by Leo Suarez

Federal Grant Funding Miles of Bicycle Facilities In Downtown Raleigh

Salisbury Street

Salisbury Street in the government district

As part of a federal grant, the City of Raleigh is receiving funds to apply marked bicycle facilities around the city. From the city’s website to the blog:

The City of Raleigh received a $1.1 million dollar grant from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program to construct at least 27 miles of marked, on-road bicycle facilities. A proposed list of twenty-two bicycle projects have been selected in order of adopted bicycle plan priority and previously adopted CIP projects. The design of these projects is currently underway and the lead consultant is Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. joined by Alta Planning + Greenways, Inc. and Kittelson & Associates, Inc.

*Bicycle Pavement Marking Design Project

We’ll have to wait for the designs to see what kind of “marked, on-road bicycle facilities” will be created but $1.1 million dollars spread across 27 miles doesn’t sound like much. I expect a mix of bike lanes and sharrows.

Here are the streets being looked at within downtown.

  • Wilmington Street from Saunders Street to Peace Street
  • Salisbury Street from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Lane Street
  • Martin Street from West Street to Tarboro Street
  • Hillsborough Street from Morgan Street to Salisbury Street
  • E. Cabarrus Street from Wilmington Street to Chavis Way
  • W. Cabarrus Street from Western Boulevard to Salisbury Street

See the link to the city’s website for more information.

by Leo Suarez

Glenwood South Office Building Being Repurposed For Beer Garden

Rendering of the Raleigh Beer Garden
The beer flows in Raleigh. The flow has many flavors and venues.

Adding to that list of beer drinking venues is the Raleigh Beer Garden which will be situated at 614 Glenwood Avenue. The office building already on the site is up for a makeover and the beer garden will take over.

The new place comes from the folks behind Hibernian Irish Pub, Solas, and The Station. Posted here are some renderings of the new place that show the direction that New City Design Group are going with this project.

Rendering of the Raleigh Beer Garden

It looks like there will be a ton of outdoor space with a splash of greenery around various nooks and crannies. The two-floor design offers a few balconies as well, great for people watching. (and the view!)

Is there a term for a restaurant that has a ton of beer taps? The Raleigh Beer Garden plans to have over 100 so that makes it an extreme multi-tap restaurant with only The Flying Saucer able to come close within downtown Raleigh.

Here’s the current building as of December 2013. We could see movement on this project in Spring 2014.

614 Glenwood, future home of Raleigh Beer Garden

by Leo Suarez

2013 Best of The Blog, Best of the Downtown

Raleigh Skyline in March 2013

As 2013 wraps up, there were plenty of things to look back on. Instead of the typical ‘Year in Review’ post, I’ve listed the five most visited 2013 articles. A lot of these we’ll be tracking in the new year so expect to hear more soon. Here’s the list.

#5 Trophy and Crank Arm Bring New Breweries To Downtown Raleigh
Trophy Brewing Company Growler
Raleighites like their beer. In 2013, downtown Raleigh saw two great additions in Trophy Brewing and Crank Arm Brewing. Throughout the year, the two places have come alive and expanded. There was a lot of buzz about these places and if you’ve gone all year without tasting these brews, you’ve got a few days to get one or two in before 2014.

#4 Parklets Could be Popping Up In Downtown Raleigh
Divisadero Parklet - SF Pavement to Parks

Divisadero Parklet – SF Pavement to Parks by jeremyashaw, on Flickr

Approved in November, the parklets pilot program could help businesses bring new urban “mini” parks to downtown Raleigh. Targeting “underutilized parking spaces,” the program attempts to help bring this new, innovative concept to Raleigh.

As of today, there hasn’t been one built yet so here’s hoping that some pop up in time for Spring 2014.

#3 The Lincoln Will Bring 224 Apartments To Emo Raleigh
The bulk of the apartment boom is happening within and to the west of downtown Raleigh but The Lincoln defies that trend. East Raleigh is ripe for new developments and The Lincoln may start a new trend as it sits one block to the east of Moore Square.

#2 Innovate Raleigh Opens Up 227 Fayetteville Street, Renovations Underway
227 Fayetteville Street, January 2013
Announced in January, 227 Fayetteville Street has been under renovation all year. Paired with a makeover for adjacent Exchange and Market plazas, this section of the 200 block of Fayetteville Street should be even more active when this project is open.

This area already sees the highest pedestrian counts in downtown Raleigh and is starting to be the natural activity hub for all that is urban Raleigh.

#1 Edison Office Shows Site Plan For 225′ Tower
Edison block conceptual drawing by JDavis Architects.

Edison block conceptual drawing by JDavis Architects.

The most viewed post of the year was this one about the upcoming Edison Office tower at the corner of Martin and Wilmington Streets. Gaining attention under the entire Edison project umbrella, the office component is still in the planning phases while next door a 23-story apartment tower, Skyhouse Raleigh, is currently under construction.

The Edison project includes this entire block, with buildings wrapping the mid-block parking deck. It clearly has a lot of buzz around it as a 2012 article about Skyhouse still gets hits constantly from readers.

by Leo Suarez

Greyhound Relocating Outside of Downtown Raleigh

Greyhound Terminal on West Jones Street in downtown Raleigh

Greyhound Terminal on West Jones Street in downtown Raleigh

The Jones Street Greyhound Terminal is moving soon to a new location outside of downtown Raleigh. Located here since 1969, Greyhound will move their operations up north to 2210 Capital Boulevard. They have signed a 10 year lease for the new location.

I wonder about the decision behind this and the plans for future integration of Greyhound into Union Station’s overall plan. Ideally, the currently planned Union Station, Raleigh’s much larger and upgraded train station in downtown’s warehouse district, will house a variety of transit options, including Greyhound, to offer users options and transfers between services.

The Union Station integration sounds like the most ideal end-goal but the move to Capital Boulevard adds an extra obstacle for travelers arriving in Raleigh that need to get to Greyhound. While not a significant amount of travelers, Greyhound is an option for those arriving at RDU and need a lower cost option to head to points in eastern North Carolina. Rental cars and taxi’s are too costly so public transit and Greyhound are the most cost effective way to get around.

Another part of the story here is that the property was sold in March 2013 to Real Estate investor Ted Reynolds. Long time readers may recognize that name as the same one involved with a tower planned for 301 Hillsborough Street, called The Hillsborough, back in 2007. Along with a few other projects, The Hillsborough met the same fate as the 2009 market crash scrapped it.

Perhaps the Reynolds have plans for the old Greyhound site at 314 West Jones Street.

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Marbles Kid's Museum Expansion

An expansion being done at the Marbles Kid’s Museum. The Kid Grid exhibit will go here, partly thanks to a $1 million grant from ABB, Inc. The Raleigh Public Record reported on this back in July.

Marbles President Sally Edwards said Kid Grid will teach children about the Smart Grid and will be a full representation of the energy system. Edwards said the goal of the exhibit is to introduce children to science and math and encourage them to become engineers in the future.

*Commissioners Approve Loan for Marbles

Here’s a video from WRAL interviewing Edwards about the planned exhibit back during its announcement in 2012.

Click here to see the video on YouTube.

Thanks for the tip, Brian.

by Leo Suarez

425 North Boylan After A Year of Construction

425 Boylan Apartments in Glenwood South

The 261 apartments at 425 Boylan Avenue have really taken shape after a year’s worth of construction. Plans according to the developer’s website state that the project will be completed in the Fall of 2014.

Just a recap of this upcoming apartment building for the Glenwood South district:

  • 261 apartments across 8 stories.
  • 11,000 square-feet of retail and office space.
  • LEED silver certification.

An interesting thought that I may queue up for another post is to talk about the walkability between Glenwood South and Cameron Village. 425 Boylan and the other apartments located on the western half of Glenwood South create a dramatic increase in density that walking to Cameron Village should be simple.

From 425 Boylan to the Cameron Village library is a 0.7 mile walk. However, will residents overcome this more barren walk between those two points? Compared to a more interesting 0.7 mile walk, like Glenwood Avenue from Peace to Hillsborough or the CBD from the Nature Research Center to the end of Fayetteville Street, the lack of urbanity between the two destinations may not promote walking as much.

That or horrendous parking at a location may force walking to the forefront.