by Leo Suarez

‘The Hills’ Runs Out of Money

It looks like this is the end of the line for the project called The Hillsborough. I think no one should be surprised by this as it has been reported in the past that the developers were facing an uphill battle securing financing. Now that it is official, we can move on. There’s no doubt that this land will become more valuable over time. You’ve got Campbell Law moving in across the street and easy access to Fayetteville St. and Glenwood South. Hillsborough St. is a major corridor in and out of downtown so the location is naturally great.

I’m going to bet that there is not a line of people ready to bid on the site and build a tower in these tough times so a temporary parking lot makes the most sense. Fill the hole and pave it over. It could be used by the Campbell law students and faculty. I’m sure the weekend church crowds may enjoy some prime parking right on Hillsborough St. too. It could even be used as a downtown construction staging area for Green Square, the Public Safety Center, or any other project in the nearby area.

Residents of The Dawson, enjoy your view a little longer.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Sorry for the lack of updates but being sick this past weekend and also being swamped with work has not really helped much for the blog. There are more topics coming up soon but I wanted to throw an idea out there for people to think about. I was thinking of re-shooting the walking tour and capturing much better pictures of each site. I was also thinking of creating my own walking tour cause I think the one listed is a bit out-dated and a little too long for a regular walk. Any ideas?

The Walking Tour:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
The Finale

by Leo Suarez

City Plaza Piecing Together



Most of you probably heard the news yesterday related to City Plaza. For those that did not, it was announced that Jimmy John’s has signed a lease for one of the spaces. From what I know, the Hillsborough St. and Page Rd. locations do pretty well. I think they will honestly kill it during lunch hours and pretty much own it on a nice weather day. If you haven’t been, Jimmy John’s serves pretty good sandwiches and makes them relatively fast so convenience is high. I believe the one near NC State stays open late too so we’ll see if this one does the same when it opens later this year.

Looking to the future of City Plaza, there are still other spaces to fill. The WRAL article claims that there are six total spaces available for restaurants. If all six become food places, then let’s hope there is a nice mix so that all meal hours are properly covered; from breakfast to late-night. It would be a shame for out of town visitors walking out of the nearby hotels to see an inactive “city center”.

Anyway, I’m actually really looking forward to City Plaza. Anyone’s first visit to Fayetteville St. can tell that there is some significance there and this plaza should make it feel like the center of all the activity on the street.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

This picture is over a year old. There was no need to take another one cause this site, for The Hillsborough, has been the same for this entire time. According to the city:

“The developer also must meet certain other deadlines in the revised agreement or the City could exercise its option to repurchase the property at 301 and 309 Hillsborough Street. For example, site and foundation work must begin by Feb. 3, 2009 and construction of the project must be complete by March 15, 2011.”

February 3rd is only six days away. Will cranes start showing up this weekend? Place your bets.

by Leo Suarez

BeerCon: Tobacco Road Sports Café

Tobacco Road Sports Café is the newest Glenwood South restaurant that has set up shop in the 222 Glenwood building. This is a great place to plan an outing around watching sports. The main room is very open and there are TV’s at every angle. They also have a private room which you can reserve for your party with its own huge plasma TV. Behind the bar, there are plenty of taps and beers for you to choose from as well as your local favorites.

Their website suggests that they are not a sports bar. In reality, Tobacco Road is more of a restaurant with a sports theme. The mobile broadcast booth is used by 99.9 The Fan on occasion and I think could potentially bring some buzz to downtown if used to interview sports celebrities.

TV’s and one very large projector
Arcade games
Non-smoking
Outdoor patio (not open as of this writing)
Private room

Website: http://tobaccoroadsportscafe.com

222 Glenwood Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27603
(go to map)
(919) 832-3688