523 replies to this topic

[ChiefJoJo]

^additional housing in the area (The Hudson and the Progress Condos, the Cultural/Conv Ctr District, etc.) will help too.

[Jones133]

ChiefJoJo, on Jul 19 2005, 11:43 AM, said:

^additional housing in the area (The Hudson and the Progress Condos, the Cultural/Conv Ctr District, etc.) will help too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Absolutely. I am very excited to see these things happening all at once.

[orulz]

New article in today's N&O about Hillsborough Street. It goes over the traffic calming measures and the roundabouts as well as the general public reaction. It also touches on why some businesses have found a niche on Hillsborough and others have failed.

[paletexan]

orulz, on Sep 29 2005, 11:32 AM, said:

New article in today's N&O about Hillsborough Street. It goes over the traffic calming measures and the roundabouts as well as the general public reaction. It also touches on why some businesses have found a niche on Hillsborough and others have failed.

Hope they get the funding for this project, and bury those hideous power lines (as seen in Orulz pictures on page 1 of this thread).  I like the point they made about Starbucks not being able to survive (that is definitely a sign of serious decay).

[orulz]

paletexan, on Sep 29 2005, 05:25 PM, said:

I like the point they made about Starbucks not being able to survive (that is definitely a sign of serious decay).

And yet, Porter's City Tavern is doing great; El Rodeo, Mitch's, I Love NY Pizza, Brueggers, and Global Village are doing just as well as ever. Q Shack seems to have gone over well, too. Truth is, things are really hit-and-miss up on Hillsborough. The key to success? A good looking building! If your storefront looks run-down and crappy, nobody's going to drop by. All the places that look nice, do well. The places that look like crap, fail.

BTW, the section  of Hillsborough facing NCSU will not be the first section to get upgraded. The target will be Stanhope Village. This area has some of the worst visual blight from utilities that I've ever seen, outside of Japan at any rate.




Downtown, Morgan/Hillsborough will also supposedly get a roundabout, but that's a seperate project related to the two-way conversion of Morgan - and has nothing to do with the bond issues.

[DanRNC]

Quote

And yet, Porter's City Tavern is doing great

We tried to get into both Porter's and Fraziers one night and couldn't get into both places as they were packed. We ended up at Mitch's, which I had never been to, and it became one of my favorite bar/grill type place in Raleigh. I still want to try the other two places as I heard the food was outstanding.

[paletexan]

orulz, on Sep 29 2005, 06:51 PM, said:

And yet, Porter's City Tavern is doing great; El Rodeo, Mitch's, I Love NY Pizza, Brueggers, and Global Village are doing just as well as ever. Q Shack seems to have gone over well, too. Truth is, things are really hit-and-miss up on Hillsborough. The key to success? A good looking building! If your storefront looks run-down and crappy, nobody's going to drop by. All the places that look nice, do well. The places that look like crap, fail.

That's a good point as well, and anything that survives on this street today must be exceeding expectations of their clientele.  There is no reason Hillsborough Street cannot compete with 9th street in Durham or Franklin St in Chapel Hill in terms of becoming a destination for alumni and students of their respective Universities, and communities.

I really hope investment will follow the street improvements, and maybe tear down some run down sections and replace it with street level retail with student housing / apartments above.  This is one of the few parts of the city outside downtown that can support that type of density given students and residents have access to wolfline, CAT, and are in walking distance to many jobs.

[Subway Scoundrel]

orulz, on Sep 29 2005, 08:51 PM, said:

And yet, Porter's City Tavern is doing great; El Rodeo, Mitch's, I Love NY Pizza, Brueggers, and Global Village are doing just as well as ever. Q Shack seems to have gone over well, too.

I have heard that the guys who started QShack are really disappointed in what that location has brought.   Things may have changed but they sunk a lot of money and the road to profit could be long and hard.   You now see them going after more lucrative locations like North Hills.    

Personal note:  I like Q Shack but is a little to salty for my taste.  When you are salting your Mac and Cheese, it may be time to put the shaker down.  The BBQ place near Raleigh Office Supply  (the old Cape Fear Seafood place) down the street from Glenwood South and Broughton, in my humble opinion, is better.

[dmccall]

Subway Scoundrel, on Sep 30 2005, 10:21 AM, said:

I have heard that the guys who started QShack are really disappointed in what that location has brought.   Things may have changed but they sunk a lot of money and the road to profit could be long and hard.   You now see them going after more lucrative locations like North Hills.    

Personal note:  I like Q Shack but is a little to salty for my taste.  When you are salting your Mac and Cheese, it may be time to put the shaker down.  The BBQ place near Raleigh Office Supply  (the old Cape Fear Seafood place) down the street from Glenwood South and Broughton, in my humble opinion, is better.

The North Hills Q Shack location was planned before the Hillsborough St opened, I believe, so I don't think it is a reactionary addition. Incidentally, Scott Howell had a big squabble with investors, sold the Q-shack, and went running back to Durham with his middle finger in the air to Raleigh. Good riddance, Scott.

The Southpoint location closed because the mall got a better offer from the Cheesecake Factory. They TORE DOWN the Q-shack and Big Bowl. CF opens in a few weeks. During demolition the whole chain for the large anchor Organized Living (next door, no less), folded, leaving a large empty space. DOH!!!

The Q-Shack's bbq'd chicken sandwich is incredible. The pork is OK, but I'm not really a bbq fan. The ribs are very good.

[Germaine]

AmericanUrbanDesigner, on Jul 14 2005, 10:47 PM, said:

Does anyone remember this?

attachment

attachment

attachment

I lived in Raleigh and worked with the Hillsborough Street group that was created because of this guy's work.  The consultants ended up recommending something like 11 "roundabouts" but the majority of residents at the charette really wanted Cirello's plan for just two "traffic circles", and his realignment of Pullen and Oberlin Roads adopted.  He also suggested reintroducing streetcar service between Meredith College (?) and the State Capitol.

What do you think?

Is this being built?

[richthofen]

On the subject of Hillsborough Street, the N&O announced today that the old Darryl's building has been purchased, and the new owner plans to put a restaurant in the space.  
N&O Story
This is really good news, as that is probably my favorite building on Hillsborough, and it's been vacant too long.  I heard that the Darryl's used to occupy both floors of the building; does anyone know if the second floor was closed off because of structural instability, or just because the space wasn't needed?  I think that building would work well with another tenant, perhaps a nightclub or something, on the second floor.  It would bring more traffic down to that end of Hillsborough at night, as currently Players' Retreat is the only thing going down there.  And, with the reroute of Oberlin and a traffic circle planned for down there, it could really bring that area alive...

*The article did get one thing wrong, though.  That was actually *not* the last Darryl's in operation.  The one on High Point road in Greensboro is still going strong; I ate there earlier this year.  We asked the waiter if it was the last one, and he said there was also one surviving location in Orlando, Florida (of all places).  So there are still two....*

Edited by richthofen, 07 November 2005 - 02:14 PM.

[NCMike1981]

Oh cool, I thought they all closed in one giant swoop a few years back....

Edited by NCMike1981, 07 November 2005 - 03:52 PM.

[orulz]

richthofen, on Nov 7 2005, 03:12 PM, said:

I heard that the Darryl's used to occupy both floors of the building; does anyone know if the second floor was closed off because of structural instability, or just because the space wasn't needed?  I think that building would work well with another tenant, perhaps a nightclub or something, on the second floor.

I believe the second floor was used to house Darryl's ventalation and HVAC equipment. Assuming the HVAC equipment can be relocated, I agree - it's a neat building and the second floor could definitely be put to better use.

[dmccall]

Darryl's used to just be the section next to Weatherman's with the tiny door. The whole section on the corner with the 80's greenhouse window was added in the early 80's. The old section was definitely 2 stories of restaurant. The circus room in the back left was really neat, and under-used. The best thing in there was the booth in the old-timey elevator. Sometimes we waited extra long for that booth. The 80's expansion never used the upstairs portion.

The old place was fantastic in the 70's...until the local guys (Winston, Eure, and "Darryl") sold out to General Mills who fern-barred and steroided up the location list so as to ruin everything neat about the place.

[bdp]

i think Hillsborough Street is an important part of Raleigh's revitalization, and this meeting is a great way to contribute any thoughts you may have regarding the proposed roundabouts and such.  i  plan on attending, but it is pretty early on a saturday morning, so we'll see...

http://www.newsobser...ory/410582.html

as a side note, meetings regarding Hillsborough are usually thick with University Park residents who are determined to keep the street from becoming too lively.  I don't want it packed full of rowdy bars or anything, but to me, these people need to move to the suburbs if they want a totally quiet place to live.  just my opinion of course...

[Transplant]

bdp, on Feb 23 2006, 07:38 AM, said:

i think Hillsborough Street is an important part of Raleigh's revitalization, and this meeting is a great way to contribute any thoughts you may have regarding the proposed roundabouts and such.  i  plan on attending, but it is pretty early on a saturday morning, so we'll see...

http://www.newsobser...ory/410582.html

as a side note, meetings regarding Hillsborough are usually thick with University Park residents who are determined to keep the street from becoming too lively.  I don't want it packed full of rowdy bars or anything, but to me, these people need to move to the suburbs if they want a totally quiet place to live.  just my opinion of course...

I never understood why people move to a place, in this case very close to a college, and complain once they get there. I agree that H-bourgh should have restrictions on the # of bars, too many will be a negative. That said, if a mix of stores (a la Franklin St) would be perfect for students, and those living in U-Park, and even in Cameron village area

IMO Hillsborough St should be, built up with a nice 3-4 story buildings from Meridith College all the way to DT. Hopefully increasing height along the way. Maybe stepping up to 4-8 stories after the Morgan St. Split.
Some Condos above stores would reduce traffic.

I'm not sure about this mass move to round abouts.... I think the city would be better off dropping a light rail down Hillsborough....

Edited by Transplant, 23 February 2006 - 08:21 AM.

[pack-man]

Transplant, on Feb 23 2006, 09:20 AM, said:

I'm not sure about this mass move to round abouts.... I think the city would be better off dropping a light rail down Hillsborough....

I agree, but it will never happen.  Street rail would be awesome and people would ride it all day I think.  

What is $3million dollars going to do.  That is barely enough to do a signal upgrade.  I don't get it, but I guess you have to start somewhere.

A list of city improvements(pack-man style):
1. bury power lines
2. replace all sidewalks
3. add nice lighting
4. add trees
5. turn Western BLVD. into a freeway
6. storefront facade grants
7. assist with ABC permits for restaurants, bars
8. shut the University Park residents up (they should move or get it through their heads that their home value will skyrocket with these improvements)
9. add parking to both sides.
10. cobblestone some portions
11. ban tacky store awnings (bell tower mart, wolfmart)

just a couple of things off the top of my head.

Edited by pack-man, 23 February 2006 - 08:48 AM.

[paletexan]

bdp, on Feb 23 2006, 07:38 AM, said:

i think Hillsborough Street is an important part of Raleigh's revitalization, and this meeting is a great way to contribute any thoughts you may have regarding the proposed roundabouts and such.  i  plan on attending, but it is pretty early on a saturday morning, so we'll see...

http://www.newsobser...ory/410582.html

as a side note, meetings regarding Hillsborough are usually thick with University Park residents who are determined to keep the street from becoming too lively.  I don't want it packed full of rowdy bars or anything, but to me, these people need to move to the suburbs if they want a totally quiet place to live.  just my opinion of course...

I share your opinion about anyone trying to keep H-street down, and it's importance to Raleigh's revitalization.  It's a unique commercial district in a great location and it's just unacceptable in its current state.

[ChiefJoJo]

The Hillsborough Street Partnership will hold a community forum from 8:15 a.m. to noon Saturday, at West Raleigh Presbyterian Church, 27 Horne St.

Might have to check that out if I can wake up in time on a Sat morn.

Quote

5. turn Western BLVD. into a freeway

This won't happen.  The city just spent about $3M on upgrading the road with turn lanes, curbing, sidewalks, etc., and besides, it runs right thru the NCSU area which isn't the proper context for a freeway.  A superstreet might do the trick though.

[avery]

There is a huge amount of potential with Hillsborough Street.  It is a major gateway into downtown that goes by Meredith College, NC State and right up to the footsteps of the capitol building.  That being said, this area needs a major facelift and can become an attractive corridor.  Burying the powerlines, fixing up the the storefronts, redoing the sidewalks and streetlamps are a given to make this happen.

As far as the roundabouts???  I'm not sure that this is the best idea.  Repaving the road and adding a tree-lined median would be a better idea.  I think this road needs to stay 4 lanes. Along with crosswalk and traffic light synchronization, this would work well enough.

Now, the prime spot for redevlopment is across from NC State.  I agree that the number of bars should be limited, but surrounding residents shouldn't complain too much.  Why live next to a college if you don't like the late-nighters and noisy kids?