Christ Church Expansion Completed on Edenton Street

Christ Church along Edenton Street.

I’ve been a little behind on posting about completed projects so expect a few of those over the coming weeks.

The Christ Church expansion looks to be completed, at least from the outside. The new accessible entrance and meeting spaces were built over some of the surface parking at the corner of Edenton and Blount Streets.

Christ Church along Edenton Street.

The expansion maintained the stone, exterior look of the historic church and while it takes a sharp eye to notice the difference, I bet once there’s a little wear on the exterior, it’ll match the historic parts of the church.

In the photo above, the addition starts at the stairwell behind the tree in the center and goes to the left. The new addition adds rooms for a library, parlor, kitchen, and other amenities, according to the proposed floor plan on their website.

South Street Area Plans More Residential with 522 South Harrington

The end of South Harrington Street

The end of South Harrington Street. November 2016.

We just can’t seem to get away from the South Street area.

Recently submitted site plans for 522 South Harrington Street are for a “47 unit mixed use residential building with structured parking and street-level commercial space.” The building will be 5 stories tall at 75 feet in height.

The address puts it at the dead end of South Harrington, near the current Amtrak Station, but the development also faces Lenoir and West Street. The reason Harrington dead ends rather than connects to Lenoir is because of a drastic elevation change. You can walk down stairs off Harrington to Lenoir though.

The new project looks like it will take out the auto parts warehouse at the end of Harrington. Parking for that building is located at the very end of the street and faces Lenoir before the elevation drops downward.

Site Plan map of 522 South Harrington

Site Plan map of 522 South Harrington

The stairs from South Harrington Street to Lenoir Street

The stairs from South Harrington Street to Lenoir Street

Lenoir Street

Lenoir Street

Around the intersection of Lenoir and West Street, the development will also take out two houses on West. Perhaps there’s an opportunity to move the houses? The corner is mostly an empty lot and surface parking.

Houses on West Street

Houses on West Street

With this end of Harrington sitting on higher ground, the units will have a fantastic view of the downtown Raleigh skyline. It’ll be through the power station across the street but it still should be pretty nice.

2016 Transit Tax Passes Along Proposed Bus Lines

Voter Distribution of 2016 Transit Tax Referndum

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I posted this up on Twitter earlier but wanted to put it here on the blog for posterity. If you don’t know already, the transit tax passed in yesterday’s election and the graphic above shows the precincts that voted for and against it. You can clearly see that areas receiving expanded bus service were pro-tax versus areas that were not.

Maybe a little lack of support along the western edge of 540. I wonder if the presence of tolls in that area played a role in voters’ decisions?

At the same time, most of the outlying precincts in Wake were not horribly against the transit tax, only opposing by smaller margins. (some exceptions exist though)

Pic of the Week

New bike corral on South Street

Sticking with South Street this week, a new bike corral has been installed outside of Boulted Bread at 614 West South Street. To my knowledge this is the second one after the widely popular install of the one on Hargett Street outside of The Raleigh Times.

There will also be more corrals installed according to this tweet.

New Site Plans Show 42 New Residential Units for South Street

Looking East on West South Street.

Looking East on West South Street, October 2016

That momentum thing? West South Street seems to have it.

We’ve taken a look at the area before and now new site plans at the city show 42 residential units for a fairly large, combined parcel at the corner of Saunders and South Street.

Lambert Development South Street LLC will clear out most of the properties from Saunders to Florence Street and bring two new residential buildings. At 3-stories in height and a combination of surface and covered parking (covered by the units) it looks like townhomes and/or apartments are planned.

Site Plan Map of 611 West South

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Site Plan Map of 611 West South

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Simply called 611 West South for now, the plan will take out the Ice Market and Grill building, some empty lots, older homes, and auto-oriented business buildings on that side of South Street.

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

West South Street, October 2016

This area of South is a hugely neighborhood retail area so the lower-scale apartment/townhome combination (or whatever it ends up being) seems like a good transition out of the Boylan Heights neighborhood heading towards downtown Raleigh.

I enjoy seeing units brought up to the sidewalk as well. With 42 units and 78 parking spaces provided, it isn’t the most urban of setups. However, some residents might prefer a quick trip down Saunders and to I-40 for commuting by car.

As the two-way conversion of South Street continues, more residents may find that the 600 block of West South becomes closer to destinations that it was in the past.

RalCon Supports The Wake Transit Referendum

On Nov 8, or now if you’re into early voting, Wake County residents will see this little box on their ballots. This blog, along with a list of other fine persons and organizations, endorse a FOR vote for transit and the sales tax to pay for it.

For downtown Raleigh, and anyone that wants to see the area notch it up on transit-related infrastructure and service, this is a huge addition to the central role that the area plays in the movement of people in our city. The map below shows you how key the core of Raleigh becomes in this 10-year plan.

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If you’re looking for a summary of the transit plan that this sales tax increase will fund, along with maps, FAQs, and a breakdown of the monetary side of things, head over to the Regional Transportation Alliance’s wrap up page.