by Leo Suarez

What Should The Multi-modal Transportation Center Be Like?

Mentioned earlier in The State of The Warehouse District post, there is an opportunity now for anyone to submit their ideas about the Multi-modal Transportation Center (MTC) by July 24th. I think this is a big topic that is not talked about enough so in an attempt to get the conversation going, here are some ideas for what should come to this area of downtown over the next decade.

Background Info

The highlighted area in the map below is the core target where the MTC will go.

I’m not sure if Amtrak is in on this but they should so I included the station in my red area. Amtrak and Norfolk Southern trains are, I believe, the only real activity that comes through here currently. In the near future, we may have regional rail that goes north toward Wake Forest and West toward Cary and the rest of the triangle. There may also be a high-speed rail line that continues north toward Richmond and west toward Charlotte.

Build a Transit Center

With lines coming in from around the area and out of state, the MTC should be the hub of travel outside of RDU. Passengers that arrive should have the option to get a taxi, transfer to another train or bus, rent a bike, get picked up by a friend, or walk off in a pedestrian friendly environment. I’m still debating whether a car rental service would be needed but this can be avoided with good planning; some people still need to drive to get to where they are going.

Warehouse Renovation

Rather then build the entire MTC from scratch, we can always use what we have. The warehouses along the railroad tracks offer a perfect opportunity to bridge the old with the new. Heavy renovation could turn this into a shopping center for travelers arriving or departing the area. We’ve heard of plans for residential infill within the warehouse district so that will only fuel the activity even more.

The MTC Does Not Need To Be Tall

This area is a little tricky because of the transition between residential neighborhoods and downtown. Would a 10 or 20 story building fit in here? Would you protest if a truly iconic skyscraper was on the table and would block your view from the Boylan Brewpub patio? I may change my mind later when the proposals come in but for now I think that a tall development would be out of place. Low rise office and condos that blend well with the warehouses and Boylan Heights is key. The area is about transit and focus on the pedestrian should be point number one.

Plan For The Future

The population figures I keep reading say that Wake County will have another million people over the next 25-30 years. The MTC should be built for this population boom as well as expandable for even more traffic. I think space for an extra track or two should be saved, another site saved for a potential downtown rail circulator, and would it even be way out there to plan the MTC so that a subway could be built underneath? We are definitely years from that but considering it and engineering the building around these may be worth a small cost now rather then a huge redevelopment later in the future.

…..ooh and we also need an awesome name for it.

by Leo Suarez

BeerCon: Deep South

Deep South sits at the end (or the start?) of the warehouse district on Dawson and Cabarrus Streets. This cool bar has a rock attitude and the walls are covered with legendary quotes of some of the most famous rock songs out there. They have all your beer needs covered as well as the cheapest specials I’ve seen in town.

The location seems to be a little off from the current downtown watering holes but Deep South is ahead of the curve. I think that once the Raleigh Convention Center is up and running as well as the downtown amphitheater, this area will buzz with activity.

Sells cigarettes
Pool Table
Live music on select nights
Small outdoor area
TV’s
Wifi

Website: http://www.deepsouththebar.com/

430 S Dawson St
Raleigh, NC 27601
(go to map)
(919) 833-1255

by Leo Suarez

Downtown Appetite for Art On July 26th

The Glenwood-Brooklyn Neighborhood Association is sponsoring this event and it benefits the local Boys & Girls Clubs of Wake County. Here is a relevant N&O article.

RALEIGH, N.C. – On Saturday, July 26, 2008, the Historic Glenwood-Brooklyn Neighborhood Association (HGBNA) will host its fourth annual “Downtown Appetite for Art.” Raleigh’s most popular summer charity event will once again showcase local artists and businesses that have joined together with their downtown neighbors to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Wake County.

The public is invited to “Downtown Appetite for Art,” which will be held at Marbles Museum. Organizers hope to once again raise enough money to fund the Boys & Girls Clubs’ art programs. Highlights of this year’s event:

• Live art auction featuring local and national artists
• Silent auction of fabulous art, trips, tickets to sporting events and sports memorabilia, spa packages, gift certificates, and much more
• Food and wine from favorite Raleigh restaurants – The George, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, Mura, and the soon-to-be launched Solas
• A reunion and rare performance by the band Arrogance

Tickets are $50. Visit www.da4a.net to purchase. Tickets purchased at the door will be $100.
Last year, “Downtown Appetite for Art” drew more than 550 participants and raised nearly $65,000.
For the third year in a row, the event raised funds to provide financial support for the entire Boys & Girls Clubs’ visual and performing arts program, serving more than 4,000 area youth from its seven locations.

For more information about attending the event or becoming a sponsor, please contact Roy Attride at roy@da4a.net, or 919.389.6726.

The mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens. Open every day after school and on Saturdays when kids need positive, productive outlets, the Boys & Girls Clubs fill the void with structured, enriching and exciting after-school programs.

Since 1967, volunteers have made it possible for the Boys & Girls Clubs to serve over 4,032 youth 6 to 18 years of age in seven locations across Wake County. The Boys & Girls Clubs is a 501(c)3 organization and depends on individual and corporate investments and volunteers to accomplish its mission. www.wakebgc.org

Thanks, Scott.

by Leo Suarez

The State of the Warehouse District

By day, the warehouse district of Downtown Raleigh is quiet and sleepy. By night, it wakes up and comes to life, exploding on the weekends. This nightlife hotspot has seen some problems in the past, but with a convention center only a few steps away, why can’t it enjoy some traffic just as Fayetteville St. will be getting? Here is some recent updates if you have not been down there recently.

  • Penrod’s Antique Warehouse has opened up next to White Collar Crime and makes use of the entire 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse. They have very old furniture and all kinds of random plates, paintings, silverware, etc. They are open seven days a week.

  • Jibarra is re-locating to The Depot but work there has not yet started. The place is still filled with the old bars from the trio of clubs that left back in November of 2007. Jibarra seems confident on opening up this fall.
  • Renovation of a warehouse for the Contemporary Art Museum seems to be continuing. A recent ‘Pic of the Week’ entry had some good discussion from readers.
  • Discussion on the Multi Modal Transit Center is picking up and the city wants your ideas. Read their ‘Call For Ideas’ on the Transit Center and submit them by July 24th. I have not read the entire document yet but may post my thoughts later this week.

The warehouse district will need more shops and the museum to open for activity to rise during the day. The transportation center, I think, will define the warehouse district in the near future and when (if) built, this area will explode during the day.


Plenty of parking at The Depot

by Leo Suarez

One Year Ago, 222 Glenwood Before and After


222 in July ’07. Posted one year ago.


222 in July ’08. Almost done.

I remember after the warehouse on this spot was demolished that construction seemed to crawl but once the foundation was finished, the parking deck and steel rose rather quickly throughout 2007. Now, 222 Glenwood is almost finished, the sidewalk is open (officially?), and we now have some new retail coming on the ground floor. This includes:

Tobacco Road Sports Café (read their blog)
Hairdos (coming soon pic)
Bruegger’s Bagels
Dunkin Donuts / Baskin Robbins
Gianni & Gaitano’s

Via News & Observer (‘Sports Café’ On Its Way)

by Leo Suarez

Study Continues On High Speed Rail In Raleigh and NC

Discussion about a high speed rail line from Washington DC, through Raleigh, to Charlotte has been mentioned before and we now have an update in the study process. With regards to Raleigh, David Foster, a project manager on the project, states:

The environmental work is substantially complete between the VA-NC line and Raleigh. The initial railroad horizontal and vertical alignment alternatives also are complete along this section. Roadway designs are essentially complete from the VA-NC line through Franklin County, and are in progress through Wake County. The Franklin/Wake County sections are some of the most complex due to heavy development.

Section 106 consultation with the State Historic Preservation Offices in both Virginia and North Carolina is still required. Efforts to obtain the necessary effects determinations for the individual historic resources in each state will begin as the design work is finalized.

The website for the project has a plethora of information, including the entire planned corridor shown with aerial pictures.

http://www.sehsr.org/

Looking at the downtown section we can see what is planned. Before looking, it is pretty easy to guess that the plans are to use the existing rail corridor that runs along capital BLVD into downtown. This makes most sense because of the planned multimodal transit center to be built in the warehouse district. The project timeline was updated last month with an estimate to have passenger service running some time between 2015 and 2020. This is all “dependent upon funding availability” but the gears are rolling and Raleigh may be a major hub for the east coast high speed rail line in the coming decade.