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Blount Street Commons

capitalapts

By capitalapts
in The NC Triangle

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Jones_ City

Jones_

Posted
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I will provide ab update soon...I happen to play soccer with a guy who is on the committee that selected the developer for this project.

The word is that the project is moving along but is purposely being kept quiet for now because of some serious snags. I assume the requirements that the developer also find a way to replace the lost office space AND parking space plus the high asking price for the land is making a profitable bottom line difficult to achieve. No timelines are available yet.

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RaleighLover Whistle-Stop

RaleighLover

Posted
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Today's N&O.

Blount St. area may transform

Developer would build apartments, condos, houses and shops, and rehab historic homes

http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/401722.html

:D

YES!

(I just really hope the condos aren't built in a way so they don't fit in and that they don't destroy any of the nice, historic homes to build them and the new houses).

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Nindec Unincorporated Area

Nindec

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What history occured in the Blount St. homes? or Oakwood?

Don't get me wrong, I love those houses. I think the term 'historic' gets over used, and unless someone can tell me that something special about these houses they should be classified as 'classic' or something else.

I don't think historic should just refer to nationally known figures or events. In fact, for me, buildings that are locally or personally historic mean just as much as those of national aclaim. Just because George Washington didn't live there doesn't mean some local official didn't. Hey, maybe it was just someone's grandmother who lived there. Or hey, maybe she just walked by them everyday going to work. Assuming Raleigh doesn't become a city entirely made up of transplants, these histories will probably be much more meaningful to a lot of people than some nationally recognizable yet distant history.

Having buildings which are actually woven in with the local story of a place, in my opinion, is the best kind of historic.

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RaleighLover Whistle-Stop

RaleighLover

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I don't think historic should just refer to nationally known figures or events. In fact, for me, buildings that are locally or personally historic mean just as much as those of national aclaim. Just because George Washington didn't live there doesn't mean some local official didn't. Hey, maybe it was just someone's grandmother who lived there. Or hey, maybe she just walked by them everyday going to work. Assuming Raleigh doesn't become a city entirely made up of transplants, these histories will probably be much more meaningful to a lot of people than some nationally recognizable yet distant history.

Having buildings which are actually woven in with the local story of a place, in my opinion, is the best kind of historic.

Exactly. Well said.

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Transplant Hamlet

Transplant

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Every place has a story. Do we stand up to the destruction of a ghetto? No. But it has a story, probably more than the nicer parts of a town.

That said, it is important for a community to preserve its past. HOWEVER, those who've tried to stop the destruction of the warehouse area by calling it 'historic' are making a mistake, IMO.

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Jones_ City

Jones_

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Every place has a story. Do we stand up to the destruction of a ghetto? No. But it has a story, probably more than the nicer parts of a town.

That said, it is important for a community to preserve its past. HOWEVER, those who've tried to stop the destruction of the warehouse area by calling it 'historic' are making a mistake, IMO.

Are there people fighting the demolition of the Dillion warehouses? Would be curious...I have seen some negative views posted on the Boylan Heights website. Of the ones actually owned by Dillion only one imo, qualifies as historic, the one with 5-Star in it. The others are modern and themselves demolished some cool Shokoe Bottom (Richmond) type stuff.

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ncwebguy Burg

ncwebguy

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In the six blocks just sold to LNR, I can think of at least four "historic" items:

- the Jane McKimmon residence mentioned in the story

- Murphey School was the first de-segregated in the city by the Cambell family (former state Auditor Ralph, and the former mayor of Atlanta)

- Henry Clay wrote a speech under a tree just east of Blount, there is a plaque on the ground denoting the Henry Clay Oak.

- Blount street was "Millionaire's row" the Hayes-Barton of its time befor the state went

Also, the state assembled that land to put a throurofare, so who knows what other history was erased by that.

The Dillon warehouses look neat, but can be replaced if a better use for that space can be found. They replaced something else, so why should they not yield to progress as well? I have a feeling this "protest" is coming from Bloomsbury, which want to preserve their downtown views without buying air rights.

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bikwillie Unincorporated Area

bikwillie

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I attended the Gov Ops subcommittee meeting at the Legislature this afternoon as State Property Office was presenting about the sale.

It sailed easily through the committee with very favorable comments from Deborah Ross. I think that means the sale to LNR is pretty much final.

I wasn't able to get a handout bc they were out, but I am trying to get my hands on one to post it. It had a full color layout of LNR's plan for the whole area, plus maps identifying all of the new construction and existing homes that will be renovated.

All along Blount the existing homes will be renovated, and the vacant lots will have single family "gentry homes" designed to match. One of the really cool features I hadn't seen from any of the other renderings was the creation of "carriage paths" or something like that, parallel to Blount both east and west (I guess they were like glorified allys) and lined with small cottages they called "carriage homes."

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bikwillie Unincorporated Area

bikwillie

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In the six blocks just sold to LNR, I can think of at least four "historic" items:

- the Jane McKimmon residence mentioned in the story

- Murphey School was the first de-segregated in the city by the Cambell family (former state Auditor Ralph, and the former mayor of Atlanta)

- Henry Clay wrote a speech under a tree just east of Blount, there is a plaque on the ground denoting the Henry Clay Oak.

- Blount street was "Millionaire's row" the Hayes-Barton of its time befor the state went

The Henry Clay oak is incredibly historic. He wrote the "Raleigh letter" under it while staying at that home and outlined his opposition to the annexation of Texas. It cost him the presidency.

Also, I believe one of the homes was owned by Leonidas Polk, civil war general.

Four of the homes are on the National Historic Register. One of the homes has a carriage house that is on the NHR as well.

Once the renovations are done, several more will be on the NHR

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Jones_ City

Jones_

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The Henry Clay oak is incredibly historic. He wrote the "Raleigh letter" under it while staying at that home and outlined his opposition to the annexation of Texas. It cost him the presidency.

Also, I believe one of the homes was owned by Leonidas Polk, civil war general.

Four of the homes are on the National Historic Register. One of the homes has a carriage house that is on the NHR as well.

Once the renovations are done, several more will be on the NHR

The Polk House Originally blocked the northern end of Blount Street. It was named after the father of Leonidas Polk. Leonidas was born in 1806 but later moved to Tennessee. The female Baptist Seminary's first home was the Polk House and moved it east a few feet so Blount Street could be extended after the Civil War. The Henry Clay Oak was situated in what was the side yard of this house in the early 1840's at the time just outside the city limits. Later the Polk house was moved up near Pilot Mill and was used as a boarding house. It burned in the 1970's.

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BoylanHghts Unincorporated Area

BoylanHghts

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It's good to see that the development company is making a commitment to the area by opening a permanent office here. Hopefully that will mean they will take the Blount Street project seriously since it will be their first big "calling card" for work in the area. The relative success of the project could really make or break their ability to acquire future work here.

I

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thewhister Whistle-Stop

thewhister

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It's good to see that the development company is making a commitment to the area by opening a permanent office here. Hopefully that will mean they will take the Blount Street project seriously since it will be their first big "calling card" for work in the area. The relative success of the project could really make or break their ability to acquire future work here.

I

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Jones_ City

Jones_

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jones, isn't the yellow and magenta (red?) house the Leonidas Polk house? that is what we said ont he trolley, but you know how reliable that info is hahah...

Well there are two Leonidas Polks associated with Raleigh.....you are correct that Leonidas Lafayette Polk lived in the yellow and reddish house. He was the agricultural guy (1837-1892). Interestingly enough Historic Krispy Kreme was about to demolish his house in the '50's but a neighbor bought it for $1 and it sat attached to a house on Blount Street for several decades before the State bought it and moved it further south on Blount. Regular old Leonidas Polk was known as the Fighting Bishop and died on Pine Mountain Georgia during the civil war (1806-1864). The first Leonidas moved to Raleigh later in life where the Bishop was born here but moved away...the Bishops hosue is the one that burned and was the original home of what later was Meredith college. On a national level the Bishop is probably better known, but Lafayette was more influential in North Carolina as the States first agricultural commissioner.

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