The Hue is moving along just fine. There is a ton of scaffolding on the exterior but one side is starting to show the yellow/blue/gray colors that will cover the building. The ground floor retail space is a big welcome to this area. The parking deck looks complete so can we call a 2009 completion date? Maybe.
There are two projects to discuss here. The Wake County parking deck looks very close to being complete. The L office building that will wrap the front of this deck has not started yet, leaving a nice big gray wall. The plan was for ground floor retail with office space above. I did notice something interesting here; the sidewalks are being paved. If there is still work to be done on the outside then why are the sidewalks being laid out?
The future
Powerhouse Plaza has not been talked about much but the site for this new Glenwood South hotel is now being fenced off. A couple small houses and buildings will be demolished to make way for the hotel, which helps my theory that West St. will become a building corridor and actually contain more density then Glenwood Ave. West St. is important because it is more pedestrian friendly when making trips towards Fayetteville St.
This house will soon be getting a much larger neighbor.
The Tucker apartment complex has been moving right along all last year. The end isn’t quite near but if the current pace continues, it may be safe to assume that it will be open this year. More rental units in downtown will help raise the density of the area. Glenwood South is about to get a nice little boost once the place fills up. This is perfect timing for all the law students that want to walk to class once Hillsborough Place opens this fall.
See the construction site before construction started.
Common area with sidewalk access
An epic walk downtown and lots of pictures means more blog posts are coming. This week will pretty much revolve around the current construction going on in downtown. I went to most of the construction sites this weekend and got some pictures of each project. This could also be a preview of what new stuff we will be watching throughout 2009.
I’ll get things started before the work week with this little update on Fayetteville Street. Progress Energy has replaced their old arcade over the sidewalk with a new one and workers are now putting the finishing touches to it. I’m also curious to know what will go on the ground floor of the building now that the RBC Bank has moved out.
You may have already heard about it but if not, the Raleigh city council has approved the implementation of parking meters in certain areas of downtown. This letter from the Downtown Raleigh Alliance is a key read. To sum up the major points:
The point is to increase turnover of on street spaces as well as making parking decks more attractive. The rates in decks will not increase and a more uniform hourly rate will eventually be implemented.
What this really means
There are ways to park downtown for free; you just have to know how to work the system. Shockingly, there are people out there that play this game, you know who you are, and the parking meters should stop this. If you want to park downtown for more then two hours you should park in a deck and take advantage of the cheaper rates. With the decks more full, the streets are less crowded and therefore parking is easier. Simple, right?
I had to think this through and I think I get it; charging for on street parking will encourage people to come downtown. I also think it will put to rest the ‘It is so hard to park downtown’ mentality. This only applies to the enforcement time of 8-5 during the week remember. Let me try and paint you a picture.
For a short trip, parking downtown right now involves crowded streets. However, these crowded streets are free so the majority of drivers circle the block and look for that gem of a space to appear. That spot may come, where then I would consider you lucky, but if not most drivers would scream in anger, ‘It is so hard to park downtown!’ Now that that free spot can not be had, driver must pay up and go to a deck a few blocks away in a furious rage (and possibly hurting driver’s image of downtown Raleigh). All that work just to meet a client for a coffee.
Let’s fast forward a couple years after the meters have been installed and driver now has to visit downtown again. The streets are not so crowded as before and a few spots are available. However, this time driver must pay two bucks for two hours. Driver now has two choices, pay the two bucks for the convenience of parking so close or save a little by circling the block and going straight to a deck. Driver decides to pay the two dollars and has a better experience then before because driver is close to the coffee shop.
That story really wasn’t that good and could have gone many ways but it does, sort of, describe a possible scenario in the future. I think the free choice versus cost choice that we have now is not helping. Unfortunately, money wins in this situation and if ALL parking cost money, people would know about that cheaper alternative. When the meters are in full effect, drivers will have two options:
Each option can never be stressful unless its just one of those days that the entire city wants to come downtown and everything is full (which happens maybe twice a year). Businesses should enjoy the higher turnover on the spots around their block. With more turnover and more available spots, the ‘It is so hard to park downtown’ mentality should diminish and people will start visiting more often.
…..in theory anyway. What do you think?
Tobacco Road Sports Cafe is up and running. The Amra’s brothers have brought something new to the sports bar options in Raleigh. Expect a BeerCon soon.
Now that the holidays are over, and you now have time to read the blog, we can discuss a couple of ideas for what downtown should have in 2009. What is possible to create within a year’s time that will add to the vibrancy of downtown, serving residents as well as visitors? Here is a short list to get the ideas flowing.
Grocery store
A lot of conversations I’ve had with people considering to move downtown are about the lack of a grocery store in the area. They hesitate to move because of the fact that they still need to get in their cars and drive somewhere. There are not that many residents yet in downtown so it will be a gamble for someone to open the first within the core downtown.
I do believe that if done properly, it can be successful. Most people that visit a suburban grocery store buy enough food for days, some weeks even. If downtown, this store needs to do the opposite and provide me with fresh food and other products for only a couple days. This leads to repeat visits from customers, a much more personal experience, and I really feel that downtown residents will support a locally owned store with local produce.
Music venue
Another music alternative to Lincoln Theatre and The Pour House would be great. It could possibly fill the void ever since King’s was demolished or maybe head in another direction. My guess would be a larger venue but I’m also not into the current market for it. Maybe the demand is not here in this area but I see tours all the time skip over Raleigh completely, at least the music that I’m paying attention too. If they even come to North Carolina, Charlotte usually grabs them and I’m tired of making the 2 hour drive out there and back in one night.
24 hour food
My dream would be some kind of diner that is always open, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner 24 hours a day. The food does not have to be gourmet at all, more like home-cooked at a reasonable price. Right away, I could see the nightlife crowd lining up until 4am to get some breakfast. It would be the most reliable spot to send people looking for a bite when they check into a hotel late, are up extra early for work, or anyone that doesn’t want to spend much at a restaurant.
By the slice pizza and delivery
If you have been reading RalCon for awhile now, you know my personal desire to see a good, hole-in-the-wall, pizza place. It would be nothing fancy at all except damn good pizza. An added bonus would be delivery in and around downtown. I could see a couple people running all over downtown taking pizza up to the condos or riding bikes out to Oakwood or Boylan Heights making deliveries.
At least one corporate re-location to downtown
The current economy may have a play here but office space is being built in downtown and we need companies to fill them. Charter Square is the obvious candidate and I’d like to hear of at least one announcement of a major company moving to downtown. A couple hundred more employees to the 9 to 5 scene may help the other suggestions above actually happen.
Online Raleigh scene
As a blogger and tech enthusiast, I’d like to see the current internet scene about the city pushed even more. I want more blogs to get started, more pictures to be uploaded, and just more internet chatter about this great city. Video blogging is still in its infancy and podcasting is pretty much silent. If you have any good links or know someone that is doing some interesting work online about Raleigh, post it or let me know about it.