Kindley Street is about to get some new neighbors. The Mira Raleigh apartments are getting close to opening, with move-ins planned for May 2024, according to their website. Above is a photo of the building from outside the construction site on Kindley.
Continue reading →
If you’ve driven, or walked uncomfortably like I did for this photo, down MLK Boulevard around the intersection with Wilmington and Salisbury Streets, you should have spotted this big wooden box looming over the road. Mira Raleigh apartments look to be topping out prominently over the wide avenue and it sure makes an impression.
This could be the first of a few new developments up on that hill as Kindley Street is seeing new development plans work their way through the planning process. Neighbors, as well as nearby Shaw Students, have been crossing MLK for years so I’m sure they can tell you that pedestrian upgrades to the intersection are overdue.
Kindley Street is not mentioned all that much in the news. Mainly because it is a dead-end street that branches off Salisbury Street. In this section of downtown, there have been one-story, suburban style office buildings probably since the 1980s. (or even earlier) That dynamic is already starting to change.
Zooming in, I am mostly talking about some land that is southwest of the train tracks crossing Kindley Street. A collection of properties have been acquired and there is a new rezoning on the table to raise the height limit from the current 20 stories up to 40 stories. In addition, construction of a building with 288 apartments is already taking place. Finally, we may see Kindley Street connect to Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in the future.
You can see the site in the google map aerial above, highlighted in orange. Again, it’s probably not an area most go to as Kindley dead ends and there isn’t much there to begin with. (more so now after all the recent demolition nearby)
A new apartment building, named Mira Raleigh, is already constructing some future homes. It’s a tough location to photograph but you may have seen the building come up if driving down MLK. Here’s one photo, in addition to others, on the Community.
Rezoning case Z-088-22 has a majority of the property wanting to go taller. What’s also interesting is a separate subdivision case that may connect Kindley Street to MLK. The way I’m reading things, it actually looks like they own the northbound ramp from MLK to McDowell Street so I feel this may be removed if this new street configuration is put in place. I’m sure an alternate route will be put in place.
The rezoning case is still in the early stages and has yet to go before the planning commission. I’d like to think this is an easier rezoning to approve as no existing structures are impacted, there’s no traffic increase for anyone to complain about, and the location is very close to the downtown core.
If interested in this area, make sure to also check out nearby Salisbury Square.