Charter Square (Site One)

[DanRNC]

Is that wood or the ubiquitous sandstone that has to be on every building in Raleigh?  

[Euphorius]

I'm hoping it's wood. Sandstone is very patio around the mcmansion pool.

[Jones_]

I like it. Its modern and airy feeling. Perfect for the part closest to the plaza which I think needs to maintain an openness to it with plenty of sun hitting the ground for people and vegetation alike. The southern half of the lot I think is indeed a likely candidate for a very tall structure, and I almost get the sense this building is sort of teeing up interest in this area for such a move. The underground parking won't be maximized with two mid rises. A super tall building on that spot would be awesome to look up at from all the typical visitor vantages, including the money shot up south Saunders, front door of the Convention Center and from the hotel entrances facing across the plaza. Something like Hearst in Charlotte is what I have in mind say...

[DanRNC]

I think it may an improvement over the brick "classical" monstrosity originally proposed in thats its kind of modern but its amazingly nondescript to the point of not even noticing it. It will however serve to help hide all the white/gray boxes around downtown.

[Dale]

Yes - it's a Chinese food place now.

Thanks! Good to know they found a use.

[Euphorius]

I think this building will really add to the skyline at night. There are lots of opportunities for a dramatic lighting scheme like SECU, especially with the swooped roof.

[HollySpringsTriangle]

The Charter Square building looks extremely similar to the Medical School building that Michigan State built in Grand Rapids, MI.

 

 

 

[Jones_]

The scale and the roof. But Charter Square 1 is all glass, and the MSU medical building looks like a stone monolith. 

[Justin6882]

According to a tweet by the TBJ, the Womble Carlyle law firm will be relocating to Charter Square. They were looking at space in Charter Square, Edison, the Wells Fargo Building (their current space) and a new building going up at North Hills.  Great get for Charter Square!

 

Also, they broke ground today officially on this building.  It will be NC's first LEED Platinum building.

[RALNATIVE]

Great news. Thanks for posting.

[DanRNC]

Just say "no" to North Hills. There is also talk that the 20-story next door will be going up sooner than later as a result of the high occupancy already committed to the 1st building.

[ctl]

North Hills is high-density -- at least by norms for Raleigh -- and mixed-use. Those elements are supposed to be good public policy, right? Also, NH is commercially successful by almost every imaginable definition of commercial success. So then, the real issue is that NH is 4 miles north of the State Capitol instead of 100 yards south of it. Nobody would object if Kane were putting a 20-story tower within slingshot distance of the Capitol. Is that the correct basis for a judgment that his new tower is good or bad if built at NH? I think not. Seems like naked DTR envy. Downtown Atlanta had the same objections to high-rise development in Buckhead, but Buckhead went forward regardless.

Edited March 25, 2014 by ctl

[Green_man]

Not the place for a downtown vs North Hills debate.  And I'm pretty sure DanRNC and most here would be fine with North Hills urban development.  But when there's a choice between the two:  the obvious choice is downtown.  Just think about the existing infrastructure that can absorb new development.  Downtown has blocks and blocks of streets and parking garages... NH crams everyone onto Six Forks.  Its not even close where the better development option is.

[InitialD]

Could Charter Square's 20-story sister tower be close behind?

Pur speculation via Biz Journal, but would be nice.

[Jones_]

Attempting to keep a critique relevant, I'll say that the road infrastructure leading to and around North Hills is less pedestrian friendly and has less total car carrying capacity. Functionally it is an island and packing more towers into that island just gets harder to do since Six Forks and Lassiter Mill are the only two main entry points. If NH sat on the northern edge of a street grid and not the moat known as the belt line, it would be traditionally connected urban area with many more entry and exit points and more ability to get in and out on foot. 

Edited March 26, 2014 by Jones_

[Spatula]

The traffic around North Hills is some of the worst in Raleigh. It's a car-dependent place and yet parking is a pain. The central shops are laid out as if to look urban but they have no relation to their surrounding neighborhoods and the membranes of the area are not porous to pedestrians like an urban area would be.

 

"New Urbanism" ladies and gentlemen.

[ctl]

In terms of office space, NH is car-dependent only because Raleigh chooses to keep most CAT routes ITB... chicken-and-egg. Getting into downtown at 8:15 a.m. is no happy sight, either. In terms of retail space, NH is no more car-dependent than Cameron Village. "Not the place for a downtown vs North Hills debate"?

[RALNATIVE]

Wasn't there a plan floated a few years ago for a transit system for the NH area? It seems that this may be a longterm goal once that area becomes more built out.

[Jones_]

I just realized from the Downtown Raleigh Future thread that CBRE is actually leaving the Cap Trust building in NH for Charter Square. That is the biggest indicator of all that downtown is commanding the interest of their clients. I get the feeling they will have that 20 story 'sister' building in planning approval before CS1 is completed. Which would mean another on the way soon after that. With the Reynolds talking up new stuff, Sandreuter's latest block due to be built out in late 2015 or so, I see an actual tightening of available parking lots to build on finally. Perhaps the 40+ heights start to come out of this latest push...

I agree its time to get a handle on all aspects of this push too (following up on the downtown future thread)....design standards, transit locations, historic blocks that are off limits etc etc. 

Edited March 29, 2014 by Jones_

[Justin6882]

The crane is up!

[InitialD]

Update from this past weekend:

 

[InitialD]

Starting to become visible in the skyline. Source

 

Going up:

Source

[InitialD]

I took a few new photos of Charter Square South. It looks like it has about 3 more floors to go:

[InitialD]

I think it has reached its highest level?

 

[Green_man]

1 more actual floor plus basically another floor of height for the wing thing on the top