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It looks like the Fayetteville Street entrance to the 30 storey Wachovia Capitol Center.

I was also surprised to see Ri Ra in Raleigh. I thought that was a small, locally owned, place in Charlotte. I didn't realize it was a national chain! I always see a lot of people around the Charlotte location. I'm guessing it's a great place.

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Correct about the building; it is the 30-story Wachovia Plaza/Center, with Carolina Cafe & Bakery on the ground floor. Ri-Ra is actually a chain that started in Charlotte, with Raleigh following. It is not a big chain... only a few locations, to the best of my knowledge.

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Isn't it funny that the smaller chain bars and restaurants are in Charlotte and Raleigh? So far in this thread Ive seen Stool Pigeons, Mellow Mushroom, Ri Ra, Southend Brewery and Sullivans...all of which are here. They're places that have a real local feel but aren't. After visiting the new Red Star Tavern here I think it would be a great addition to Glenwood South.

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Thanks for the response guys!!! I am glad that my pictures are well received.

49er, I don't know anything about the Red Star Tavern, but I am sure it will become a success if they open one in Glenwood South. I agree with your comment on small chains. They seem to have much more personality than the bigger chains. I doubt that any "big names" will be brought in this area, which makes me feel good. Whatever plans exist are for either unique stores/restaurants/bars, or smaller chains. Places like Cheesecake Factory would never do the kind of business they do in Crabtree Valley Mall, so I am happy they chose that location instead of Glenwood South. On the other hand, if there was enough parking space, names like Cheesecake Factory and Maggiano's would definitely belong somewhere around Glenwood South, or even better: closer to Fayetteville Street Mall.

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TheLakeLander: Regardless what people may hear about Raleigh, the best way to experience it is by visiting. Now, Raleigh has nothing, or next to nothing, for visitors, as it is a place to live, work and play, so you have to let us know if you plan a trip, and some of us will be able to show you around. That way you can see for yourself, beyond the hype... or the misconception.

To answer your first question, take a look at this picture:

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You can clearly see downtown, dominating the TOP of the above image, with focus on NCSU campus, in the middle of the picture. Go about 1/2 inch from the very top, starting from the "square-looking" white building, stay parallel to downtown's core for about half way, and that's Glenwood South. The other half is the Warehouse District.

The answer to your second question is: NCSU (about a mile from Downtown Raleigh), Peace College, Shaw University and St. Augustine's College. Peace and Shaw are located downtown. Also, Shaw and St. Augustine's are traditionally black universities, in case you are interested in some demographics. Personally, I would love to see NCSU expanding towards downtown, but they have no reason doing so quite yet. They have an area called Centenial Park, which provides them with enough land to expand for the next 20 years. Here is an image of that area, located South-West of Downtown:

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Along with the campus, there is another adjacent project which will include condominiums (lofts) and townhomes. So, this will not be exactly an in-fill project, but it will certainly fill a huge gap in that area.

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  • 2 months later...

In terms of Flash's photography there is very little I can say that hasn't been said before (especially in the SSP forums). Flash, although a transplant (like me), has managed to capture the essence of DT Raleigh in the most artistic way. While his camera helps him achieve his goals, it is his own imagination that creates all the gems of photography we've seen here. If I go on, I will run into the risk of sounding like someone who kisses ass, so I will simply say this: Thank you Flash for sharing your OUTSTANDING photos with us.

That said, we need to emphasize that DT Raleigh has very few spots from which a photo can do justice, without exaggerating the skyline. The photo below is a classic angle from which one can see pretty much everything, except for Progress Energy's new headquarters. I know I will sound negative, but the new tower makes no difference, whatsoever, in the skyline, as seen from the South-West. When driving from the South-West of DT Raleigh, one can see the new tower, but our 30-story Wachovia Center is hidden behind One Progress Plaza. It has more to do with the landscape and less with the actual height, but there are better angles... if you fly :)

raleigh21.jpg

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Thanks everyone for your generous comments!

Speaking of flying, heres an image from last October right after take-off. Sorry for the grainy 70's-like slide film appearance, but I had to filter it a lot to bring out the subject.

Progress Plaza was in early stages of construction, and you can spot the cranes in the middle of the skyline. Raleigh-NC, you can see the Archdale building off the the left. It appears at least as tall as the Sheraton or Bank of America, I think, and taller than the Clarion Hotel, too. Thats why I've been wondering the official height.

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Flash, I remember that picture... You were on the way to Boston, if I am not mistaken, right? Archdale Building is a piece of work. It is a tower that you can either love, or hate. I used to work on the 11th floor of that building and I can tell you one thing: the views are really nice. The problem is that the building doesn't have enough windows on its wide sides; never figured out why. I am not sure how tall it is, but like you said, it should be at least as tall as Sheraton Hotel.

monsoon, thanks for your comments. We definitely need a Chapel Hill/Carrboro tour. I used to go there once every 4-5 weeks, but during the last 2 months my wife and I have been preparing to sell our house and get another one, so we have to be at home, or near it, because we have to take the cat with us during the viewing, which can happen on a very short notice; she loves people and she wants to play a lot, which is not good for those who wish to view the house. Anyway, one of these days we'll visit Chapel Hill/Carrboro and I will take a load of pics.

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Since I first touched a co-worker's digital camera, I got addicted to digital photography. After a few photo shooting sessions and several threads, I got my own camera and things got worse... even more threads. I tried to capture the essence of Downtown Raleigh and Hillsborough Street (although not completely), but my journey isn't over. Today, I will revisit Capitol Park and the adjacent Village at Pilot Mill, both sitting on the north end of Downtown Raleigh.

Let's take a look at the area we are going to visit. The buildings to the front of the picture are part of the Peace College campus, followed by Capitol Park and the nearly invisible (in the photo) Village at Pilot Mill:

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In the past, I presented Capitol Park, an effort to bring affordable housing to the families that need it the most. Hope IV is the program behind the total metamorphosis of the infamous Halifax Court, a public housing project that brought nightmares to the local law enforcement and fear upon the people who lived there. Today, Halifax Court has been replaced by a very nice community, free of fear and violence. Capitol Park is still not fully occupied and remains a project in process, but a very promising one, indeed.

Here is a drawing that shows the vision:

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Let's separate drawings from reality by seeing the street level:

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Urban dog:

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While Capitol Park remains a low-income family-oriented project, the adjacent Village at Pilot Mill is far from attracting low-income households. With prices between $250,000 and $370,000, these homes provide a more urban feel, or a less suburban feel I should say. The entire project will include 103 residential units (93 of them will be detached) and retail/restaurants, with office and residential units above ground floor. In the following drawing, you can see the most current status of the project. The areas labeled "Reserved for Future Development" is where the mixed-use portion of the project will go. Wherever you see cul-de-sacs is where the hill becomes kind of steep for development, plus the railroad tracks are there. These are inevitable boundaries and not your suburban type of dead-ends.

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Before I begin the street level tour of the existing part, I have to say up front that I am not really impressed with the exterior designs, or the amount of space offered for the money. It is a typical cookie-cutter development, although these homes are much cheaper than the nearby houses. Nevertheless, the Village at Pilot Mill will boost this area's economy and attract more future developments. There are good people pushing this project and I know that they are determined to make things work out for DT Raleigh's residential (and not only) developments. So, here we begin:

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To the best of my knowledge, this parking lot is here to stay:

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These buildings are office condos and a charter High-School:

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The North-West side of the project:

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I actually saw the interior of this house and I was impressed:

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Part of the land to be developed in the future:

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I also saw the house to the right-most of this photo:

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The inevitable cul-de-sac:

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One more look into the soon-to-be developed portion of this village:

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To conclude this presentation, I would like to say that neither project is THE solution to suburban growth and urban sprawl. However, both of them manage to blend mixed income families and revitalize a very significant area of DT Raleigh. When the retail comes to the Village at Pilot Mill, I expect to see pedestrian some activity and certainly more traffic. The plans for the "future development" are 3-6 months away from being submitted, so no additional information, or drawings can be presented at this point in time. Hopefully, we'll see something major. While it is fine to add a few stores, a cafe/restaurant and possibly a grocery store in that area, both Capitol Park and Pilot Mill Village need to have options that will draw more than just the nearby residents. Even if that means adding a Starbucks, or any big-name brand, the developers must give this area the boost it deserves, without charging their "customers" an arm and a leg.

Needless to say, this thread is not a "bait" for serious discussions and debates. I hope that y'all will enjoy the update on these two developments and I promise to revisit them once they are complete, or better, once they provide something worth sharing. Thank you for visiting.

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[Disclaimer: all photos have been taken by me]

monsoon: I took that picture from the 11th floor of the Archdale Building. I went there to visit my former co-workers and I had a chance to take this photo. I also tried to go to the top of the building, but the problem was that the last door would lock behind me and I wouldn't have been able to go back in. I might try again today, but this time I'll have to find someone to keep the door open for me until I am done. That way I'll be able to take more nice shots of DT Raleigh, and not only.

As far as retail is concerned, it is already planned for Pilot Mill Village. I do not anticipate any expensive/elegant stores, but from what I discussed with the person in charge of selling the homes in the Village at Pilot Mill, the developer is about 3-6 months away from submitting plans for the undeveloped lots (second phase), where the retail and condos will go. Still, I am not as excited about the architecture of these homes. For the money they charge, they should have come up with some more elegant designs, and much less cookie-cutter mentality. On the other hand, the tree-lined sidewalks, the connectivity to the rest of the city and the walkability [sort of] makes up for the "defficinencies" of the entire development.

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