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Downtown Raleigh's Future


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For crying out loud. Does anyone proof these things? I've only read the executive summary and there are three places where bullets are repeated identically under the same heading and numerous places where a point is made twice with nearly the same language. 

Having said that, I am happy it states many of the things this forum takes as obvious points...the public forum needs things laid out in official formats somethings for them to be something that can be dealt with. The report appropriately bashes some key areas including: Peace Street, Dawson/McDowell, streets that dead end abruptly, Western/Saunders interchange, and State Government are important places that certainly need 'fixing'. 

The buildings facing Nash Square (Berkley, and the Raleigh Times #2 location becoming a restaurant in particular) are part of the warehouse historic district overlay I think and are listed as contributing structures (if I am reading the Union Station site plan correctly). As such they are part of the "character" of the warehouse district that they state quite plainly in the executive summary needs preserved. Nothing like a huge contradiction alongside the repeat bullet points...

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I agree with the general assessment that the consultants have stated mostly what we here consider to be obvious, but I view that as a good thing: it means they are on the right track. I wish they would go ahead and post the full draft report rather than just a Powerpoint deck so we could dig into the gory details.

 

Some items buried in the maps but not mentioned explicitly in the text are suggestions to extend Johnson street and Tucker Street from West to Harrington, and to grade-separate Jones Street at the railroad tracks (rather than closing it as per the most recent SEHSR plans.) I'm not sure whether these are official recommendation or not. Seems to me that if the "Glenwood Green" district is to take off, then this is a must. Also shown is a suggestion to straighten Salisbury Street between South and MLK.

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Crowder may have been a bit of a NIMBY, but there are two sides to the coin. He was also the only councilmember who wasn't firmly under the influence of developmental firms who wished to railroad their agenda through the city government. He looked out for his constituents, he supported good architecture and rejected bad architecture when it was proposed, and he also supported urban projects like the convention center and the Fayetteville Street Mall. He was the lone dissenter against the convention center Marriott, as well as the ill-fated Soleil Center (joined by Stephenson)--both of which were no-votes I fully agreed with him on.

 

Crowder played a role in downtown Raleigh's revitalization, and ultimately I think the good outweighed the bad from him. His vision may not have been as radical or as keen on dense infill as some of us would've liked, but that's politics. It pains me to hear about his illness. My condolences to him and his family.

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Crowder may have been a bit of a NIMBY, but there are two sides to the coin. He was also the only councilmember who wasn't firmly under the influence of developmental firms who wished to railroad their agenda through the city government. He looked out for his constituents, he supported good architecture and rejected bad architecture when it was proposed, and he also supported urban projects like the convention center and the Fayetteville Street Mall. He was the lone dissenter against the convention center Marriott, as well as the ill-fated Soleil Center (joined by Stephenson)--both of which were no-votes I fully agreed with him on.

 

Crowder played a role in downtown Raleigh's revitalization, and ultimately I think the good outweighed the bad from him. His vision may not have been as radical or as keen on dense infill as some of us would've liked, but that's politics. It pains me to hear about his illness. My condolences to him and his family.

Fully agreed on these points. Crowder was a consistent advocate for good design and I recall always thinking "Hey, this guy knows his stuff" whenever I watched recorded council meetings. He also made it a point to be very engaged with his constituents. While I lived in his district, I actually met with him face-to-face on one occasion to talk about transit, and he went out of his way to do so. I am also quite saddened to hear of his illness.

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I think that we have a new money shot in the making. I noticed the Citrix building and garage lit up for the first time last night from the Boylan St bridge and the view of downtown was impressive. Once Union Station is built out, and a few more towers are in place, the vista of downtown from the bridge will be spectacular.

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I think that we have a new money shot in the making. I noticed the Citrix building and garage lit up for the first time last night from the Boylan St bridge and the view of downtown was impressive. Once Union Station is built out, and a few more towers are in place, the vista of downtown from the bridge will be spectacular.

I was thinking new Union Station would look good from the bridge too in all its lit up glassy-ness

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A piece on Moore Square and City Market, which turns 100 this year. Its a no-brainer that this should be none other than... a market in my opinion-see Granville Island Market http://granvilleisland.com(a large attraction in Vancouver) which was formerly nothing but a piece of land under a bridge. Similar layout with art studios and cobblestone. I don't understand what the hell they are thinking by chopping this space up. Once again, no vision. 

 

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/09/28/4190881_with-growth-around-raleighs-moore.html?sp=/99/102/110/&rh=1

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I always imagine it could be like Eastern Market in DC. Or a health food store like the Food Emporium inside the Queensboro Bridge in NYC which is the same era (1908) as our City Market. 

Also as an aside the previous City Market was in what was essentially City Hall between Market (duh!) and Exchange Plazas. When it was built it too was a vast improvement over the previous Market which was a shed in the middle of Hargett St. Automobile access, overall size of the City vacating the building in general, precipitated the move over to Moore Square. 

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Why hasn't A Southern Season taken interest (or maybe they have)? No one can argue its not local and what a great selling point for them especially to tourists. It doesn't have to be a flagship store but a boutique version of a boutique. I know they were looking at a Raleigh locale. 

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I also used to question the underutilization of the City Market complex, but it's clear to me now why the owners and city have been so slow to promote and revitalize that gem of downtown. I think that it has to do with perceptions of the area around city market.

 

The owners more than likely wanted the city to clear the homeless and transients out of Moore square and improve the image of that area before they agreed to invest more money into the redevelopment of City Market.

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I found a couple of good video clips recently of downtown Raleigh captured by drones:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2e6xRSk46k

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBUXzm2tBT8

 

The drone operator had better be mindful of http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/09/30/4195177/new-laws-on-drones-coal-ash-and.html effective tomorrow.

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Article in the News&Observer today: Raleigh considers new downtown height limits, peaking at 40 floors

 

Sounds to me like they would approve something over 40 (or 500 feet) with a special hearing, but anything 40 floors/500 feet and less, they would approve in certain areas downtown without special approval.

 

For perspective, PNC is 33 floors and 530ish feet tall.

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Article in the News&Observer today: Raleigh considers new downtown height limits, peaking at 40 floors

 

Sounds to me like they would approve something over 40 (or 500 feet) with a special hearing, but anything 40 floors/500 feet and less, they would approve in certain areas downtown without special approval.

 

For perspective, PNC is 33 floors and 530ish feet tall.

 

 

This is a good thing. It seems to provide some incentive to developers who want to build taller (up to 40 stories) without having to seek special approval, but also leaves the door open for a developer who may want to exceed 40 by getting special approval.

 

The fact that the city is considering this now leads me to believe that there is currently a developers interested in going up to 40 stories or beyond.

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