Rendering of 510 Glenwood
Work has already begun on some exterior renovations to the ground-floor facade of 510 Glenwood. Less columns and a more defined outdoor seating space seems to the be at the core of the plans. The original design made the entrance ways darker and less inviting, in my opinion, and I bet the new design hopes to remedy this with a more open approach.
510 Glenwood, May 2017
Announced on Tuesday May 23, First National Bank will be the anchor tenant of FNB Tower, the former Charter Square north project that we have been tracking here on the blog. Jump straight to the press release for full details.
The key points to pull out from the release are:
The Charter Square projects have gone through numerous changes but this feels like a solid enough update to instill confidence in seeing a crane set up on that site later this year.
This will be a good one to watch as this view from will drastically change. City Plaza is going to be one heck of an urban space in a few years!
Click for larger, wider view.
The convenience store king of downtown Raleigh, Taz, has opened up Oak City Market House of Fresh in the Skyhouse tower. The shop is part deli, part grocer with a wide selection of produce, meats, and other essentials. What I like about this one is that the items are packed in there, as an urban store should be.
When you couple this up with DGX Raleigh nearby, you have some pretty convenient options along Blount Street.
Corner of Dawson and Davie Streets, May 2017.
A rezoning request has popped up for 404 and 406 South Dawson Street, the lots at the corner with Davie Street. The empty lot next to Crank Arm Brewing is currently used as parking but will definitely change as the rezoning request asks for a higher height limit.
The rezoning request is to raise the height limit on those properties from 4 to 12 stories. From our city’s development code, we have the following levels:
You can assume Empire Properties, the owner of the sites, want to do something in the 8-12 story range.
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The request contains brief minutes from a meeting of nearby property owners and only hints at discussions about a mix-use tower with ground-floor retail and office. It’s possible that residential may be included as well.
The submitted request also hints at being able to start on the project as early as 2018.
Corner of Dawson and Davie Streets, May 2017.
The Dillon, located nearby, will now be in good company if this Dawson-Davie tower is use for office. The real gap, I think at least, is to have a warehouse district hotel. That would be a nice feature for the growing district, one that also compliments the new Union Station.
The next steps, I believe, are to move it for approval by the Planning Commission in the next several months.
View from the upcoming rooftop bar at the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown.
A big thanks goes out to Summit Hospitality, a local development group behind the Residence Inn hotel on Salisbury Street, for inviting me along one of their recent hard hat tours of the building. The hotel is nearing completion and should be welcoming guests in June.
View from the upcoming rooftop bar at the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown.
With a contemporary flare, the hotel is not the typical Residence Inn. Included is a rooftop bar that the owners want the locals to embrace as well. Situated on the southeast corner of the building, the outdoor patio overlooks the performing arts center and the lush green tree canopy south of Raleigh. (shown in the two photos above)
Once finished, it should be a draw as it’ll be the highest outdoor bar in downtown Raleigh. The owners are also local conscious rather than make it “hotel bar generico”.
I’m excited but I just can’t help be teased at the view from a top floor corner suite on the northeast corner and think, “Why wasn’t the bar on THIS corner?”
View from a tenth floor suite at the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown.
Corner of Dorothea Drive and Saunders Street, April 2017.
At the corner of Dorothea Drive and Saunders Street, ten 2-bedroom townhomes are planned for an area that’s seeing a lot of new residential. SR-036-17 shows two buildings with five units each at the corner with a driveway along Dorothea.
The property is actually much bigger than this actual townhome cluster with some of it being used as a riparian buffer to the nearby stream. (if I’m reading this site plan correctly)
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The property is mostly wooded with a pair of houses along Saunders that are set to be demolished.
Houses along Saunders Street, April 2017.
With the amount of activity in this area, the Fourth Ward units aren’t alone so I created a Google map showing the activity taking place in the area. If you can’t see the map, click here.
Let me know if you think of anything else to add in this area. I’ll update it as announcements come out. This also does not include any onesie-twosie house renovations that are taking place nearby in Boylan Heights and Rosengarten Park.
It was announced last week at the Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s State of Downtown Raleigh 2017 event that the YMCA will be opening a space on Fayetteville Street later this year. The new location at 227 Fayetteville will take up about 26,000 square feet in the upper floors of the building.
That’s a great amenity for downtown workers and residents, supporting the 7-day, 18-hour type downtown that we’re slowly becoming.
A sneak peek at the GoRaleigh Transit Station as it wraps up construction. We’re in the final weeks here and next week, all the bus routes will move back into the station. The renovations include new bathrooms, an upgraded kiosk, lots of digital signage, and smart card pay stations among others.
The walk from Moore Square to Fayetteville Street through the station as well as Exchange Plaza will be just delightful.