Tag / Virtual Reality

by Leo Suarez

Revisiting 301 Hillsborough Street and Plans For 20-Story, Mixed-Use Building

Email readers: This blog post has a virtual reality image. Read the post on the blog to see it.

Looking at 301 Hillsborough Street from across Dawson Street.

Recently submitted site plans for 301 Hillsborough give us some more details as to what might come for the surface parking lots along Hillsborough and Morgan Streets.

SR-93-2016, listed on the city’s development page, shows almost a full-block development consisting of a “mixed use building with approximately 220,007 sf office; 242 residential units; 40,832 sf retail, 176 hotel units, and structured parking (991 spaces)”

SR-093-2016 map

Click for larger

Mixed-use indeed.

The site plan shows a floor plan that will encompass practically everything on that block except for the 3-story brick building at the corner of Harrington and Morgan Street. You can kind of see the new building coming up against the old so perhaps it’ll blend right in.

All the existing surface parking will be gone. In addition, the two-story house at the corner of Hillsborough and Harrington will also be removed. That house seems like a perfect candidate for a relocation.

House being used as offices for a Raleigh law firm

House at 327 Hillsborough being used as offices for a Raleigh law firm

There are a couple things we can see from looking at the site plan. Remember that it is preliminary so things may change but from my assessment Morgan, Hillsborough, and Dawson will change dramatically.

Along Morgan starting from the west:

  • Service driveways, garages (trash, service unloading/loading, etc.) are planned approximately across from the ones in The Dawson.
  • A parking garage entrance will go along Morgan also.
  • In between, there will be retail space.

Along Dawson:

  • Retail and lobby space only.

Along Hillsborough starting from the west:

  • There will be primarily retail and lobby space for the hotel and residential units.
  • A parking garage entrance closer to Dawson.

Overall, the parking garage entrances on Hillsborough and Morgan line up and on the inside of the building, there is a roundabout for hotel parking. You can also access the upper levels of the parking deck from here.

Just a detail, the site plan also shows 30 foot planters along the sidewalks of Hillsborough Street and with numerous bike racks. That’s a nice enhancement to the pedestrian space as well as supporting the dedicated bike lanes along Hillsborough Street.

I’m definitely excited for this one as an infusion of this many different uses is sure to add activity on the streets and sidewalks to all different times of the day and week.

Corner of Morgan and Harrington Streets

Corner of Morgan and Harrington Streets. Flying Saucer will be getting lots of new neighbors.

SR-093-2016 map

Another site plan map. Click for larger.

by Leo Suarez

Fall 2016 Restaurant Roundup

Email readers: This blog post has a virtual reality image in it. I recommend you click through to the site to see it.

New eats are tasty but what can also be exciting, to me anyway, are reasons to revisit some places as they are doing new things or new folks are bringing a new twist on it. This season’s update shows a lot of new concepts in old places, hopefully bringing you back in for a fresh take.

For a complete list of eats, drinks, and coffees in and around downtown, make sure to bookmark the DT Eats page. Try something new!

  • Kicking things off are new brews from Oak and Dagger. The pub is now opened, shown at the top of this post, in the former Tyler’s space in Seaboard Station. In addition to their already running bottle shop, the brewery has a small menu of eats and lots of space for large parties.
  • Sort of near the Person Street area, Brewerks, a cafe and bakery in the former Quality Grocery space, is now open.
  • Scott Crawford’s new restaurant, Crawford and Son, in the former Piebird space was on schedule to be completed by the end of October. The place seems to be close to opening and you can subscribe to updates on their website.
  • In the Warehouse District, Parkside is now open on the corner of Martin and Dawson. They are open for lunch and dinner every day.
  • The Morgan Street Food Hall has a running website and is taking applications for those interested in setting up inside. It was reported that Ed Mitchell is bringing Que to the location as one of the first ones to sign up.
  • In Moore Square, Empire Eats was chosen to run the food kiosk in the upcoming Moore Square redesign. Called Square Burger, they will be serving burgers with (wait for it) square patties on potato buns.
  • City Market Sushi is planning to open in November. Located in the former Troy Mezze space, the folks behind the new restaurant want to offer a more casual, and less expensive, approach to sushi.
  • Amorino, the gelato shop coming to The Edison Lofts, is still being worked on. Last I saw, it looked like there is a lot of work to be done.
  • The Outpost will be a tiki-themed bar located in the house at the corner of Hargett and Person. In addition to their casual atmosphere, the space will reach out to non-profits looking for space for events. They should open very soon.
  • Even though Niall Hanley is busy with the Morgan Street Food Hall, he’s working on a new concept for the basement under Caffé Luna. Named Watts & Ward, you’ll enter the 6,000 square foot bar from the steps facing Blount Street under the Montague Building.
  • Raleighwood Provisions is a new project from those behind Bittersweet. Located in The Edison Lofts, the shop will sell a wide variety of high-quality, local foods. The plan is to open before the end-of-year and you can follow them on Instagram.
  • The new restaurant in the former Battistella’s space will be called Royale and hopes to open by the end-of-year.
  • On Hillsborough Street, Dram and Draught is now open, serving beers and whiskey out of the old Esso gas station.
  • The District, going in the former Hadley’s space in The Dawson, is now hiring. They will serve “asian-inspired cuisine with a southern influence” and hope to be open mid-November.
  • In Glenwood South, Vidrio, the Mediterranean restaurant for the corner of Tucker and Glenwood Avenue, is now hiring.
  • In the West at North building, Little City Brewery is now open.
  • Remember the Tobacco Road Sports Cafe? Well, they were supposed to be open sometime soon but still no update on their new location in Powerhouse Plaza where Natty Greene’s used to be. They were doing some hiring about a month ago so hopefully it’s any day now.
  • On Fayetteville Street, Bare Bones is now open and serving up beer, burgers, and ribs. The new restaurant from Eschelon Experiences is located in the PNC Tower where Zinda was formerly located.
  • Nearby, Carroll’s Kitchen, the non-profit restaurant with a mission to help homeless women, is now open at the corner of Martin and Wilmington Streets.
  • Living Kitchen, the raw and organic restaurant, has now opened in Charter Square.
  • Wahlburgers, a burger chain started by actors Mark and Donnie Wahlberg, is coming to The Hudson where The Oxford was formerly located. It’ll be the first in North Carolina.
  • Bolt Bistro is changing concepts. In a month or so, the place should reopen as Pizza La Stella, serving pizza to Fayetteville Street patrons.
  • The London Bridge Pub is adding a kitchen. With their expansion into the next door space, they have plans to add a small menu and build from there. The food should start cooking in mid-November.