by Leo Suarez

BEST Plans To Launch Biggest Project Yet For Warehouse District

BEST Dillon mural

The BEST team has been busy this year and excitement is brewing for one of their largest upcoming projects yet. I’ve highlighted them before and the all-volunteer group is planning a new mural for one of the Dillon supply buildings in the warehouse district.

The new mural will take up an entire block on the Triangle Transit owned building on West Street. Donna Belt, the founder of BEST, writes:

We will begin by inviting children to add their handprints and body tracings to a design that will morph into a crowd boarding a train in front of a Raleigh skyscape. Phase II of the mural expands into a sunburst as the Wright brothers’ plane and other flying machines soar over the North Carolina countryside. The theme, whether specifically reflecting Triangle Transit’s role in regional transportation or applying to the limitless potential that we all share, is a spectacular celebration of the ways in which we move forward together.

– YOUR FACE HERE… in the largest community art installation in downtown Raleigh

There are two ways to get involved.

  1. The BEST Dillon launch party is on July 27. The free event will be held at Spy Raleigh. Attend for drinks and networking or take part for the raffle prizes and art auction.
  2. Become a sponsor or donate to BEST anytime.

The last BEST fundraiser was held at The Hive and the group packed the house so I expect a similar gathering at Spy Raleigh.

This is a great project for downtown and building that community strengthens it in a lot of ways.

See you there.

by Leo Suarez

Breaking Apart The Wishbone Intersection At Peace Street

Email readers: This blog post has image galleries. Read the post on the blog to see all the images.

The intersection of Peace, Wilmington, Halifax, and Salisbury.

Talks, visions, and plans for lots of places in downtown Raleigh exist if you know where to look. Solving problems like traffic congestion or providing new amenities for pedestrians and bicyclists are driving factors for new plans. The intersection on Peace Street with Wilmington, Salisbury, and Halifax Streets is being looked at and I thought it might be fun to go over some points that I see in the Peace Street Visioning Study, a sub-topic in the Capital Boulevard Corridor Study.

No plans are final and the report mainly discusses topics for future exploring. One highlight mentions:

The Wilmington/Halifax/Peace Street intersection represents a second opportunity to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion. A two-lane roundabout is recommended for feasibility analysis by the City transportation engineers. This intersection continues to be a bottleneck which may be improved with more conventional traffic engineering solutions. However, there is some prospect that a two lane extended roundabout might provide free-flowing traffic while establishing a signature open space at this important gateway into the state government center and downtown. The roundabout would extend south in to the Wilmington Salisbury loop, with the roadway geometry offset to the south.

Here’s a screenshot of a map of that section and what it might look like from a conceptual level.

Peace Street Visioning Study, intersection of Halifax, Wilmington, and Peace Streets.

Seems like Raleighites either love or hate these larger roundabouts. It will be interesting to see the analysis and if the plan has merit.

The civic space within the center of the roundabout has potential but I question whether pedestrians will use it. Could an active public space exist within a busy roundabout of this small size?

I’d like to see another plan for this area, one Raleigh has already had, and that is to return the streets to their original configuration. The wishbone piece of the intersection could be removed and Wilmington and Salisbury Streets can be straightened out up to Peace. A map of Raleigh in 1914 shows this configuration including Halifax Street making it’s way up to Union Square as it has always been before the state government complex was built. (yay, urban renewal?)

It’s possible that this idea takes a busy intersection and splits it into two smaller ones. Here’s a mock up in Google Maps of what it could look like.


View Peace/Salisbury/Wilmington Intersection Idea in a larger map

Current properties in the map, shown in blue, are the AIA NC building and a Department of Administration building. In orange, you can see the returned street extensions and the green covers the wishbone piece of the current intersection. I also highlighted two service entrances in purple that are needed for the government complex.

The new green space is wide open in terms of future uses. Possibilities for it are new mixed-use developments, completely open green space, or a balance of the two. If a civic plaza is desired, the complete road removals would allow for more space.

In terms of traffic flow, I’m also curious what would happen if Salisbury Street were changed to a two-way street. With it connecting directly into Seaboard Station Avenue, bicycles and vehicles would have a direct connection from the core downtown to Seaboard Station.

There is also a really great view looking north at Seaboard Station that anyone driving, pedaling, or walking on Salisbury would feel more welcomed to a different downtown district. If you notice on a map, Vaughn Court is the current “extension” of Salisbury Street. Here’s a view looking north from that street. Click for a larger view.

Seaboard Station entrance from Vaughn Court

I feel that this should become a “main entrance” to Seaboard Station in more of a way that it is today. With a two-way Salisbury Street, there could be better connections from Seaboard Station to downtown. You also get the visual bonus in that drivers and pedestrians can see their destination a few blocks away. Currently, you have trees and parts of the government center parking deck in front of you.

Looking North on Salisbury Street.

Wilmington Street already has a great view with the William Peace University main building front and center to traffic. An extension to the road could make the new intersection of Wilmington and Peace a more interesting place, brought about with any future developments that come from the Blount Street Commons project.

View of William Peace University down Wilmington Street.

With more development coming, an improved road network may make for more successful redevelopment in this area and who knows, maybe the government district could begin to grow some life during the off hours.

Click on the image below for a gallery of more images of the area.

View of the AIA NC building and William Peace University main building from Wilmington Street.

by Leo Suarez

Skyhouse Apartments Helping The Edison Project Come To Life

Skyhouse Apartments Raleigh rendering

Here’s some very positive news for fans of The Edison, a multi-building development that was planned for the core downtown area. Skyhouse Apartments was up for review by the Raleigh Planning Commission yesterday, June 26, and was approved unanimously.

The 264 foot tower will sit at the southwest corner of Blount and Martin Streets and will consist of ground-floor retail as well 320 apartments. It’s a great location and turns an empty lot into an active, urban development with plans for one to four bedroom units.

Watch your Raleigh Planning Commission in action in the video below. Included are more renderings and conversation over a few concerns about the building.


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As a little side note, I thought it was cool that the presenter mentioned the William Christmas plan.

“The applicants received a variance from additional right of way dedication as most all projects do in the historic Christmas plan for the City of Raleigh and this project is no different. No additional right-of-way was provided and no additional street widening is required.”

If you are unfamiliar with the southwest corner of Blount and Martin, for years it has been a grassy field with numerous whirligigs made by Vollis Simpson. You may have seen a bigger one, titled Wind Machine, at the North Carolina Museum of Art. In the video, there was discussion of incorporating one of Simpson’s pieces into the new building as public art, most likely for the outdoor pedestrian plaza.

Here is a snapshot of the plan for the ground floor, click for a more zoomed out view.

Skyhouse Apartments Raleigh site plan

North is up in this picture so the intersection of Blount and Martin is in the top right corner of the image.

A couple of quick notes about the plan:

  • Along Martin, a small pedestrian plaza will be built along the west side of the building.
  • Between the building and the existing parking deck will be a driveway with a few more parking spaces.
  • Other than the few spaces mentioned, no new parking will be built as the deck that exists today will support the new tower.
  • 14 foot sidewalks and new urban trees will be planted around the building in keeping with the comprehensive plan.
  • Retail space will cover the entire Martin Street side of the building.

A concern about the building and it’s proximity to the historic structures in City Market and along Blount Street was brought up in the commission meeting. We’ve talked about building large towers next to small buildings before and I feel there is no issue as the corner of this block will accommodate all users adequately.

Earlier news reports claim that groundbreaking could occur as early as this year.

Skyhouse Apartments Raleigh rendering

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Wake County Justice Center construction in June 2012.

The Wake County Justice Center dominates the intersection of McDowell and Martin Streets. Almost three years ago, there was just a hole at this site.

For more trips down memory lane, over four years ago we’ve discussed the project and what buildings it has replaced.

The ugly parking deck, the Garland Jones building, and the Lawyers Building are all coming down for the expansion of the current site right next door.

via Justice Center Expansion, $200+ Million and a Historic Raleigh Cost.

by Leo Suarez

Municipography, Capital Boulevard and a Transit Tax

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.

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

This week, there was action at both the city and county level. Heated comments took place at the Wake County Commission meeting over a tax increase that would support expanded transit options in the county. Raleigh city staff presented the Capital Boulevard Corridor Study, a vision to remake the area from Peace Street all the way to I-440.

Capital Boulevard Corridor Study


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City staff presented a general overview of the Capital Boulevard Corridor Study as well as some of the data gathered and citizen feedback. After some light conversation, the city council moved it to the Comprehensive Planning Committee for further review. An endorsement of the plan is needed before August to align with the NCDOT’s plans to design new bridges for Capital Boulevard at Peace Street and Wade Avenue.

Councilors briefly mentioned the topic of the at-grade intersection at Capital and Peace so I expect more conversation about it at the committee meeting. Still, city staff has added some excellent reading as an appendix to the corridor study and breaks down the metrics of measuring an intersection’s effectiveness. They explain the advantages and disadvantages of each interchange design including one type of at-grade proposal.

Wake County 1/2 Cent Sales Tax For Transit

On Monday:

In a 4-to-3 vote along party lines, members of the Wake County Commission Monday turned down a proposal to consider a transit plan and a half-cent sales tax referendum for this November’s ballot.

Commissioner Erv Portman presented the motion, at the very end of a meeting during which more than 20 people spoke in favor of putting the referendum on this November’s ballot.

Although Monday’s meeting agenda included no mention of the sales tax for an expanded transit plan in the Triangle, the topic dominated the public comment period.

Commission Votes Against Debate on Transit Sales Tax via Raleigh Public Record.

To hear/watch the public comment period, jump over to the Wake Board of Commissioners meeting agenda for June 18, 2012.

The needed 1/2 cent sales tax increase to secure a source of funding before transit in Wake County can be expanded has now been kicked down the road again. Durham County has approved it and is waiting for Orange and Wake Counties to do the same before they start collecting.

Orange County votes on the 1/2 cent sales tax increase this November.

by Leo Suarez

A Different Approach To The Transit Argument

Capital Area Transit bus

I’m planning to do a Municipography post for tomorrow cause there is good stuff to talk about in government this week. Yesterday, the Wake County Board of Commissioners had a meeting and the floor was open to those for and against the transit plan for the county. Today, there is a Raleigh City Council meeting and the Capital Boulevard Corridor Study is on the agenda. Hopefully, I can get video of both for tomorrow’s post embedded here along with some overview.

But the transit argument is one I talk about a lot, especially offline, so after hearing how yesterday’s meeting went on the 7th floor of the Wake Courthouse, I wanted to hopefully offer a different view on Transit for County and Raleigh.

I’m not going to mention congestion cause I feel transit doesn’t make a noticeable dent in it. I will not use words like “soaring”, “sky-high”, or “astronomical” if I mention gas prices because I’ve been to other countries and I just can’t complain at all seeing $8-$10 per gallon prices. All I want to talk about is the Raleigh of the future and what I want to see.

So they say that Raleigh and the county are going to grow. Great. The question is how do we want this city of the future to look like?

Continuing in the same pattern as today will result in more destinations with greater distance between them. Eventually Raleigh will be unable to grow her borders but the surrounding towns will swell outwards and continue weaving the fabric of this great metropolitan area. We citizens will move around that area as we’ve been doing for years now and to accommodate this future transportation need, roads and highways will be built. As growth continues, so does the cycle of building roads to meet the demand of transportation, the same transportation methods of today.

If that is your Raleigh of the future, fine. Make a convincing argument for it and I’ll respect you for that.

An alternative view is a Raleigh metro that seeks balance with it’s surrounding environment. I strongly believe that one of the North Carolina Piedmont’s biggest selling points is the vast amount of lush greenery and tree cover. I hear it all the time about how many trees there are here and how leafy it is. This appeals to a lot of people. Take away those trees and lush environment and you have a scene that isn’t Raleigh at all. This is part of our brand, this “city within a park”.

To keep Raleigh just like Raleigh, I want to see the future seek balance with the mountainous trees that took decades to grow so big. When driving out of the area, we should hit the beautiful North Carolina wilderness head on and not go through countless strip malls and neighborhoods like some larger cities have today.

To achieve this in some way, I want the future Raleigh to spend it’s transportation money in the city we’ve already built, not on the fringes where land can be exhausted. I see it as a way to re-innovate ourselves, not continue doing what is comfortable.

While my Raleigh of the future may sound like a treehugger’s fairy tale, there is some more to it. Investing in public transit within the city does amazing things for how we use our land. Public transit is a human scale investment because it moves people around. When people move around, buildings and shops that cater to people start popping up. When compared to a city where cars move around, the city is built with parking lots and plenty of room for those cars to get around.

I see two things happening when public transit is invested within the city. When people, not cars, are moving around, the resulting development ends up occurring near this new investment (transit) and on already existing infrastructure. (electricity, sewers, etc.) Investments on existing infrastructure cost citizens much less when compared to new developments that push our infrastructure further and further out. There’s an example in Asheville, NC about this very topic:

We tend to think that broke cities have two options: raise taxes, or cut services. Minicozzi, though, is trying to point to the basic but long-buried math of our tax system that cities should be exploiting instead: Per-acre, our downtowns have the potential to generate so much more public wealth than low-density subdivisions or massive malls by the highway. And for all that revenue they bring in, downtowns cost considerably less to maintain in public services and infrastructure.

The Simple Math That Can Save Cities From Bankruptcy via The Atlantic Cities

I strongly encourage everyone to read that article.

So to wrap this up, I hope everyone is thinking about what they want this area to be like in the future. There is strong evidence that the growth is coming so it has to be dealt with in some way. What way is up to us and we are deep into the planning stages for this right now.

Voice your opinion, for or against, public transit. It doesn’t matter if you never use it, you are a part of this city and it will impact you in some way.

Voice your opinion, for or against, new road construction. It doesn’t matter if you never use it, you are a part of this city and it will impact you in some way.