by Leo Suarez

Crash of the Resident Wave, The Link Apartments Dig in on West Street (3/10)

The Link Apartments construction site
This is part 3 of a 10 post series, rolled out all week, on residential projects in downtown Raleigh. Go here to see all the posts so far.

It’s just a hole right now but not for long. The Link Apartments will bring 200 units between West and Harrington Streets along the north side of Jones Street. For the last few years, there have always been multiple residential projects under construction in Glenwood South. Unique about The Link, they brings options to the east side of the district.

What was once called Powerhouse Plaza, plans for an 11-story mixed-use tower were changed to meet the huge demand for rentals and that’s where we are today.

by Leo Suarez

Crash of the Resident Wave, The L Apartments Showing Wood (2/10)

The L Apartments under construction
This is part 2 of a 10 post series, rolled out all week, on residential projects in downtown Raleigh. Go here to see all the posts so far.

A project that can be traced all the way back to 2007, The L building is filling in the empty lot around the Wake County Parking Deck at the corner of McDowell and Davie Street. For a history, jump back to earlier posts tagged The L.

Starting off slow to the year but picking up the pace, you can see the apartment units being put together. There will be around 80 total units above 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

by Leo Suarez

Crash of the Resident Wave, Introduction (1/10)

Construction at The Lincoln
This is part 1 of a 10 post series, rolled out all week, on residential projects in downtown Raleigh. Go here to see all the posts so far.

If you follow the news, this blog, and watch all the construction happening you may notice an ongoing theme. Residential projects are mushrooming in downtown Raleigh!

I had to take a step back and list them out in order to really get a feel for how much is going on. In recent history, it’s always felt like the list of “What’s coming” is longer than the list of “What’s being built.” Currently, downtown Raleigh is in the exact opposite situation.

Throughout the week, expect some short posts on nothing but residential projects. I’ll then end the week with projects that are coming soon.

For those that haven’t been following as closely, the result of these residential projects, a majority being rental apartments, is part of a national trend. Demographic preferences, a more mobile workforce, and access to more amenities are just a few factors that are driving this huge demand for rentals near the city center.

It is definitely time to update our downtown resident population numbers as presentations and reports seem to always stick to some 5-6,000 number for the last 10 years.

Enjoy!

by Leo Suarez

Medical Services Expanding in Downtown Raleigh

MedFirst Medical Center

I noticed recently that 131 South Wilmington Street, the space where the Pop-up Ice Cream Parlour used to be, was made into a small medical office. By chance, they then contacted me to in order to try and get the word out about the new business.

Restaurants and bars are great but residents needs stuff and services too. A few years ago, WakeMed opened a primary care physicians’ office on Davie Street, which was new at the time and was pointed out as another sign of downtown Raleigh’s revitalization by the news.

Medfirst Medical Center on Wilmington Street is now the only stand-alone urgent care facility in downtown. Locally owned and operated, they specialize in urgent care, basically non-emergency situations that still need to be seen within 24 hours. Walk-ins are welcome without appointments.

Make sure to check them out.

by Leo Suarez

The Ten Brings Modern Townhomes to Person Street

The Ten at Person Street

You can’t stop everyone from building modern. Construction is only a few months away from The Ten, a 10-unit townhome project for the corner of Lenoir and Person Street. Modern in style, these two-bedroom townhomes will be built on a currently empty lot southeast of downtown.

Perry Cox was part of the architecture team and you can thank In Situ Studio for doing the Design work. In addition to the two bedrooms, there’s also a bonus room, spacious living area, and a one-car garage.

The Ten at Person Street

It’s nice to see some housing for sale to try and balance the flood the rentals coming to downtown. Prices for The Ten start around $269,000 and they are taking reservations now.

http://www.thetenatsouthperson.com/

The Ten at Person Street

Corner of Lenoir and Person Street
Corner of Lenoir and Person Street in June 2014.

by Leo Suarez

North Hills Smartphone App Will Include Parking Directions, Rumored World Peace

It’s never a bad time to talk about everyone’s favorite topic: Parking. I typically don’t fly the blog outside of downtown Raleigh but North Hills has something that’s very unique. I’m excited to announce that the Parking App Team that won last year’s DataPalooza, with roots in downtown Raleigh, has launched in North Hills.

Delivered as part of an all-encompassing app, the team has put together something that acts as the center of all North Hills information including events, shops, movies, and parking. North Hills saw value in what our team put together and has now delivered it for public consumption.

The team consists of Jim Belt, King White, Eric Majewicz, and myself, all members of the Raleigh Downtown Living Advocates. For over a year now, the team has been talking about a high-tech solution in order to address growing concerns about parking in downtown. We quickly found out, through the North Hills experience, that our solution had an application elsewhere.

It is our hope to use the experience to bring the same high-tech solution to downtown Raleigh in the near future.

The North Hills app is available for download in the Google Play Store and Apple Store.

Read more about it on the official page on the DLA site.

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