by Leo Suarez

2016 Downtown Raleigh Population Numbers

2016 Population Numbers

Here is some more data from the 2016 State of Downtown Raleigh report. This time, about downtown’s population numbers. We’re at an estimated 7,000 residents in the downtown area and projected to cross 10,000 in less than four years.

That’s between 1% and 2% of the overall city population, 3% and 4% if you bump out the boundaries to a mile-radius around the state capitol.

2016 Population Numbers

Glenwood South continues to be the most populated area, adding more units than any other district. However, Moore Square comes in at a close second.

2016 Population Numbers

I imagine next year, the warehouse district will make a big jump with the apartments at The Dillon. Glenwood South will add units from the Greyhound Apartments and Fayetteville Street will gain numbers from the Charter Square North tower.

They also included a map to show the catchment area of this data.

2016 Population Numbers

by Leo Suarez

Aerial Visualization of New Capital Boulevard Bridges

Thanks to a few readers who found this aerial visualization of the Peace Street and Wade Avenue Bridge replacement project. NCDOT should start this project this summer.

For more on it, especially the Peace Street part, go here.

[UPDATE:5-26-16]
A raise of the glass goes out to Jim who made this overlay of projects on top of a screen grab from the video. Click for a larger view.

The Capital Boulevard aerial doesn’t consider the new Williams and Kane joint projects but with the announcement posted earlier this week and the Smokey Hollow LLC purchase nearby you can see some of the possible development outcomes of the new square loop.

A Johnson Street connection from Glenwood to Capital would make for a great grid of streets around the planned developments and hopefully ones in the future. Johnson at Capital could be a major entrance to Glenwood South for those coming from North Raleigh.

With the Devereux Meadow Park on one-side of Peace, the opposite side has to come at a premium due to how much traffic is funneled down Peace Street. With Peace being practically the only east-west artery in this area, I imagine the vehicle, bike, and ped counts will continue to be higher than other streets.

by Leo Suarez

Mixed-Use Development Announced for West Street

In a press release sent out last week, Kane Realty Corporation and Williams Realty & Building Company are announcing a new development for their property along North West Street. We recently highlighted a couple of things in planning for this street here on the blog so I encourage readers to jump back if they haven’t seen it.

From the press release:

The project is expected to provide 400+ Class-A residential units and retail above covered parking.
…
Residents of downtown, Glenwood South and adjoining neighborhoods will enjoy pedestrian and vehicular access to retail, and the Project’s own residents will enjoy separate parking, two clubrooms, an interior courtyard, and an elevated terrace overlooking Downtown Raleigh, in addition to many more Class-A amenities.

This is most likely the talked about Smokey Hollow project mentioned elsewhere on the internets, a nod to the former neighborhood that was wiped out by the urban renewal projects of the mid-1900s that brought us the elegant Capital Boulevard. In the Google map below, the project is on the site of the Southland Ballroom and Themeworks buildings.

[UPDATE: After confirming with Kane Realty, this project is meant for the corner of Peace and West street, as some of the commenters had pointed out.]

by Leo Suarez

Spring 2016 Restaurant Roundup

Raleigh Raw on West Hargett Street

Raleigh Raw on West Hargett Street

I’m excited to share a new addition to my seasonal updates. Leading up to each restaurant roundup, there is extensive note taking going on behind the scenes. Now, my notes are yours!

You should already be familiar with the DT Eats page but now I have DT Tips. The page tries to consolidate every upcoming, talked about, and gossiped item out there when it comes to eating and drinking in downtown Raleigh.

You can dive into the Tips list here. A few more tweaks are in the works but it’s basically ready to share at this point.

Now that that is out of the way, let’s dive into our latest updates.

  • Starting in the Warehouse District, the former Brewmaster’s space at the corner of Martin and Dawson Street will become Parkside, a southern farm-to-fork restaurant.
  • There’s progress being made at Whiskey Kitchen.
  • Mentioned back in March, the Hibernian Company wants to open a food and market hall in a warehouse along West Street. (former Buckhead Saloon, former former Jillian’s space)
  • The upcoming brewpub Oak and Dagger, located in the former Tyler’s space at Seaboard Station, has opened their bottle shop. The pub is still being worked on but they are brewing their own beer now. You can follow their progress on their Facebook page.
  • Brewerks Cafe and Bakery is coming to the former home of Quality Grocery in the Oakwood neighborhood.
  • Pelagic Beer and Wine is planning to move a few doors down to the corner of Pace and Person Street.
  • Provenance is now open in the Skyhouse Raleigh tower.
  • According to eatRaleigh, the house at the corner of Person and Hargett will become The House, a bar and bottle shop with some bar food.
  • Progress continues on Dram and Draught, the pub in the former gas station at Hillsborough and Boylan. You can follow the progress on their Facebook page.
  • Hadley’s is now open in the former home of The Borough in the Dawson building.
  • In Glenwood South, Harry’s Guitar Shop will become 616 Glenwood, a night club owned by Dan Lovenheim who also owns a few other bars on the street.
  • Along Peace Street, the former Mr. Pizza and Salad is now TLC Wings and Grill. This is the second location after first opening in Pineville, NC.
  • Mentioned in a post about West Street, The Cardinal will be a bar and lounge on North West Street.
  • The former home of Duel Lounge in the Creamery Building is now The Milkbar.
  • Blue Mango has changed their name to Indio.
  • Raleigh Roadhouse, a live music and barbecue restaurant, has opened in the 510 Glenwood building.
  • Since our last restaurant roundup, the 222 Glenwood building has seen a lot of action. The space where Bruegger’s Bagels used to be was turned into International Breakfast and Burger by the owner of next-door Sushi O. That only lasted a few weeks. In what seemed like no time at all, the place reopened into China O, an authentic Szechuan and Chinese restaurant.
  • Tobacco Road Sports Cafe is relocating to the Raleigh Electric Powerhouse, where Natty Greene’s used to be, on Jones Street.
  • On Fayetteville Street, the former home of Zinda in the PNC Plaza is going to be a new concept from Eschelon Experiences. Bare Bones will have a menu of comfort foods like house-ground burgers and ribs. They will also throw in some beer, pool tables, and shuffleboard.
  • The TBJ has a first look into Living Kitchen, the raw and organic restaurant being worked on in Charter Square.
  • Also in Charter Square, the b.good is now open.
  • Carroll’s Kitchen will be opening in the former Square Rabbit space at the corner of Martin and Wilmington Streets. The non-profit restaurant has a mission to help homeless women, “empowering them with job training, life skills, and even housing,” their website says. It’s a great cause and they are always looking for volunteers.
  • Isaac Hunter’s Tavern is back on Fayetteville Street, this time at 414 Fayetteville where Common 414 used to be.
  • The Twisted Mango in the Progress Energy building has closed and changed over to San Lorenzo Bistro and Bar.
  • Raleigh Raw (pictured above) has opened their juice bar and cafe on Hargett Street.
  • Local Icon Hospitality has opened their latest spot, Virgil’s Original Taqueria, on Salisbury Street.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Here’s a photo (click for larger) through the construction fencing at the GoRaleigh Transit Station. You can see the foundation (if that’s the correct term) for the bathrooms on the left and the start of the crew kiosk in the center. The kiosk will have the ticketing/information window, the office for the crew and security.

You can see more details on the city’s project page. They have a link to a webcam that’s set up across Hargett Street also.

If you were a fan of the large brick “facade” on Hargett, it was recently removed and really opens up the space in a big way now.

A video posted by Leo Suarez (@dtraleigh) on

by Leo Suarez

One Month Away for The Gramercy Apartments Opening

The Gramercy Apartments

The Gramercy Apartments in Glenwood South is marching along and is planning to open in late June. In addition to the apartments, the retail space at the corner of Glenwood and North Street will have a grocery store and pharmacy. The plan is to open that close to the building’s opening so work inside that space is taking place now.

As always parking will be a concern to most folks but there is a plan for that. The parking lot across North Street, behind the building with Plates, Sushi Blues, and Thaiphoon, will be converted to a public lot run with Passport Parking. The first 30 minutes are free and you can use it any time for stopping by in the area.

It’ll be great to see some real resident-based services like this. The 7,000 square-foot grocery, the entirety of the retail space in The Gramercy by the way, will also have weekend farmer’s markets.