by Leo Suarez

EnviroCon: Heilig-Levine and LEED Cert.

Downtown construction continues and news is rather slow so here’s a little something for you to ponder over. I was reading through some of my usual blogs that I check each day and became inspired to do some research. I recommend the Inhabit blog to anyone that is interested in architecture, technology, and how it is creating a more efficient and greener world for us.

I noticed that LEED certification was a hot topic of theirs and downtown Raleigh does represent on this topic. You can find any LEED project at this link. Here is how North Carolina holds up.

Certified Silver Gold Platinum
Raleigh 0 0 0 1
Butner 1 0 0 0
Chapel Hill 1 0 0 0
Charlotte 1 1 2 0
Durham 5 3 0 0
Goldsboro 1 0 0 0
Greensboro 0 0 1 0
Morrisville 0 1 0 0
RTP 0 2 0 0
Statesville 0 0 1 0
Swannanoa 0 0 1 0

Durham is way ahead of the pack with more projects then anyone else. The triangle, as a whole, has plenty of projects worth noting. The Heilig-Levine building is the only building that has received the highest level of LEED certification in NC. Click here to check out its score sheet. If you look carefully at some of the requirements to score points, you can get an idea of what a developer must do to renovate or build a structure that can be LEED certified.

Unfortunately, I do not have any expertise in what it actually costs to be LEED certified rather then not. I need to research this more. However, I believe that with more energy-efficient technology, talk of better transit, and rising costs here in the area, LEED certified buildings will become more common. The city is taking the right steps by making goals, such as reducing fossil fuel consumption by 20% over the next five years. What green elements would you like to see in downtown?

by Leo Suarez

Downtown Walking Tour (the finale)

We are finally here, the conclusion to the Downtown Raleigh Walking Tour. [UPDATE: broken link] This last leg takes people out of the Blount Street Commons area and down Hillsborough and surrounding streets. The tour also lists some ‘honorable mention’ sites that could deserve a stop on any walking route.

I honestly think that the walking tour needs some work, with multiple versions listed out. Historic homes should have their own route. A brief tour with the most notable 15-20 stops should also be listed alongside the full out route of 60+ stops. I also think that more literature should be easily available about the history of each stop. Some would find it very enjoyable.

51. Bailey-Bunn House (1922)

52. Raleigh and Gaston/Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Building (c. 1862)

53. North Carolina School for the Blind and Deaf Dormitory (1898)

54. Edenton Street United Methodist Church (1958)

55. Dr. Andrew Watson Goodwin House (1903)

56. Sacred Heart Cathedral (1924)

57. All Saints Chapel of the Church of the Good Shepherd (1875)

58. Raleigh Water Tower (1887)

59. Raleigh Police Headquarters and Municipal Building (1960/1983)

60. Nash Square (1792)

61. Dodd-Hinsdale House (1879)

62. St. Paul A.M.E. Church (1910)

63. Elmwood (c. 1813)

64. Tucker Carriage House (Late 19th Century)

by Leo Suarez

CON-struction and D-struction

The early winter sunsets are really cutting into my weekday opportunities to go out and take pictures of things downtown. I really think pictures help to add more to the story but we’ve all got a life and a job to do. Anyway, today I have more quick news regarding construction downtown that may be worthy of a short golf clap.

  • Ann-Cabell Baum Anderson sends out a status e-mail about the West @ North tower in Glenwood South every now and then. I’m still waiting for some news on the retail going in on the bottom floor. Her recent update:

Exciting news… We are approaching topping-out!
The roof-level is being poured this week!
Also, large windows are being installed on the 5th through 7th floors and the exterior sheathing is now up to the 10th floor! Interior framing is up to the 8th floor and exterior framing is up to the 12th floor! West is well underway!

  • I jumped the gun too early this week and talked about 301 Hillsborough coming down. I thought it would be a slow process and parts of it would still stand for a month, maybe two but I was wrong. Half the building is gone and if this rate stays steady, the building will be leveled probably by the end of the day. Might be safe to assume all the debris will be hauled out before the end of the year. Enjoy your temporary new view, Dawson residents!
  • Big slabs of concrete are being brought to the site of the future “The Edison” project. Right now the parking deck for the block and RBC Plaza is being put together. Reminds me of how they put the 222 Glenwood deck together, like a Lego set, and if similar this thing will sneak up on you. Check the webcam for updates on that and RBC Plaza, which is now building the condo floors.

by Leo Suarez

Wednesday News Quickies

Here are a couple of news updates related to downtown. Click the links and catch up on the buzz.

  • NBC17 reports that the shaky housing market across the country may be affecting some of downtown’s projects. While this could be true, Raleigh Planning Director Mitchell Silver sounds confident and the article states that “Realtors say the only slowdown so far is people delaying their move to the Triangle because houses out of state are tougher to sell.”

There are more than two dozen condominium and mixed use developments planned in downtown. They include more than 1,000 condominiums along with apartments and townhouses. Housing is the key to downtown’s redevelopment and so far the nationwide slowdown hasn’t hit.

“We believe that projects with their funding in place months ago are doing fine,” Silver said. “More recent projects arehaving to adjust their financing and plans but all indications are projects are moving forward.”

Realtors say the good news for downtown Raleigh is the Triangle’s economy remains strong, the area is attractive and the living is still reasonable.

  • Nana’s Chophouse is no more and has quickly turned around and become The Pit. There is a great article at New Raleigh [UPDATE: Broken link] about the new restaurant in the warehouse district. For any BBQ lovers out there, it is a must read.
  • WRAL reports that a naming deal for the new Convention Center is in the works. Read the article.

“We have an offer,” convention center director Roger Krupa said.

…………..

Krupa said he expects a deal to be finalized within 90 days.

…………..

Fewer than 10 convention centers in cities nationwide have corporate naming deals, ranging from $250,000 to $850,000 a year. Carrow predicted Raleigh’s deal would fall somewhere in the middle of that range.

by Leo Suarez

David Allen Building In Glenwood South

I was doing some Downtown Raleigh internet digging and stumbled upon this little gem on the Glenwood Agency’s website. The so called ‘David Allen Building’ is described as:

The site currently has three buildings on it. One building will be renovated for offices, the adjacent warehouse will be replaced with a 4-story structure with retail on the lower floors and 3 condos on the top, and the third building is a 1930s warehouse that will be renovated into a restaurant with roof-top dining. Residents will have the luxury of walking to nightlife, dining, and shopping on Glenwood South. The redevelopment project is expected to take a year to complete.

It is great that some of the buildings there will be renovated as opposed to being demolished. The description however does not quite match up to the rendering of the new “4-story structure”. Unless I am looking at the picture wrong, I see a couple more then 4 floors.

Below is the map for the area and the three buildings the description refers to. Anyway, this is just another development to tack on to the long list of projects going on downtown and RalCon will post any updates that may come up in the future.

View Larger Map

by Leo Suarez

Picture of the Week


Here is how large objects such as cars and boats are loaded into the new convention center. This block has a large ramp that goes down into this opening under McDowell St. and under the convention center. There are no plans for the block shown as of yet. It is my understanding that this block is to remain an open space and will be saved for any future expansion.

by Leo Suarez

Downtown Walking Tour (part 5)

The walking tour continues in the Blount St. area around the future Blount Street Commons. BSC may cause some of these houses to move so the walking tour will have to be updated later. Actually, I think the walking tour needs major work with more interactive features online, history, and lots of pictures/media. (RalCon idea?????) This is the second to last set of pictures so we’re nearing the end. Enjoy!

41. Merrimon House/Wynne Hall (1876)

42. Peace College Main Building (c. 1860)

43. Dr. Hubert Benbury Haywood House (1916)

44. Leonidas L. Polk House (1881)

45. Gray-Fish-Richardson House (1881)

46. Capehart House (1898)

47. Lee House (1899)

48. Murphey School (1916)

49. Tucker House (1915)

50. Hawkins-Hartness House (c. 1882)