by Leo Suarez

Downtown Apartments On The Rise

There’s an article in the N&O about how apartments are on the rise in downtown. They say that higher interest rates and a growing downtown work force are to blame. This is good news for the downtown area as rental units are definitely needed. I really think that the planned apartments will do very well and may perhaps spur more development. With all these apartments coming, more people who do not want to commit so much time and money into a condo can move downtown. Some quotes from the article:

At least 179 apartments are planned and another 250 could be on the way in the biggest wave of apartment projects the downtown area has ever seen.
Crosland is expected to be first in. The Charlotte developer plans to begin next month on 179 apartments at Boylan Avenue and Tucker Street.
…………………
There are at least 18,000 downtown workers within a one-mile radius of downtown’s center — up 16 percent from two years ago, according to estimates by booster group Downtown Raleigh Alliance. The work force is projected to grow at least 23 percent in the next two years. Meanwhile, the number of bars and restaurants in the Glenwood South entertainment district has doubled to about three dozen since 2001, and more are coming.
………………
Now, Crosland estimates it will ask roughly $1,200 a month for a 1,000-square-foot apartment — 46 percent more than the regional average for the same-size unit. Smaller units will go for $650.

by Leo Suarez

Buckhead Opens Up With a Bang! (And lots of antlers)

I went out with some friends last night to the Depot Party and we were all extremely disappointed. At around 7:30 there were about 20 people there, no exaggeration. After one beer and a free health drink, that tasted horrible by the way, we left the ghost town and walked over to Buckhead Saloon. We had our memberships that we received in the mail, which got us in to the party.

I’ve been to Jillian’s multiple times in the past so I was interested in seeing what has been changed. For those that know the setup, Buckhead did not use the large warehouse where all the pool tables used to be. You walk in through the outdoor entrance next to the sand court. The back bar/club was also not used. No word on whether it will be used in the future but if anyone knows or sees more while visiting Buckhead, make sure to comment.

The outdoor patio was simple with plenty of seating and tables where the outdoor dance floor used to be. The sand volleyball court was stripped of the net and the classic shark that comes out of the wall. As people showed up, the outdoor tubs were opened up and beer was given away in exchange for money.

A mountain lodge from deep in the forests of North Carolina has somehow crash landed in downtown Raleigh. Buckhead has done a complete overhaul on the interior of the warehouse and has covered all the walls with enough wood to make you think you are in a log cabin. They even like to blast the air conditioning to give you that cold mountain feel (not really but it was a lil chilly in there). The old circle bar still remains from the Jillian’s setup with plasma TV’s up high playing ESPN. The bar was complemented with two other siblings on each end of the warehouse. The old video game room was now filled with a couple pool tables and a lounge area. Video games still lurk about, so if you want to do some deer hunting, it’ll cost you a dollar. The larger room had a small stage and enough room for a band. They also had DJ speakers hanging from the ceiling so they may have a club night during the week. This mix of live and DJ music is appropriate for this kind of setup. There are larger projection screens on the wall so there is no excuse to miss a game while you are there. There also is no excuse to not know what a dead animal looks like; there are multiple corpses of moose and deer plastered throughout the walls, reminding us all that if you drink and drive, you’ll be just as dead as they are.

I had fun at Buckhead last night, probably because I ran into some cool people. Even though Buckhead is not my style, and I waited way to long to get a drink which I have a big problem with written about here, I liked the place overall and wish it success. I’ve always thought that the Jillian’s warehouse has huge potential for some larger event so I hope Buckhead can deliver.

by Leo Suarez

Wake County Wants In, Builds Downtown

Hopefully by now we are all done mourning the loss of King’s on McDowell St. I hate that an original place and music venue was destroyed to make room for government offices, but I guess that’s progress.

Anyway, King’s has been demolished and there are plans for the site at the corner of Davie St. and McDowell St. A mixed-use building with offices and ground floor shops will occupy the space. Here is some information from the city’s website:

The project would be on 1.74 acres in the northeast quadrant of the downtown block bounded by Davie Street on the north, McDowell Street to the east, Cabarrus Street on the south and Dawson Street to the west. Planned are a 989-space, nine-level parking deck and a mixed-use development consisting of 109,513 square feet of office space and 11,341 square feet of retail space. The site currently is mainly composed of surface parking lots, although a few buildings would have to be demolished to accommodate the project.

I remember the original plan included some condos but that has changed. I like the fact that there is ground floor retail, rather then a solid wall adding nothing to the street presence and livability of downtown. With a good mix of shops, this site could be the spot to pre-game before clubbing in the warehouse district. No plans for the shops have been announced but it is still early. Below are some updated pics of the demolished site as well as the renderings of the finished project, the deck should be open for use late 2008 with the entire project finished sometime in 2009.


The view walking down Davie St.


The view off of McDowell St.

by Leo Suarez

Sidetrack Brewpub Gets Sidetracked

There’s really nothing new to report about on the Sidetrack Brewpub, which is being planned at the intersection of Boylan Ave. and Hargett St. Last year, word on the street was that it was supposed to open in the summer of 2007, which if you check your calendar, the time has come. However, the bar has not opened and here is a note taken off of their website posted back in April:

UPDATE: 04/23/2007 – The Sidetrack Brewpub is not yet open for business. As of late April, we have received the plan submittal back from the City of Raleigh. After addressing their modest comments we will resubmit for permit and then be under construction soon afterward. The opening date is about 6 months away, or in the fall.

Sidetrack has some great potential. If you look at the website, you can see the renderings and the layouts. The outdoor patio will have a stellar view of the skyline. The view from the Boylan Ave. bridge is one of the best and is my favorite spot to take pictures of the skyline. I hope Sidetrack gets going soon so we all can enjoy the outdoor patio before it gets too cold. The Bloomsbury Estates residents may be frequenting this bar to the max.

Location.

by Leo Suarez

New Design Surfaces For Site 1

There is some really good discussion going on over at the Urban Planet Forums over Site 1, a development project going up on Fayetteville St. These pair of towers are planned to be built across Fayetteville Street from the new Marriott Hotel. Currently, the site is being used as a staging area for the hotel and new convention center, so naturally no construction on Site 1 has started. While the City has approved Site 1 over and over again, new renderings have been brought up that change the design, slightly. Below are the new renderings that can be found on the Craig Davis Properties website.

I am really not sure which I like better because I like both renderings, however the new one is growing on me. The white and blue colors will match well with the currently under construction RBC Plaza. Its modern design will flush well with Progress Energy’s second tower across the street. When looking at the older design, I feel that it resembles the architecture used in the buildings on NC State’s Centennial Campus, maybe taken up a few levels. I’m not bashing my alma mater’s campus but prefer the more glassy, water-like towers when put up against the stronger brick-red pair of mid-rises. Plus with the mini spires on the tops, especially the blades on the shorter building, there may be a potential for some very cool lighting at night.

I’m very excited for this project and it’s obvious that it will make a huge impact on Fayetteville St. and the surrounding district. I hope the joined bottom floors will be the entertainment hub of the street; with talks of a movie theater here, it very well can be.

by Leo Suarez

Peace Street Streetscape Project

Here is a little project that is needed and will help extend the Glenwood South district further north along Peace Street. The area I’m talking about is along both sides of Peace Street between St. Mary’s Street and West Street. The Raleigh City Council has recently approved to extend the scope of the project that will improve the streetscape along this corridor. The contract with the city’s consultant has now increased to $184,900 to develop a plan along the lines of the Peace Street Streetscape Project.

In a nutshell, the area’s sidewalks will be re-done, pedestrian friendly furniture will be added, parking will be organized, and utility lines will be buried. The outdoor furniture includes things such as bike racks, benches, and trash cans. New lights will be added and hopefully they will match the lights that are currently on Glenwood. Certain aesthetic features will be encouraged on the businesses nearby such as awnings, facade materials, and signage. Trees will also be planted along the side of the streets.

A great project and I hope there are no bumps along the way to slow it down. If anyone has driven through that light at Glenwood and Peace, you may have seen some birds tangled up in that web of wires. No date for a proposed start of construction just yet.

Click here for an overhead map view of the target area.

Click here for a lot more links and details of the project on the city’s website.

by Leo Suarez

My dish is bigger then your dish

Ten vans with satellite dishes are lined up on the 100 block of Fayetteville Street right now. They are here covering the Mike Nifong court case happening right down the street. All the national media stations and even Court TV are here. RalCon is not the place to get coverage of the event, but check out the pics below of the scene. The last one is definitely a good one. Something like this you do not see very much here in downtown.

by Leo Suarez

Round of Applause for Mr. Hatem

The Raleigh Chronicle has written up a great article about one of the most influential people for downtown Raleigh. Greg Hatem and Empire Properties have been responsible for many downtown properties including the Raleigh Times building, the Helig-Levine building, the Duck and Dumpling, and much more. From the article:

It’s hard to find any single person who has had more of an impact on the revitalization of downtown Raleigh in recent years than Greg Hatem, the founder of Empire Properties.

With a new upscale hotel on the horizon, a whole street under development, several restaurants and bar under his belt, and many other projects underway, the leader of Empire Properties has been hard at work.

But unlike other downtown developers, Hatem has focused not on erecting shiny new skyscrapers that are meant to impress, but instead has been steadily refurbishing brick and mortar buildings with character that have been central to Raleigh’s past.