later this year, expect the entire space to be opened up for more guests as well as some outdoor seating and a kitchen. Food items will include pizza and sandwiches as well as expanded lunch hours.

Pedal Powered Brewery?

Downtown’s Warehouse District is now getting into the brewing process. Crank Arm Brewing Company will open this spring in the former White Collar Crime location on West Davie Street.

The brewery is an extension of the rickshaw company, Crank Arm Rickshaw, which operates all over downtown Raleigh. So now, the guys at Crank Arm will be moving not only people but beer in their rickshaws. From a recent press release,

Beer is delivered via rickshaw or waste veggie-oil powered truck in order to minimize the company’s impact on the planet.

Crank Arm Brewery
Crank Arm’s Future home as seen in December 2012.

In addition to brewing, there will also be tasting on Davie Street as the space will include a bar.

The brewery will open with two staple brews; the Rickshaw Rye, a Rye India Pale Ale, and the White Wall Wit. Four other seasonals will be rotated to give drinkers something new to look forward to throughout the year.

Up until their opening, Crank Arm is giving away rewards for anyone that helps them through their kickstarter campaign. Watch the video below and back them.

If you’d like to try some Crank Arm beer, head down to Raleigh Times tomorrow for their event celebrating the kickstarter.

Beer Tasting / Crank Arm Brewing Kickstarter Launch

Date/Time: Fri., Jan. 25 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Raleigh Times
14 E Hargett St, Raleigh, NC
Raleigh, NC 27601
919-833-0999

Cheers to all the beer fans out there! I know I’m looking forward to the new spots.

by Leo Suarez

Municipography, Downtown Retail

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

Downtown Raleigh Retail

At the Raleigh City Council meeting last week, David Diaz and Paul Reimel from the Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) gave a report on retail within downtown Raleigh in 2012. We’ve talked about how the retail scene has become more and more noticeable and this data from the DRA supports that.

Below is the video showing their report.

Some highlights from it are:

  • Recognized the positive reaction of the retail community to rehabilitated storefronts and that there is still a need to work on more buildings in downtown.
  • In 2011, there were 83 retail space vacancies, accounting for 10% of inventory. In 2012, 27 of those 83 are now occupied.
  • 2012 also had 38 retail openings, a 28% increase from openings in 2011.
  • With the downtown load program, 3 loans were given for $150,000 total.
  • The loan program had 25 inquiries in 2012, the highest yearly amount yet.
  • Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week continues to grow and be more popular with each year.

Downtown Remote Operations Facility

The Downtown Remote Operations Facility isn’t directly tied to downtown. This new building, planned along Westinghouse Boulevard near Capital Boulevard and I-440, will instead be the new home for city maintenance trucks. The result is that the city can then vacate the current lot along Peace Street, the site of the old Devereux Meadow baseball park between West Street and Capital Boulevard.

The council approved moving forward with the project. Details below from the agenda.

On September 6, 2011, City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with Williard Ferm Architects to provide planning and design services, through 50% construction documents, for Phase 1 of the proposed Downtown Remote Operations Facility to be located on the city-owned site east of I-440 between Capital Boulevard and Raleigh Boulevard on the former Westinghouse property.

In addition, a Request for Qualifications to provide Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) services was advertised on October 23, 2012. Eight responses were received and three firms selected for interviews. Interviews were conducted on December 12, 2012, resulting in the recommendation of Brasfield and Gorrie general contractors to provide CMAR services. Brasfield and Gorrie has submitted a proposal of $375,000 to provide the required pre-construction level services.

A status report of the design development effort is being presented to provide an update on the project and to discuss City administration recommended actions to maintain progress related to design and construction.

Recommendation: (1) Authorize proceeding with the proposed Downtown Remote Operations Facility, to include the proposed facility program, site design alternatives, project schedule, and estimated costs. (2) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Contract Amendment with Williard Ferm Architects to complete construction documents and provide for construction phase services. (3) Authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with Brasfield & Gorrie General Contractors, in the amount of $375,000, to provide pre-construction services sufficient to develop a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for Phase 1 construction of the proposed Downtown Remote Operations Facility. (4) Authorize the following budget transfer from previously approved and completed remote operations facilities to fund additional design and pre-construction services, commissioning services, environmental management, and permitting requirements.

Transfer From:
508-2210-790010-975-CIP00-99150000 $1,200,000
Wilder’s Grove Remote Operations Center

Transfer To:
508-2210-790010-975-CIP00-93960000 $1,200,000
Downtown Remote Operations Center