The 500 block of Fayetteville St. is getting a major renovation. City Plaza is now being constructed and should complete the street’s new makeover. With one corner untouched and left for access to Bank of America, the other three corners have been ripped up and stripped down. Work on the plaza is steady and if all goes according to plan, we could be dropping the acorn here come 2010.
I want to get some reader feedback on this one. Maybe it is just me but I do not see as much chatter on this subject. Construction has started and a year from now Fayetteville St. will be complete. City Plaza could be the heart of the street from a pedestrian perspective.
With four retail spaces and some art work, this area should be a huge draw for those passing by. I think outdoor seating is very much needed here as this area has the potential for the best people watching in downtown.
It is unfortunate that it was not completed when the convention center opened. However looking at the big picture, when finished, it will add to the “cool” factor of Fayetteville St. After the construction is over, the next priority is having businesses playing with night and weekend hours.
What kind of things do you want to be in the retail spaces in City Plaza?
Before
After
The groundbreaking of city plaza will be very soon and there are signs of work happening just beyond the planters that dead end Fayetteville Street’s 400 block.
Construction fencing around the area
Temporary pedestrian walkways are being put in place
The plaza will finally finish off Fayetteville Street and car traffic will freely flow from Morgan to Lenoir. The plans on the city’s website do not show any parking on this block and that will help create a lively area with pedestrians. I’m hoping that the street is also flush with the sidewalks as that will also make the area feel like it is more for foot traffic.
I find it interesting that plans for street concerts are still being considered for city plaza. Is this really needed after it is completed? I propose that concerts on Fayetteville St. be moved up one more block to what is referred to as Sites 2 and 3; the parking lots between Lenoir and South St. in front of the Performing Arts Center. Are the couple hundred spaces here really needed when, upon completion, the 1500+ spaces underneath the Marriott and Charter Square will be available soon? Do not forget the convention center parking deck and Progress Energy parking deck too.
The Segway Tour route will have to change due to City Plaza’s construction here starting in a month or 2.
Inspired by the popular post “The State of Glenwood South”, I decided to hit Fayetteville St. and break down “North Carolina’s Main Street”. With the weather warming up, there has been more activity on the sidewalks and restaurants are serving it up outside. Also, I’ve noticed a jump in nightlife and weekend activity this year as compared to last. There is still a bit of a problem; a significant amount of places are not supporting downtown traffic at night and the weekend hours. Here is a block by block summary.
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100 Block
The 100 block of Fayetteville St. offers a random assortment of shops for pedestrians. You can park here, get your eyes checked, plan a trip to that exotic country you’ve always wanted to go to, and all with a coffee in hand. The work week keeps this block alive, with lunch traffic and the Alexander Square parking deck full to the brim.
But when rush hour traffic dies down, this block mostly closes shop. Crema is a great place to for some food and coffee with the best hours here, open everyday. Café Carolina and America’s Pita Grille have yet to experiment with night and weekend hours. The Justice Building, Court of Appeals building, and Wachovia tower eat up a lot of space too, offering nothing to those walking by.
This block needs work.
200 Block
We are now getting into the meat of Fayetteville St and its 200 block is shaping into something really exciting. So far The Big Easy, The Mint, and Port City Java are open close to everyday. If you still have not been to the Raleigh City Museum, take the time and get out there. There is plenty of room for more and there are two renovation projects currently underway.
CVS still does not have a clue what is going on and has the worst hours. I have really noticed a significant amount of people that walk up to the door and are surprised that it is closed on the weekends (no, 9-1 on Saturday does not count). No kidding, I e-mailed them about this location’s hours, the downtown growth, and the constant complaints. Here is their response:
Thank you for contacting the CVS/pharmacy website. I am in receipt of your e-mail regarding the store hours at our Raleigh, NC CVS/Pharmacy. I am forwarding your comments to James Barefoot, the District Manager. He will review this with his staff at their next meeting.
We appreciate the time you have taken to share your comments with us.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Azevedo
CVS/pharmacy
Customer Relations
This was three months ago and I see no changes. Come on CVS, get with the times.
This block is improving and showing growth.
300 Block
The 300 block is the tallest block in Raleigh all thanks to RBC Plaza. This building offers a lot of ground floor retail space and will hopefully be occupied when the building switches on later this year.
The 300 block is also the brightest block with the ABC news station on the ground floor of The Hudson. Sono and Yancy’s also add to the activity inside.
The weekday work crowd will always own this block because on the opposite side of the street, the courthouse and post office are buzzing during the work week only. On nights and weekends, you get a one-sided view with lights and activity on one side and closed up buildings on the other.
This block has shown the most growth.
400 Block
Right now, Fayetteville St. ends here as we wait for the Marriott Hotel to open and then it will continue to Lenoir St. This block supplies a lot of visitor traffic from the Sheraton. Chick Fil A offers weekday lunch and the Sheraton also has a restaurant and bar inside.
City Plaza will hopefully save this block from being voted most boring block in downtown. The barber and flower shop are in a very small building on prime land. I would not be surprised if this small parcel along with some of Progress Energy’s land behind it is razed for something tall but that is just my prediction.
Besides the NC Opera Company moving here, there has been little change. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens throughout the year.
This block has shown no real change.
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So there it is, covered fully from end to end. To sum it up shortly, I think the government buildings are an obstacle to downtown growth and pedestrian activity. Still, Fayetteville St. is growing, slowly, and going through a painful process to get away from the 9-5, Monday to Friday scene that it has become so accustomed to for over 30 years.
I sent off a couple e-mails about the current state of the City Plaza project. I thought it was a no-brainer that getting this plaza done at the same time as the opening of the Raleigh Convention Center and Marriot Hotel was important. The response I got was not so pleasant.
Leo,
Thanks for your inquiry. In the City Plaza, we are completing the negotiation of the easement with the owners of the Bank of America building – this should get us ready for a full funding, design approval and authorization to proceed at the last Council meeting in March or the first of April, Which completes construction in May of 2009. I have enclosed a rendering. ThanksDaniel T. Douglas AICP
Division Manager
Raleigh Urban Design Center & Communications Group
Department of City Planning
By the way, the attached rendering has already been posted on the city’s website. Here are more for your viewing pleasure.
The convention center and hotel will be open September of this year. It looks like we’ll have a nice construction site in the middle of Fayetteville St. for eight months after this. Before you start getting all upset like I did, you may need to think consider some other factors.
The perfect scenario would have been for the plaza to be ready for all the new visitors, and current residents, to see and enjoy. It can be argued that first impressions are important and getting this thing done on time should have been something to fight for. But honestly, this is only eight months and we have booked some conventions through 2020. Fayetteville St. is not the only district downtown. There are plenty of other areas that will be ready to serve visitors in the mean time. It is also important to note that this is out of the city’s hands as the owners of One Hannover (BoA building) are the major player in this little project.
It is unfortunate that we have to wait even longer to do a drive or walk from one end of Fayetteville St. to the other. I would have preferred it to be ready for the September opening, but if eight more months is needed then I’ll deal with it.
The Raleigh City Council is about to meet today. They will discuss various issues around the city, one pertaining to downtown. The design for City Plaza has been sketched out, finalized, and is seeking approval today. The N&O wraps up the agenda.
CITY PLAZA. City Manager Russell Allen is asking the council to approve more than $1 million in funding to complete the design of several projects at the south end of Fayetteville Street, including the City Plaza. City planners have proposed building a $21 million high-tech plaza that could be closed to cars and reconfigured for parades, markets or concerts.
Update coming soon on the outcome.
UPDATE: Nothing was changed in the design but the decision on how to pay for the $21.3 million project was pushed back 2 weeks. Let’s hope this is the last delay so that construction can start and all this is finished by the time the convention center and hotel open up.
Yesterday the Raleigh City Council approved the design for the city plaza that will go on the 500 block of Fayetteville St. This is the space between One Hannover Square (Bank of America building) and Two Hannover Square (BB&T building). Currently, Fayetteville Street ends at this space because construction on the Marriott Hotel and what is called Site 1 are underway. It’s all part of the Fayetteville street phase II project (phase I being completed last summer ’06)
Make sure to read the list of components in the design schematic as I feel they are important and do a good job summarizing how the space should be. As you can see from the map above, if the street continues south there will be more space on the sides because of the buildings’ placements. I like the plans for retail and restaurants to be planned along the front of the buildings along Fayetteville Street. They are even planning wireless internet for the plaza. There were a couple of stories about it on WRAL and I recall them mentioning a video monitor placed somewhere.
Digital Rendering
This city plaza comes after the downfall of the design by Jaume Plensa. His design involved a grid of lights and a stream of water. The failure of this project all came with the implosion of the old convention center, at that point the view from Memorial Auditorium down to the Capitol building was restored and city leaders did not want it touched. The project turned into a huge controversy and eventually because of the city’s mishandling, constant bickering with the design, and never accepting the artist’s changes to the work (insulting maybe?) the project was dropped. Should Raleigh have gone ahead and approved the design? We will save that discussion for another day.
Plensa’s Design
I believe the new plaza will have much potential and in a few years after it is completed it will easily see activity for 18 hours of the day. It is located in the heart of downtown and in the core business district. With Site 1 and the new Marriott hotel under construction a block away, it will be immersed in activity and should easily succeed.
