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RBC Tower to rise as high as 30 Stories

Tayfromcarolina

By Tayfromcarolina
in The NC Triangle

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urbanesq Hamlet

urbanesq

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There will be a 1500-space, city-owned deck under the convention center hotel - and it was my understanding that this parking deck will extend under Salisbury Street and at least part of the convention center itself. I'm looking for floor plans to confirm this but I'm not finding them right away.

Actually I think the plan is for the deck to be located under the hotel, the new Fayetteville St. and whatever get built on Site 1. That's why they decided to tear down the entire existing convention center, rather than leaving the newer parts on the east side of the tract.

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Jones_ City

Jones_

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On the topic of parking decks, downtown Raleigh has way too many large parking decks. They take up a lot of space and contribute to blight, in my opinion.

The one under the convention center will be underground and out-of-sight,out-of-mind, but still. Do we really need more parking downtown. Particularly in that district. There's already a billion spaces around there (the Progress deck and the connected Convention Center deck next door; the two decks across Salisbury from the Sheraton and the BB&T tower, plus the Progress Center deck at South & McDowell. Do any of these decks even come close to filling up, ever?

And yet, no matter how many decks are built, people will always complain about "not enough parking" because they're too lazy to park in a deck and walk two blocks to their destination.

With the convention center deck, Raleigh's downtown parking needs should be met for the next 20 years. Or more. Actually, I hope that some of these decks - particularly the ones in prominent locations - can be redeveloped into something nicer.

I agree 100%. I (explicitive) hate all those parking decks. They are a byproduct of automobile reliance, they eat up otherwise taxable real estate, are loud, smelly and generally ugly to walk beside. Even when they are located at the center of block, potential open space is lost (like many european cities that have intrablock parks) when you stuff one behind storefronts.

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ncwebguy Burg

ncwebguy

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I wonder if building across from Wachovia is an option for RBC? If the deck built to have more on top of it (I remember it seemed to be way over engineered for such a "short" deck) that could leave the other sites as options for other relocating comapnies. I think playing Highwoods against Duke Realty against the site 1 developers is causing the "unexpected delay" and I don't blame RBC one bit for getting the biggest bang for their buck. I do hope there is a decision made in before the end of 2005 though! I plan on opening an account there as a "thank you" for moving to downtown when they make a final commitment.

I have never eaten at American Pita, since they only do M-F lunch, and opened after I lost my job DT, so can't speak to the quality of their food. There are other tenants in there though, including the Downtonw Raleigh Alliance on the Wilmington steet side, a travel agency and an architecture firm on the Fayetville side, so it's not just cars and subs.

East of Fayetville Street, the existing "Convention Center deck" is the one north of Lincoln Theater. North of there are Progress Energy II, then Moore Square Station, the nameless deck Wachovia Building tenants use between Blount and Wilmington, and Alexander Square, the one mentioned above. I know the northern most deck would fill up to the roof when I worked downtown in the late 90s, but don't know how it, or the other decks, do now.

West of Fayetville Street, starting at South Street, there is the new deck that is used primarily for Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, the deck across from the Sheraton/BB&T, another deck right next to it, the wake county deck, the N&O's deck, and the City of Raleigh deck on the south side of Morgan St.

Plus there's all the decks in the government complex north of the capitol, and the 510 Glenwood and Paramount parkign decks in Glenwood South, yet somehow traffic never feels too congested downtown in rush hour (barring an accident) the way it does on 40 every night.

There is also parking *under* Fayetville St. near Wachovia and Bank of America/BB&T, which is why the sidewalk rises as you walk toward the existing convention center. I think the underground deck under the Marriot *may* connect to the BoA deck, so traffic going north would just exit through there, but I'm not sure.

Is this enough parking? Right now, yes, plenty. But with Progress consolidating employees downtown, RBC and Capital Bank coming into DT, and the support buisnesses that will come with them, the convention center and hotel, I don't know. There should be a deck somewhere near the TTA station on the west side, to complement the apartments and condos that will hopefully rise over there, and support existing and new bars, restaurants, etc. If the Reynolds building and Warren Distributing projects get approved, they'll add decks as well.

The problem is sometimes the decks are hidden *too* well, so people drive around for blocks looking for a street space, and then complain about the parking. Or they're cheap and don't want to pay for parking. Or they think parking is their birthright, like at the grocery store, wal-mart, and mall. The city needs a standardized "parking" signage for the decks, and downtown destiantions need to do a better job of showing where the parking is. The guy behind Exploris and the Longview center is why there is still that surface lot behind City Market. Some people want to put apartment/office or aparment/gallery combinations there, but

are always met with the "where will people park argument". This was before Progress 2 was done, but I'm sure that complaint is still made.

A compromise to the "lost land" of decks could be a rooftop park/garden, but better than the one on the deck in Durham near Carolina Theater! Maybe the new progressive city council with its environmental subcommittee can make this a requirement of new decks going forward? One can only hope...

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Damien Whistle-Stop

Damien

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I agree 100% about the standardized parking signage. They should be large enough to call attention to them, and be lit as well so they are visable at night. The fabric ones they have now on some of the decks dont stand out enough. Adding lighting to them would also help create visual interest and some much needed glitz. Well, as much glitz as a parking sign could possibly have anyway.

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romec Whistle-Stop

romec

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When people complain about parking, I think most people are complaining about free parking. If downtown is going to compete with commerce in the suburbs, then it has to have plentiful free parking. If I am running errands or buying something, I don't want to pay a dollar or even two dollars to park my car. IMHO parking decks are for the workers downtown, and hotel traffic as well. When there is a high enough demand for people to go downtown so that they will pay for parking, then charge for it, but at this point that doesn't really exist.

I think with Raleigh's current size, a parking deck glut is more desirable than a parking deck shortage. The key is to make the decks fit into the urban fabric by building underground, putting in ground level retail, or into the body of the building. When downtown has a critical mass, and effecient mass transit, a parking shortage wont hurt as much and would encourage smart commuting and mass transit. If we had a shortage of decks right now, we'd be giving a bunch of companies a valid excuse to move to the burbs.

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urbanesq Hamlet

urbanesq

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^ and will it join up underground with the underground parking proposed under Site 1??

that's my understanding -- would be one, big, continuous deck. I think there's a potential connection to the existing deck under Hanover One, but the City is doing an engineering study now to see if that's feasible.

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plus2 Whistle-Stop

plus2

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I hate to sound like a lazy, whiny, car-reliant person because I would prefer to walk if it were an option, but parking decks are a hassle. With the prevalance of credit and debit cards a lot of people don't really carry cash anymore. Especially quarters for parking meters. I would park in decks more option if there was an easy way to pay.

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DwnTwnRaleighGuy Hamlet

DwnTwnRaleighGuy

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News from this mornings N&O, mentions RBC's building

Putting news on the street

First, WTVD-TV put a street-level studio on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. Now Capitol Broadcasting is considering something similar for WRAL in RBC Centura Bank's proposed headquarters -- minus the gleaming, streaming news ticker.

The deal could add buzz to downtown, where more than $1 billion is being spent on improvements, including a 500,000-square-foot convention center and the conversion of Fayetteville Street Mall into a central traffic artery.

The studio likely would include space for radio stations WRAL-FM and WCMC-FM. The stations' lease at 711 Hillsborough St. expires in 2007, about the time RBC's new office is to be built, says Capitol Broadcasting CEO Jim Goodmon. The studio may include a small WRAL-TV studio.

Plans are fluid, but "if we do do it, we would do it with RBC," says Goodmon, a member of RBC Centura's board. The bank said in August that it will move from Rocky Mount to Raleigh. It is still deciding on a developer and is considering two sites: 1.7-acre tract at Lenoir and Wilmington streets, and an acre bounded by East Martin, South Wilmington and Fayetteville streets, next to WTVD's studio.

Goodmon has been a proponent of downtowns in the Triangle, and has put his money where his mouth is.

His company converted old tobacco warehouses into the American Tobacco Historic District, considered the Triangle's most progressive office park and the force behind downtown Durham's renaissance. He is in discussions to fund a $2 million public art project in downtown Raleigh on Fayetteville Street, near the convention center, which is under construction. That project would be a gift to the city from WRAL, which turns 50 next month. On-the-street television studios have been popping up in cities across the country.

"From a radio point of view, there are benefits to a store-front studio," says Ardie Gregory, vice president and general manager of WRAL-FM and WCMC-FM. "A storefront property like that allows you to put a face on something people only hear. They know what you sound like, they just don't know what you look like."

Rick French, CEO of public relations firm French/West/ Vaughan, which has offices in downtown Raleigh, says he would be surprised if Capitol didn't open a street-level studio.

"WTVD has a ... [prime location] when the Fayetteville Street Mall opens," he says. "If you are WRAL and you want to be competitive, it makes sense."

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Justin6882 Hamlet

Justin6882

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^ Thats awesome news! I kinda hoped WRAL would put one down there too, maybe NBC 17 will follow? I really like the WTVD ticker, but obviously we probably don't need two of those within a block of each other. I'm sure they could do someting else to add to the on-street feel of the studio.

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Jones_ City

Jones_

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Well after reading this story I hope RBC doesnt move to the existing convention center site. Hopefully they go to Fayetteville Street and Craig Davis properties develop site 1 with the 15 story and 8 story building.

Developers Move on Downtown Tract....

Wow, so Highwoods wants RBC to go 25-30 stories at Martin/Wilmington...very cool, plus Craig Davis is talking about 200 condos down by the CC...exactly what downtown needs! Love it.

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