Hillsborough Street - NCSU Area developments

[DPK]

This certainly wouldn't be the first place I would have picked for redevelopment along Hillsborough Street nor is it an earth-shatteringly cool design but I'll take it. This is proof that even today developers can still work with small, narrow lots. I just hope that whatever the "exterior cladding C-1" that is shown in the elevations is not just hardie plank.

Overall the design is kind of "blahish" but I agree that they should be commended in terms of lot usage. They really are maxing out the limits of the lot there which is awesome. I notice no parking, but it appears they are providing bike storage. This would be a great place for say an international/regular student that doesn't have their own vehicle. This building is right along Wolfline, CAT, and TTA service routes.

Unless you are looking at this development from head-on, you probably won't see the potential cladding on the side since there is heavy tree screening on each of its neighboring lots.

[Jones_]

There are so many other places I'd rather see a new apartment building than where there is already a perfectly good 1920's era house. How about all the parking lots across from the YMCA? FMW must have gotten a sweetheart deal from the University. How about the hardly-makes-a-difference parking lot at Brooks and Hillsborough?

[Green_man]

Unless you are looking at this development from head-on, you probably won't see the potential cladding on the side since there is heavy tree screening on each of its neighboring lots.

Trees on the Wells Fargo side will likely come down - it looks like they are on this property.

[orulz]

There are a number of news items relating to Hillsborough Street this week.

1. Looks like Valentine is positioning to build a 9 story 114 unit apartment and mixed use building (up to 110 feet tall) at the corner of Concord & Hillsborough, next to Lulu. This is a pretty big change as existing zoning calls for a 40 foot height limit there. Up until now, this part of the Stanhope Center/Valentine Commons development project was nothing more than a shaded box on a site plan, so this brings the plans a little more into focus. Recall also the parking deck wrapped with apartments to the south, and the retail/office building with Kerr Drug to the east.

http://www.raleighnc.gov/content/PlanLongRange/Documents/Zoning/RezoningCases/2012/Z-037-12.pdf

2. There is a rezoning request for some of the land near the FMW apartments at Hillsborough & Morgan but it's not really clear what's changed. Maybe they're including some more properties in the overlay district.

http://www.raleighnc.gov/content/PlanLongRange/Documents/Zoning/RezoningCases/2012/Z-034-12.pdf

3. The rezoning request for the Bell Tower Redevelopment (Sadlacks ETC) has been filed. The hotel will be up to 80 feet tall. http://www.raleighnc.gov/content/PlanLongRange/Documents/Zoning/RezoningCases/2012/Z-036-12.pdf

[Green_man]

N&O has a write up on the developer and all of their properties along Hillsborough St. And includes a rendering of the 2604 Hillsborough apartment building project:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/07/19/2206624/charlotte-developer-has-ambitious.html

Some other interesting mentions in the article talk about building a new IHOP at the old Jackpot location and building a 'retail center' at the current IHOP location. I would hope that the new IHOP be incorporated into a mixed-use building (4-5 floors?) with apartments above, otherwise I don't see the point of tearing down and moving 100 feet for the same thing.

Lastly, it appears FMW also bought the parking lots at the corner of Hillsborough and Hillcrest (across from Velvet Cloak Inn). I wonder when we could expect to hear redevelopment plans for these lots - I'd imagine these would have to be somewhat scaled down since this backs up into the neighborhood... maybe 4 floors? 5 floors with a stepback at the rear?

[miamiblue]

Looks like the Clarion has a new owner and will be getting some updates for its reincarnation as a Holiday Inn.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/09/05/2319290/new-owner-plans-to-give-downtown.html

I'm really glad to hear this. That hotel has a lot of untapped potential.

[ctl]

I remember when it was a Holiday Inn and still had a Gulf gas station attached to it (as many HI's did).

[Green_man]

Article in TBJ claims the developers are close to finalizing a deal with Starwood Hotels for the site across from the Bell Tower.  The article mentions Aloft, but other Starwood brands include Westin, Sheraton, and W Hotel. 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/print-edition/2013/02/15/alofts-could-land-in-durham-and-raleigh.html

 

Other Hillsborough St updates: 

• the site has been cleared at 2604 Hillsborough for the 4-story, 15-unit apartment building,
• City Council approved a development up to 5-stories, 75-units, and ground floor retail across from Cup A Joe,
• interior finishes are in progress at 927 West Morgan, and leasing site has "spring 2013" as an option for a move-in date ( http://927westmorgan.com/ )
• and a new brewery/bar, Raleigh Brewing Co., is scheduled to open in the warehouse on Neil St near Meredith.

[orulz]

2604 is going up fast. The stairwell is built already and it looks like the foundation for the rest of the building is mostly complete. We'll have to see what it looks like when done, but I'd absolutely love to see more projects like this: Small scale, great location. This is a poster child for what could happen if off street parking requirements were eliminated in urban neighborhoods. I'd wager that the costs of adding 16 parking spaces would have made this project completely infeasible, not to mention the problems that arise from trying to incorporate some sort of driveway and curb cut.

 

By fitting this onto just a single lot, the developers have also avoided another pitfall: lot acquisition. It is more difficult to develop when you have to either find a large (very expensive) site or purchase several contiguous smaller lots and combine them. In addition, developers are probably forced into building larger scale projects partly because of the economics of including parking in the development.

 

All in all, this little building is awesome. And it's moving so fast! Color me impressed.

[Jones_]

I am hoping the old insurance building next to this (what company was it?) will eventually get replaced with a nice corner apartment building with maybe a street level commercial space. 

[Green_man]

There's a new site plan submitted on the City's planning website for the 5-story building (69' height) at the corner of Hillsborough and Concord. 

 

Plans show the uses as:

Ground Floor:  Retail:  21,575 sf

Mezzanine:  Retail: 7,190 sf

Basement:  Retail: 9,085 sf

2nd-5th floors:  40 4-Bedroom unit residential

 

I can't really wrap my mind around the layout of the retail spaces.

 

TBJ article:  http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/2013/04/raleigh-developer-alters-hillsborough.html  (rendering is for the building at Hillsborough and Friendly Drive though - "Kerr Drug building")

[orulz]

I don't get what's up with the retail on the basement/mezzanine either. It might make sense if this were a sloped site, but it really isn't.

 

I note that the upper floors of both the Concord and Friendly buildings are now residential, so a rooftop restaurant is no longer in the plans.

[Jones_]

The mezzanine and basement levels  must be how they are getting the 7 stories but still calling it 5. 

[orulz]

The Raleigh Nehi Bottling Company at 3210 Hillsborough, built in 1937, is going to be renovated by James Goodnight, according to a recent tweet. I've always thought this is a neat little building. It's interesting that this building and the Wilmont are both set back from hillsborough a little bit and off angle, but are exactly even with each other. I doubt this is a remnant of some old street or alleyway or historic alignment of Hillsborough Street. I've tried to guess why and the only thing I can think of is that there must be some sort of a utility easement through those buildings' front yards: sewer, water, etc. Jones, do you have any idea?

 

 

 

Is that a soda fountain I see in that front window of the historic photo?

[Green_man]

Great news!  That building has so much potential!  I've always thought that a brewery would work great there.  Similar to how Big Boss is setup with the brewery on the ground floor and a bar upstairs! 

[Jones_]

Always wondered that myself. They seem to be oriented the same as buildings along the main campus stretch of of Hillsborough. This was probably dirt road that immediately became concrete when  the lots were platted out here. I thought maybe it could have been the same developer but Wilmont was built in 1930 and Nehi 1937 so that is unlikely the reason for them lining up. I don't even have a good theory....slight realignments don't even make sense since the houses across the street are older....

[orulz]

Raleigh's council has approved a $75 million transportation bond that will be up for a referendum this fall. On the list is the next phase of Hillsborough Street, from Rosemary to Gardner, proposed for construction apparently in FY2015-2016 with a cost of $6 million. Further details are sketchy. A roundabout at Dixie Trail is likely, but I'm not sure about the other intersections like Dan Allen, Brooks, and Rosemary. I believe that the low-hanging utilities will be buried, but the higher voltage power lines from the substation will remain.

 

I am desperately hoping that the city will take the opportunity to eliminate nearly every curb cut - they make this part of Hillsborough a chore to walk. The old strip malls with Marco's Pizza, Subway, and (formerly) Pack Backers are nothing but one giant long curb cut with dangerous parking that forces you to back out into Hillsborough Street. Think of how much nicer this would be with parallel parking, and the existing parking lots turned into a wider sidewalk, or better yet sidewalk cafes. Places like Zaxby's, East Village, and Sakura Express don't really need curb cuts either since they can be accessed from side streets.

 

Hopefully this coupled with the Valentine Commons projects already in the pipeline will make this part of Hillsborough Street a lot more attractive for investment.

[Green_man]

I agree with everything you said and a similar approach is being made to minimize the curb cuts along Peace St between St. Mary's and Glenwood.  The renovated streetscape section of Hillsborough is very pleasant to walk, but as you said, pedestrians are an afterthought further west.  Ideally, someone would tear down the old bookstore building at Bagwell and build a mid-rise mixed-use building out to the sidewalk to eliminate those random parking spots. 

 

Currently, one of the most dangerous intersections is Dan Allen, and how they address that will probably be the key to the whole project.  Hopefully in 5 years the area will be much different than how it is now.

[ctl]

Alas, the City dropped the proposed widening of Western Blvd, which (like Wade Ave) has absorbed some of the traffic from Hillsborough St. 

[DPK]

Alas, the City dropped the proposed widening of Western Blvd, which (like Wade Ave) has absorbed some of the traffic from Hillsborough St. 

 

That road doesn't need to be any wider.  We need to stop endlessly widening roads.

[orulz]

IMO It absolutely does need to be wider. It's six lanes from the beltline to Gorman, and the outside lanes end there, and four lanes from there on. The plan is to complete the widening to six lanes (It's partially complete already) plus add a sidewalk on the north side from Gorman to Avent Ferry. This will help rush hour congestion greatly, help pedestrian access, and not create any additional barriers for pedestrians since the intersections with crosswalks are already generally six lanes wide.

 

Western Blvd widening got ditched in favor of Tryon Road because I guess there has been more citizen outcry for that one.

[Green_man]

Western is fine the way it is or at least can wait a few years for widening.  Tryon Road is only 2 lanes so makes sense to widen that some with all the growth in SW Raleigh.

 

I'd like to see some planning for more and improved alternatives to car travel in the area.  Kinda disappointing that the BRT (bus-rapid transit) (buses in dedicated travel lanes) was eliminated from the New Bern Ave project.  Continuously widening roads without saving for or providing alternatives will just get us roads like Glenwood & Capital outside the beltline.

[ctl]

Until the day when mass transit (beyond today's CAT) is available, growth in downtown jobs means additional traffic. It's much faster to add jobs in downtown than residences, and there are people who are eager to work in downtown but do not live there. 

 

It didn't help that for decades, the city turned a blind eye while NCSU sprawled over onto the south side of Western. If there were adequate tunnels and/or overpasses for pedestrians, buses, and service vehicles to move from one side of Western to the other, some of the congestion between Gorman and Avent Ferry could be have been avoided. This is a major planning fail that the city and NCSU must share the blame for.

 

I agree that Tryon is an abomination and has been deferred from widening for far too long. 

[Jones_]

Western was originally supposed to part of the grand inner freeway system for Raleigh....Gorman, the North/South expressway (through Oakwood) and Western were the main pieces but also Oberlin and Dixie were part of the planning to make it all work. Removing Hillsborough Street as a viable commute option for all but NCSU students and staff definitely has stressed Tryon and Western. I think a parallel option of expanding Centennial to Gorman and connecting it to Maywood would help Western some. Sequencing the signals on Western would help both the traffic flow and improve pedestrian safety. It's tough to figure this stuff out after the need has arrived, that is for sure. 

[Green_man]

The Bell Tower Hotel site plan is up on the city's website now.  Building height is 80 feet with 7 floors plus a round thing on the top.  (For reference, the bell tower is 115 feet tall.)  Also shows two retail spaces on the ground floor fronting Hillsborough St.  The elevation renderings definitely look unique so there's hope that this is an attractive project.  Seems to be a mix of brick, stucco, and metal panels plus some kind of art feature.  My only hope is just that it doesn't visually overpower the bell tower.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Green_man