Raleigh Convention Center

[Atlside]

I went to the Charlotte Convention center's site, and it looks it'll have 350,000 sq. ft of exhibit space, and another 800,000-plus in other amenities. Is our new convention center only going to be half that size?

This is what I've seen.

Images of construction

http://www.rccproject.com/imagedatabase/pr...rojectNumber=43

Live camera images

http://earthcam.com/clients/raleigh/index.php

150,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space

30,000 sq. ft. of meeting space

32,000 sq. ft. ballroom

Total of 212,000 sq. ft. of rentable space

Approximately 510,000 sq. ft. of total building including prefunction space

Marriott - Convention Center Hotel

400 guest rooms, including 15 suites

9,000 sq. ft. grand ballroom

5,950 sq. ft. of breakout meeting space

Three separate food and beverage outlets

400 sq. ft. of retail space, pool and fitness space.

Charlotte Convention Center

280,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space

90,000 sq. ft. flexible meeting space (46 meeting rooms)

35,000 sq. ft. ballroom

850,000 sq. ft. building

A $43 million 35,000 sq. ft. banquet hall/ballroom will be built in the new NASCAR Hall of Fame

Westin Charlotte

700-room

[peaceloveunderstanding]

Charlotte's is expanding with NASCAR HOF too. I think it's getting another ballroom.

[dmccall]

Isn't Charlotte's booking only about 25% of their projected business?

[MR-2]

Raleigh's convention center is being built in parts. The potential expansion space allows it to double its size.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

Isn't Charlotte's booking only about 25% of their projected business?

Probably. It's in the no mans land of being too big for small conventions and not big enough for the big ones.

I'm not big on convention centers. They only pan out properly in the big touristy cities, and don't really do anything to the urban landscape aside from disrupting it. Raleigh should invest its dollars elsewhere.

[Subway Scoundrel]

Isn't Charlotte's booking only about 25% of their projected business?

I think it is 25% booked 3 or 4 years out. So it is only booking 25% when you talk to the John Lockers who put out the report

[ralncdude]

Raleigh Convention Center website has been updated.

check it out!

[urbanvb]

The News Observer has an article today on the convention center.

[Flash]

If anyone cares for a look, here is a wide overview of the site:

And the same 2 and a half years ago:

[urbanvb]

As usual, a fantastic job, Flash.

[romec]

Great before and after shots!

We might just get an entire decade of having cranes up on the Raleigh skyline, maybe more.

I wonder how many cranes we'll get up at one time.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

If anyone cares for a look, here is a wide overview of the site:

And the same 2 and a half years ago:

Flash, Don't ever question yourself! Please, please, please always give us photo's of downtown. It is very hard for some of us to get downtown. Much less have such great pics of it. Thank you! and keep up the great work!

[pack-man]

I miss that surface lot...

[ncwebguy]

If you miss it, you can go out Glenwood to Sir Walter Chevrolet and see its replacement!

I took some (sorry) pics last night from One/Two Hannover. They were doing some work at night and the skeleton looke cool lit up, but my camera doesn't expose long enough to catch low light images.

[carynative]

Here is a look at the RCC Project along Salisbury Street. For more than a year now, the street has been closed while the convention center has been under construction. In this view, the concrete along the new corridor has been poured and it looks as though temporary guardrails are being constructed. Has anyone heard a date for the reopening of this road? It is much needed, as anyone who travels south from downtown at 5 p.m. can tell you.

[RaleighRob]

I hope they do soon! Didn't they resurface Wilmington below MLK recently? It's such a good alternative for people heading south to alleviate the congestion on Saunders...but without access from Salisbury, it's not easy for anyone to get to.

[carynative]

Yes they did, and it's now a nice ride. They just did dawson and mcdowell too. Wish they'd do it to Wilmington/Blount. Blount is awful heading out in the evenings, especially with the lane blocked by the Palladium construction. I hope that when Salisbury is reopened, it will take some of the pressure off these other streets and more evenly distribute traffic.

[JTsaysToYou]

I go by palladium every day on the way back from school, and yeah, traffic can be pretty bad.

[ncwebguy]

I don't know when Salisbury will reopen. I doubt it will be done before preliminary work on the Marriott/Site 1 parking garage is finished. If they are installing guide rails, they could open it as a bridge like McDowell is now south of Pooles/Kings. McDowell won't be fully back to normal till the new CC opens in spring 08.

Dawson/McDowell was just a resurfacing, but Wilmington south of MLK was a resurfacing *and* a new bridge over the train tracks just south of MLK. Lanes were shifted back and forth as they rebuilt the bridge in halves, then they left one lane blocked for the repaving effort.

It is sad that South Wilmington is only used as an expressway to points south, but the mix of low income, industrial, and lack of I-40 access doesn't help.

[carynative]

That's true, there's great potential there given the new roadway and proximity to downtown. Maybe one day the industrial areas of that stretch will give way to medium density residential. That's my 2 cents. I would hope though that they go ahead and try to open Salisbury (at least partially). That'd be nice.

[pack-man]

considering that salisbury will be one long bridge in this section, i'm sure it is still about 2 years away.

[dmccall]

We should have a big street celebration when it opens. You know, have local dignitaries in a parade and such because the street would FINALLY BE OPEN!!!!

[RaleighLover]

Wasn't there a plan to build some sort of "sky walkway" or something over Salisbury as part of the CAM project or am I thinking about something else or another street?

[carynative]

Wasn't there a plan to build some sort of "sky walkway" or something over Salisbury as part of the CAM project or am I thinking about something else or another street?

I don't think so around the convention center area. The Green Square project has a proposed skywalk connecting it to the History museum. The CC has an underground tunnel that is planned to connect it to the Marriott.

Packman, i think its sooner than 2 years. THe RCC Project webcam shows it to be nearly completed, and yes it is a bridge. I've seen construction trucks on it on the cam from time to time.

[only]

The earliest the street will reopen is late 2007. It could turn into two years, but the street will likely reopen once major structural work on the surrounding projects is complete.