by Leo Suarez

State of Downtown Raleigh 2018: Highlights Part 1

Aerial view of downtown Raleigh

Every Spring, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance releases their “State of” report and it’s full of data goodness about our city’s core. If you want to dive into it, go here.

Having seen a few of these, there are some stats that I go for each year and I wanted to put them down here for Part 1.

Employment

Government everywhere.

We’re still a government town and the figure below shows the latest breakdown of employment by sector.

Employment by Sector - State of downtown Raleigh 2018

Downtown Raleigh has the densest office market in the Triangle. The count of urban workers is now at 47,000 and is projected to be at 56,500 by 2030.

Compared to last year:

  • Government went up 1%
  • Tech is up almost 2%
  • Accomodation and Food Services is up 1%

The rest more or less went down a percentage point.

Population

8,500.

There are now 8,500 residents living in downtown Raleigh and we’re projected to hit 10,000 by 2022. The occupancy rate is also at 95%, up one over last year so we’re ready to absorb more units.

Population Highlights - State of downtown Raleigh 2018

List of Projects

And finally, here’s the big list of developments from the report showing completed, under construction, and planned projects in downtown Raleigh.

List of developments - State of downtown Raleigh 2018

by Leo Suarez

Introducing the DTRaleigh Community

Logo for the DTRaleigh Community

I’m excited to announce that I’m making a drastic change to the commenting that has been taking place for years on this blog. Soon, it will be closed for good. Instead, I’m hosting a much more powerful platform for online conversations and discussions that will all take place on the DTRaleigh Community.

Built on Discourse, this will allow readers to engage on topics much easier and with richer features. Embed maps, images, docs easily and keep up with the conversation on the go with the Discourse app.

While the Community is technically separate from the blog, I’m going to try my best to keep all blog content on the Community as well. In theory, you could never visit this site again and not miss a beat.

For those that don’t follow the conversation, it’s business as usual. I encourage you to follow however as the conversations typically dive into the topics even deeper than here on the blog and sometimes, the community reports things first before anyone else.

See you on the forums.

NOTE: Commenting on this blog will close on June 1.

by Leo Suarez

Plans Submitted for Bar Renovation at 612 Glenwood

612 Glenwood. May 2018.

612 Glenwood. May 2018.

The 600 block of Glenwood South just might become the densest cluster of bars in downtown Raleigh.

At 612 Glenwood, currently shown above, submitted plans to the city show a proposal for adding a second floor to the building for outdoor bar space. The outdoor bar is basically the roof of the building and is mostly open to all views.

In addition to a second floor, most of the outdoor space around the first will be cleaned up. According to SR-042-18, the “10 existing parking spaces to be obliterated…” Basically, the rear parking lot and driveway will be paved over and an outdoor bar will be built towards the back.

Here are the renderings as part of the plan submissions with an aerial view from Google Maps as a reference.

612 Glenwood. May 2018 via Google Maps.

612 Glenwood. May 2018 via Google Maps.

Plans for 612 Glenwood, SR-042-18.

Click for larger

Plans for 612 Glenwood, SR-042-18.

Click for larger

The retailer, Feelgoodz, is moving (has moved?) from the space as retail struggles in Glenwood South these days. This makes sense that 612 Glenwood could be a bar for a while as the biggest use here is nightlife. Even with so many residents, perhaps the district hasn’t hit critical mass to really land some solid retail.

Who knows though as the dynamic could change in the future with even more residents coming nearby at Smokey Hollow. It shouldn’t be too surprising to see even more development along Peace so retail might have a chance in the future. If only office space could land along Glenwood, then the dynamic might really mix up.

by Leo Suarez

Spring Meetup is on May 30

Another season, another great time for a reader meetup. I hope some of you are in town the week of Memorial Day because if you are, come join us at the London Bridge Pub on May 30 from 5-7pm. The format is casual and the folks that come out are always a classy bunch.

Our hosts for the evening include:

Spring Reader Meetup

Date/Time: Wed., May 30, 2018 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
London Bridge Pub
Right next to the GoRaleigh station. (easy bus access)

I think this one will be a good one. See you there.

by Leo Suarez

Map of the Week

Frequent bus network plan for 2025-2027

Click for larger

There’s a survey out for anyone interested in expanded bus service and bus rapid transit in Wake that readers should probably take a look at. Jump to the survey here.

If you aren’t familiar, plans for expanded transit service will be rolling out between now and 2027. Downtown Raleigh is a central hub of the frequent network with the BRT lines coming in and out of downtown Raleigh. The survey focuses on the bus component only and I’m expecting the commuter rail portion, dropping passengers off at Raleigh Union Station, to come later.