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Powerhouse Plaza


urbanesq

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The Quorum office/residential, I think is still the only of its type downtown,

I seem to remember a little office/residential project on one of those minor streets downtown... don't exactly remember its name or the details about it. Seem to remember that it was "___ Plaza" or something. ABC plaza? NBC Plaza? RCC Plaza? I forget. Certainly wasn't a major project, but it was at least a couple stories tall.

:ph34r:

:scared:

:silly:

Just kiddin' ya Jones :thumbsup:

At any rate, the hotel market is ridiculously underserved downtown. Now, there's only three: the Sheraton, the Clarion, and the Days Inn on Lane, without going all the way out Hillsborough to the Velvet Cloak or the Brownstone. There are so few hotel rooms downtown now, that even with the RCC Mariott well underway, I imagine there's still plenty of room in the market for all of the planned projects: Reynolds, Powerhouse Plaza, Lafayette, and Winston.

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^ ah...oops...

We are getting some good hotel proposals like you said....I am hoping with the rise in hotel rooms, some more corporate types will give downtown a look and it'll all build on itself kind of like the restaurant and commercial offerings go up with residential population increase, and then more people move downtown because there are finally some stores, on and on...

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  • 2 months later...

I was over that way today and snapped a photo of the site. As much as I think that little cluster of buildings is quaint, and part of me hates to see them go, I do think this is a much needed project, near the transit line, and so it's hard to argue against it. Unlike the other hotel projects in the N&O article, I also heard that this project is moving forward (has financing).

2247038180098570895S600x600Q85.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

I do like this design, but it kinda reminds me of Two Progress Plaza. Anyone else think so? Design aside, Hyatt Place hotels are pretty nice. I stayed in one in Charlotte this past weekend. They have plasma screens in all the rooms, a cozy little corner with a nice couch, and granite counters in the kitchenette and bathrooms. I think it will make a great addition to Glenwood South.

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So is this project a go, or are they in the much dreaded "seeking financing" phase that has so thoroughly baffled Ted Reynolds? "Late summer" means as late as September 22, right? If they are still seeking both city approval and financing, that date would appear to be a major stretch...

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I was told they have financing and are prepared to move forward. Remember, this project does not have a condo component (much of the market trouble these days), and the architect (Cline Design) will be preleasing office space in the building... and of course we all know the demand for hotels is high. I believe this project is up for review by the Planning Commission today.

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Still love the little brick building on the site, but the proposed building is very nice indeed. Jones Street, along with Green Square, and Quorum will be looking pretty good.....I wonder if Jones will be one of the proposed "green" streets with LED's and 25 mph speeds and bike lanes?

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I haven't heard of this. Why do 25mph speeds = "green"?

I was reading about the Interim Downtown Framework in the Raleigh Downtowner. I assumed 25mph when they said "reduced speed limit". I believe the connection is that pedestrian and bicycle friendly = green, and lower speeds = more pedestrian friendly. Transitive logic then means lower speeds = green I suppose.

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I was sorta under the impression that except for Dawson and McDowell (35), all streets in downtown core were already 25.

But yeah, since Jones is the only street between Peace and Hillsborough/Edenton to go uninteruppted from Saint Mary's to Oakwood, it has potential as a major corridor. (Getting rid of the one-way part would help though.)

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Perhaps I can help - this comes straight from the IDF:

Green streets are corridors through Downtown that connect Downtown to larger regional open spaces and greenway trails. A major component of regional greenways and trails are that they provide for shared bicycle and pedestrian use. For the Green Streets, the most important design criteria are the provision of adequate facilities for bicycle and pedestrian use and the integration of sustainable streetscape technologies. Other significant components of green streets should include:

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Powerhouse Plaza goes to the city council for approval tomorrow, FYI.

SP-12-08 - Powerhouse Plaza

This request is to approve a 225,687 square foot mixed use building on a 1.27 acre site zoned Industrial-2 District and Downtown Overlay District. The proposed building would be eleven stories tall. The ground floor would be comprised of a hotel lobby and indoor pool, 6,861 square feet of retail/restaurant/bar uses and an office lobby. Floors 2-6 would be house 110,524 square feet of office uses and floors 7-11 would contain 134 hotel rooms and a 5,440 square foot rooftop bar. The northern portion of the site would contain a six-level parking deck housing 397 spaces. The existing network/fiber optic switching station located on the northern portion of the site along North Harrington Street would remain and be encapsulated within the ground floor of the proposed parking deck.

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Good call. Glancing through it I noticed that West, Jones, and Harrington will be getting wider sidewalks. West really needs that as more people will be walking through Powerhouse Square, past the plaza and by West at North. Making the train tracks over west more pedestrian friendly may be tricky though.

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Jones Street is becoming as formidable as Hargett, Fayetteville or Glenwood as a destination with all that is planned. I would like to see it turned into two-way soon. This would help hotel customers get around and provide a path from state gov't to glenwood south (right now Jones is one-way out). Its a nice looking building. How cool would moving greyhound into the multimodel center and freeing up their land for another hotel be? I like the mid-rise character developing in the area(West, Quorum, 222), complimented by some old existing buildings (518, Creamery, old National Art Interiors).

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CHGuy, technically that is the Planning Commission official recommendation. The council's action would be recorded in the meeting minutes... WRAL covered it, though.

Jones Street is becoming as formidable as Hargett, Fayetteville or Glenwood as a destination with all that is planned. I would like to see it turned into two-way soon. This would help hotel customers get around and provide a path from state gov't to glenwood south (right now Jones is one-way out). Its a nice looking building. How cool would moving greyhound into the multimodel center and freeing up their land for another hotel be? I like the mid-rise character developing in the area(West, Quorum, 222), complimented by some old existing buildings (518, Creamery, old National Art Interiors).

I'm pretty sure the plan is to convert Jones & Lane to two-way operation within a few years. Lenoir & South will be done first as part of the F-St Phase Two project.

I like the design of the building, but I wish they planned to have retail wrapping around the parking deck, as recommended for most downtown street in the IDF. Maybe West isn't a primary retail street today, but cophead is right about more ped activity on West St with the projects moving that way. I'm certain the greyhoud station will be moved within 10 years, as that land is too valuable to remain as is given it's in a TOD district (govt center station). The MTC should be underway by then (<10 years), comingling SEHSR service to CLT & DC, bus, rail transit, greyhound and taxi services.

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