The view of the Fayetteville Street district from the roof of the West at North tower. View it large on Flickr.
Tag / West at North
West at North Before and After
From parking lot to tower in about 18 months, the West at North tower will add more residents to the Glenwood South area. I’m hoping that talk about the potential retail on the ground floor will start soon.
February 2007
August 2007
August 2008
Leisure Aquatic Features Coming to Downtown [UPDATE: 6-11-08]
It’s been a slow news week but RalCon strives to keep posting as much as possible. Pictures have massively been lacking but we can make it through the slump. Some travel plans over this summer have pushed back my purchase of a new camera. Once I get it, you’ll be begging for me to stop posting pictures. Until then we can still discuss other topics.
Summer is here and you can start to really feel the heat. This only means that it is time to relax from all of that stress at work by chilling next to a pool.(besides relaxing by reading a RalCon post while at work, right?) I hope most of you like to hang out by a pool as much as I do but this amenity is hard to come by when being in downtown. I decided to go through a running list of the aquatic features currently open or being built downtown.
RBC Plaza
Up high on the 23rd floor, this pool should be a very cool feature for people living in RBC Centura’s national HQ’s building. Tenants on the south side of the building will be able to look over their balconies at people getting or trying to get tan. High diving from your balcony is not recommended. Coming summer of 2008.
The Tucker
With the lower priced condos at this Glenwood South project, the pool will be covered with kids out of college, enjoying life out of school and less responsibility on the weekends. I may have too much fun if I lived here with a pool and Glenwood down the street. Coming summer of 2009.
West at North
Another Glenwood South project. This pool is 16 stories up above; you guessed it, West and North Street. Even though I vote this building to have the most unoriginal name in downtown, it earns pretty high marks and I’m excited about it being built. This may be the hardest pool to get to, if you do not know someone living there. Anyone? Coming late 2008
The Paramount
I have always had a hard time finding any information about the Paramount. The high prices just don’t work with me, I guess that is what it is. Anyway, I have to link it over to Raleighing for a tour of the building and pics of their pool.
The Lafayette Boutique Hotel
I have not found any concrete plans for this building or the rooftop bar/restaurant planned for this high-rise hotel. The pool is rumored to be a part of it and this rendering came out sometime last year. I think it will easily have the best view of Raleigh……if it ever gets built.
The Raleigh Municipal Fountain
This little oasis is probably the most accessible of them all and is downtown’s only hot tub. Some have criticized its small size but it is not the size of the pool that matters. It’s the rushing waterfall that massages out my arms from lifting too many pints at the flying saucer. Open daily.
[UPDATE: 10-18-07]
The Hue
This cozy little pool will be wrapped on three sides by 7 floors of condos. To finish it of is a nice parking deck. Oh well, better than nothing.
[UPDATE: 6-11-08]
This post is just plain fun to update. Here is a new image from the 222 Glenwood pool. It looks pretty slick and the squares on the parking deck wall are a nice touch.
Thanks, Ashton!
Living It Since 2008
The downtown condo supply has been slowly rising and we all have seen new buildings open up over the past few years. Help me out with the years if I’m off but
- Palladium Plaza opened in 2007
- The Quorum Center opened in 2006
- The Dawson and The Paramount opened in 2005
- The Hudson opened in 2005 (?)
There are other buildings that have been holding it down for longer then this but 2008 has to be exciting for the downtown condo scene as we welcome four newcomers to the party. As an extension to the WRAL article that touches this, here is the list.
RBC Condos
RBC is probably the most obvious and more unique of the group. It depends on your definition, but I think this is the first example of true high-rise living in Raleigh. Word is that all 139 condos have been sold.
Bloomsbury Estates
The seven story, 56 unit condo building is over half sold and should also open this year. Hopefully in the near future we will see the second phase of the project, which consists of the twin being built in the back.
222 Glenwood
The website is claiming that only nine units remain available in this building as of this writing. The location cannot get any better for fans of Glenwood South. The added retail presence along the street is a big welcome also. I heard from a friend that the views from the top are excellent.
West at North
This is a spacious building with a large footprint. The residents within the 170 condos will have a rooftop pool and easy access to Glenwood South. The ground floor retail will help West St. become Glenwood’s little brother.
The State of Glenwood South
The weather was great this weekend so I took the time to go through Glenwood South and check up on all the projects. You get a different view of things during the day compared to at night when I usually have a few pints in me. This list should cover all the highlights and take us into next year.
222 Glenwood
Remember how this seven story condo project was a flat wasteland for so long and progress seemed so incredibly slow last year? Those days are done and 222 Glenwood keeps on taking a new form. We’ve come a long way and the outer façade is being built all around the building. Windows and balcony doors are in place. The parking deck, for the most part, looks finished with a second entrance now off Jones St., next to 518 West. Brick has been going up for the past few weeks and should finish on the Glenwood facing side. Take note that the exterior is not entirely brick. Here is the building rendering off their website.
630 North
This one kind of fell off the radar and the church still sits on the site. The poster for the condo/office building is there so maybe one day we’ll see this one rise up. And yes, this is a church that will be destroyed but read up on the situation first. Sounds like a good deal to me. Website info.
West at North
I reported earlier about the progress at West. It is cool to see this one top out before the end of the year. See for yourself!
Solas
You know, I’m a fan of the dark, gray brick. Once the glass gets put in it will really start to look like the rendering. If I was the developer I would get this thing up and running before it starts to get warm in the spring.
The Lofts at Glenwood South
I posted before that no activity was happening. I guess I spoke to soon because there is now foundation work occurring at the site. I think they were planning for phase I to open in summer of 2008. I would bet against this unfortunately. Website info.
Glen on Peace
Nada.
Peace Street
Peace St. still looks like crap. The Streetscape project cannot come any sooner.
Retail
- A nutrition store has opened right on glenwood, very convenient to anyone that works out at Peak Fitness. All Pro Nutrition has opened this newest location at 402 Glenwood.
- I’m really not into fashion or trendsetting but if you are, Catch 22 seems like the place for you and I believe this store recently opened up. This sort of reminds me of the late night boutiques on south beach Miami or what I would imagine in trendy Los Angeles. After researching a bit, I was right. The website states, “Inspired by LA boutique style, Heather Long bridges the gap between Raleighwood and Hollywood.” I think Heather Long is bold for opening up her shop here in downtown. At this point, any retail in Glenwood south is a pioneer and I hope success for Catch 22.
- I have always thought that The Paramount was a condo only building. I stumbled upon a very small retail store, maybe 250-300 sq. ft., on the corner of Boylan and Johnson St. I have no idea what kind of store could work here. It is currently empty. Maybe if RalCon takes office space, this might be something worth looking into.
Bars/Restaurants
- The restaurant, Globe, has opened up in the space next to Red Room. From what I can see, it looks very nice. They do not have a website but the Downtown Raleigh Alliance describes them as “Eclectic, New American”. I’ll add it to the to-do list.
- The George still has an “Opening Soon” sign. Zspotlight claims that they will have a New Year’s Eve party. Not sure where to go with this one.
- The Pourch and The Bassment have taken over the old Aura and Rush spaces. Every night I’m out there, I continue to see emptiness. Has anyone seen differently?
CON-struction and D-struction
The early winter sunsets are really cutting into my weekday opportunities to go out and take pictures of things downtown. I really think pictures help to add more to the story but we’ve all got a life and a job to do. Anyway, today I have more quick news regarding construction downtown that may be worthy of a short golf clap.
- Ann-Cabell Baum Anderson sends out a status e-mail about the West @ North tower in Glenwood South every now and then. I’m still waiting for some news on the retail going in on the bottom floor. Her recent update:
Exciting news… We are approaching topping-out!
The roof-level is being poured this week!
Also, large windows are being installed on the 5th through 7th floors and the exterior sheathing is now up to the 10th floor! Interior framing is up to the 8th floor and exterior framing is up to the 12th floor! West is well underway!
- I jumped the gun too early this week and talked about 301 Hillsborough coming down. I thought it would be a slow process and parts of it would still stand for a month, maybe two but I was wrong. Half the building is gone and if this rate stays steady, the building will be leveled probably by the end of the day. Might be safe to assume all the debris will be hauled out before the end of the year. Enjoy your temporary new view, Dawson residents!
- Big slabs of concrete are being brought to the site of the future “The Edison” project. Right now the parking deck for the block and RBC Plaza is being put together. Reminds me of how they put the 222 Glenwood deck together, like a Lego set, and if similar this thing will sneak up on you. Check the webcam for updates on that and RBC Plaza, which is now building the condo floors.
West Construction Update 8/07
The West at North condo tower in Glenwood South has been slowly rising up. It is starting to creep into view from other parts of downtown. The building is pretty wide compared to the others around it and will help give Glenwood South a more urban feel. Remember when there was just a parking lot there? I think this building will be great when completed. No word yet on the retail going in on the bottom floor. Hopefully soon, West St. will get a streetscape renovation, new sidewalks and buried power lines.
Downtown Construction Updates
I’m finally getting around to posting the pics I took last weekend. These are pictures of current construction projects and future sites.
Bloomsbury Estates
The fourth floor is rising up on the Bloomsbury Estates project. This building shown is the first of two 7 story buildings that will occupy the lot.
222 Glenwood, view from Glenwwod Ave
222 Glenwood, view from West St.
The parking deck is almost done at 222 Glenwood. The deck is in the back of the property and it looks like the condos on the front, facing Glenwood Ave, haven’t really been touched just yet.
West at North
The lot for West at North has been cleared. Hopefully we will start seeing some progress in a few months unlike 222 which seemed to take forever before any real work was done.