Have you been to Bloc 83 yet?

By Bloc 83, I mean the collection of new buildings along Hillsborough and Morgan Streets on the southern end of Glenwood Avenue. The Origin Hotel, One Glenwood, and Two Hillsborough form a node of office space and hospitality that is sure to see some activity as companies move in and programming starts in their new plaza space.

The name actually has a nod to the block numbers on the old insurance maps of downtown Raleigh. I guess at the time, it was just “Raleigh” as Block 83 was near the edge of the city limits back then. You can see all the downtown blocks numbered here from 1896 or see it in person thanks to this slick mural along the plaza showing a portion of the map.

The plaza between the two office buildings is now the Gold Standard for public spaces in Raleigh. There’s room to stroll and various nooks to sit at with a variety of views towards the small stage. Two kiosks are inside the plaza which I hope have some new local businesses. I can imagine small scale performances, popup markets, and art shows taking place here. Even late night parties and corporate events could use the space as it looks wired up with speakers and a large screen.

The exterior construction seems completed and if you walk the block, there’s plenty of retail space to keep things interesting. We already have spots filled in One Glenwood as they opened over a year ago. Two Hillsborough and even the parking deck across Boylan have retail spaces on the ground floor. Don’t forget about the restaurant, Good Day Good Night, in the hotel also.

Looking to the future, there may be more coming to this immediate spot as a plot of land at 615 West Morgan has been rezoned up to a maximum height of 20 stories. This is at the southeast corner of Morgan and Boylan and initial plans suggest even more office space with ground-floor retail. The Bloc 83 formula seems to be a hit so far.

We’re tracking Bloc 83 progress on the Community to great depths and some of our contributors have already toured the new building and shared photos. Jump on over to follow in the conversation. Perhaps a future DTRaleigh Meetup will take place at Bloc 83 one day.

More renderings and plans are being submitted for the Heritage Properties developments along Hillsborough Street. Readers might already be familiar with the soon-to-be-completed office tower, One Glenwood, and the second tower is coming soon with Two Hillsborough. The two towers will have a plaza in between, mid-block, with retail supporting a lively sense of place.

The latest renderings show the two towers with the plaza in between.

The collection of towers is being called Bloc 83 according to the latest submissions. The third piece of the puzzle is a parking deck with ground-floor retail. Located on the 700 block of Hillsborough Street, the former auto shop and next-door house are slated to be removed for the new deck. The deck’s 693 spaces are most likely going to support Bloc 83. You can spy the deck in the renderings above.

The site plan looks pretty typical but with retail along both Hillsborough Street and a part of Boylan. Entrances to the deck will be on both Hillsborough and Boylan Avenue. Below is a snapshot of that site plan.

I can’t help but roll my eyes at more parking decks especially when you consider that one has already been built behind the Origin Hotel across Morgan by the same developers. I believe between the two decks there will over 1,000 spaces provided.

However, as I look at the plans and where we’re coming from, the new office towers moves the needle just a little bit towards a more urban and transit-friendly Raleigh. The parking decks are just a bridge that helps us connect to the rest of the region.

The way retail space really surrounds the outside and inside of Bloc 83, even in the parking deck, feels hugely positive. If the landlords can land some service retail and add to downtown’s plentiful list of tasty places to eat then by all means, bring it on.

The vibe on the Community is a tad negative over another parking deck but does give more reason to support pro-transit and pro-bike orgs to keep the mobility options varied in and around downtown Raleigh. As for me, I’m seeing a future where I spend more time in this area compared to what was there and I think others may agree also.

As One Glenwood wraps up over the next few months, I expect work on the rest of Bloc 83 to take place in 2019.