by Leo Suarez

Waiting For Moore Square’s Latest Makeover

Moore Square April 2017

Moore Square April 2017

While walking through Moore Square recently, I couldn’t help but feel that the square is primed and ready to go on its upcoming renovation. With the nearby GoRaleigh Transit Station renovation wrapping up, Moore Square’s number is coming up.

Indeed, the square is planned to start construction this Spring but the bus station needs to finish and be able to operate all the bus routes within rather than along the square’s Martin Street side. That should take place on May 1, according to GoRaleigh.

The acorn’s been moved and the bus station’s facilities are up and running. That makes it feel like we’re in the last few weeks of the current iteration of Moore Square.

Also, the city’s parks department has announced a new information center for Moore Square in the Norwood House located next to City Market on Martin Street. The house has seen businesses come and go over the years. There’s a great renovation story, with photos, from Maurer Architecture on the house:

Built around 1877 for Sheriff J.M. Norwood, this 1,600 sq ft historic renovation and relocation project utilized historic tax credits for commercial use. Located in downtown Raleigh near City Market, the Norwood House was home to the offices of Maurer Architecture from 1996 to 2008. This project received the Anthemion Award from Capital Area Preservation and the Sir Walter Award for Community Appearance.

*maurerarchitecture.com

Norwood House April 2017

Norwood House April 2017

Moore Square has so much going for it organically that it doesn’t need to act like an event space any more, something that I would argue was overdone here in the 2000s. The new design should enhance the spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment occurrences that can take place, an essence being in downtown.

You can see more about the project on the city’s website. The Moore Square makeover should be finished in Spring 2018.

by Leo Suarez

Municipography: Peace Street West Streetscape Improvements

Municipography is a summary of current issues going through the Raleigh City Council and other municipal departments in the city. The point is to try to deliver any video, photos, and text associated with the discussions happening at City Hall or elsewhere. Since this is a downtown Raleigh blog, the focus is on the center of the city.

I recommend email readers click through to the website to see the embedded video.

West Peace Street

A project older than the blog, a section of Peace Street has been marked for upgrades for over a decade. Buried power lines, more street trees, and new sidewalks could happen soon for the section between St. Mary’s and West Street.

There was a good overview of the project, including its history, during a recent city council meeting and I have the presentation and discussion for you here on the blog. If the embedded video isn’t showing for you, watch it here on YouTube.

The project’s main goal is to improve vehicle and pedestrian safety. The street will also get a few aesthetic upgrades with street trees, new crosswalks, and new signal poles.

One interesting piece of the project that we can pull from the discussion is the work to decrease the number of driveways in front of Peace Street Market and Fallon’s Flowers. Simply put, the solution presented would have been a one-way driveway across both shops with angled parking. This is similar to spots on Hillsborough Street such as the Fedex/Gumby’s lot or the Wells Fargo.

Google Maps of 800 West Peace Street

Google Maps aerial of the 800 block of West Peace Street. Click for larger.

Fallon’s Flowers did not support that so the plan isn’t happening. At the same time though, it was mentioned that the property was sold recently and perhaps plans for redevelopment are taking place. There are no public plans at this time for that lot.

This project, Peace Street West, should take place at the same time as all the other construction along Peace Street, including Smokey Hollow and the Capital Boulevard bridge, so expect a ton of activity in the area over the next few years.

Project timeline:

  • Right-of-Way Acquisition: Summer 2017
  • Advertise and Bid: Fall 2017
  • Begin Construction: Early 2018
  • Completion: Mid 2019

by Leo Suarez

WakeUP and Explore: 2017 City Livability Tour is on April 29

Whiskey Kitchen on Martin Street

Whiskey Kitchen on Martin Street, an example of adaptive reuse

On Saturday, April 29, WakeUP Wake County is hosting their 3rd annual livability tour with stops all over the southern parts of downtown Raleigh. The “go at your own pace” tour will have stops at a lot of the projects we talk about here on the blog including Union Station, The Dillon, Hargett Place, and Charter Square among others. The tour also highlights some reuse examples in retail and food as well as affordable housing.

You can get your tickets early for a discount and all proceeds go towards supporting the work of WakeUP Wake County, “a non-profit that leads public engagement on issues important to our quality of life: transportation, affordable housing, land use, water quality and education.”

WakeUP and Explore: 2017 City Livability Tour

Date/Time: Sat., Apr. 29 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Map pick up starts @ 12:30pm)
Pick up pin, map, and swag at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts
2 East South Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
919.828.3833

by Leo Suarez

A Walk Around The Dillon

The Dillon, April 2017

Corner of Martin and Harrington Streets, April 2017.

Complementing my post earlier in the week about Raleigh Union Station, I also got a feel for the area around The Dillon and snapped some photos of the current progress. It’s going to be quite the “shot in the arm” for the warehouse district once both of these projects are up in running.

Starting at the southern end along Martin Street, the 17-story office tower and parking deck are rising up out of the former Dillon Supply warehouse.

My guess would be that the parking deck construction is trying to coincide with the Union Station opening. Residential and office may come online later but again, just a guess as the city pushed hard for nearby parking options for the station.

The Dillon, April 2017

The old windows along Martin showing the new structure within.

The Dillon, April 2017

Corner of West and Martin Streets, April 2017.

The greatest transformation may take place down Martin at West. New development seems to be taking place at almost every corner.

Seeing The Dillon on this side gives you a sense of how connected The Dillon and the station are to each other. The office tower here with ground-floor retail should create a sense of energy to those coming to or leaving the train station. You can see the city skyline in the short distance but feel that you are close with The Dillon across the street.

I’d be interested to see if West and Martin will be getting proper crosswalks with street lights. The sidewalks should be completely redone so a once sleepy dead end may be drastically changed in the near future.

The Dillon, April 2017

Staring south down West at Hargett Street, April 2017.

Around West and Hargett Streets, the residential portions of The Dillon are beginning to start. The main section south of Hargett has the bottom floor built up with the northern side showing wood-built apartments on the second floor.

Hargett is blocked to traffic right now due to the construction but there is room to walk through. Seeing steel floors on both sides of Hargett where surface parking used to be is pretty exciting, I have to admit.

The Dillon, April 2017

Staring east down Hargett Street, April 2017.

The Dillon, April 2017

Staring west down Hargett Street, April 2017.

The Dillon is a project that will activate Hargett and Martin Streets. The concentration of retail along these corridors helps to support planning efforts within our current downtown plan. With these blocks active, this will pave the way to string more blocks together along Hargett and Martin.

This is indeed a fun project to follow.

by Leo Suarez

Scoping Out Raleigh Union Station

Raleigh Union Station, April 2017

I walked around West and Martin Streets this weekend to check out Raleigh Union Station. Photos are great but walking the area gives you a sense that it is coming together and you can feel how you’ll interact with the new train station once it is open. (as much as the construction fences would allow anyway)

Today’s update shows the entrance to the station at the end of Martin Street at West. The metal awning (better name?) is up, shown above, and to the right will be the pedestrian plaza. Currently a parking lot for heavy equipment, you can sneak a glance at the space and how it will become the gateway in and out of the city through the station.

Here, pedestrians will go underneath some train tracks and then back up into the station.

Raleigh Union Station, April 2017

To the left is the street entrance for vehicles to go through, leading up to a roundabout for easy drop off/pick up. You can see the new train “bridge” that was built in order to have all the entrances separated from the tracks of the Boylan Wye. Similar to the pedestrian entrance, vehicles will go underneath the tracks, the “bridge” that was added here.

Raleigh Union Station, April 2017

Finally, the end of West Street is a massive hole, going below grade in order to turn under the same tracks of the Boylan Wye in order to loop back into the roundabout. Those last few warehouses look so isolated in the photo below. I wonder if they will last much longer?

West Street at Martin, April 2017

Here are a few renderings and maps to show what is being worked on today along West Street.

Raleigh Union Station rendering

Raleigh Union Station rendering

Raleigh Union Station map

Click for larger

by Leo Suarez

A Peek Inside Google Fiber’s New Shop in Glenwood South

Email readers: This blog post has a virtual reality image. Read the post on the blog to see it.

I recently had a meeting that was held over at Google’s new shop on Glenwood and took a VR photo inside the new space for the blog. There’s a lot of hype about this new space with lines around the block to get in on First Fridays, tons of curious visitors, and even some getting their wedding photos taken inside.

Personally, I don’t get the hype but as an event space, it does look quite well done for a store that has no physical products to walk out with.