Paramount nears sellout

[urbanesq]

Best parking solution? Don't park! But seriously. There are plenty of spaces around downtown. Monthly surface lot spaces for rent. There are parking passes to be had in downtown garages. Perhaps the developer could strike a deal with the city for spaces in a nearby deck. It's not exactly an insult to anyone's humanity to have to walk a block or so to reach your car. Folks in other cities do it. On-site parking is overrated. There is plenty of parking around DT Raleigh to make it work.

ok, cool. you've solved the parking situation.

so when do we go get our financing for "UP Forum Redevelopments Inc.?" (or, more likely, LLC...)

[thewhister]

ok, cool. you've solved the parking situation.

so when do we go get our financing for "UP Forum Redevelopments Inc.?" (or, more likely, LLC...)

Wouldn't it be be great if downtown projects were exempt from parking requirements. I understand that it may have stemmed from the affordablity of the automobile back in the days. we talk about skylines and it is not pleasant to see a parking deck as part of the skyline. What great appeal to look at.

I started to take the TTA to Durham to go to work and it was shocking to me that it was a pleaseant experience. I work where the old South Square Mall (what an abomination the replacement is ) but when I hop on the DATA bus to head to the downtown station I see all the parking decks on the west side of downtown and it is depressing to look at.

Another proposition....what would our urban/suburban lanscape be like today if we did not have to worry about parking requirements?

[dmccall]

I know what you're getting out, but in reality I think downtowns would be vast collections of empty buildings with tumbleweed blowing over the homeless-lined streets. The car has to be worked with, not shut out. The Fayetteville St. Mall is a perfect example of this. Places like NYC which have great train access intra and inter even have sprawl galore - spreading into neighboring states. Most people end up moving from the city out to these suburbs where they can have a car and life is easier.

I like this trend of putting parking in the lower floors - above storefronts and below offices - like Progress did. I assume that exhaust fumes don't get up into those office floors? This design is a security problem, though, as a truck full of bombs could easily bring one of these buildings down.

[Transplant]

I would prefer parking below the buildings. The current style in raleigh of placing parking above ground seems to just be an attempt to jack up heights.

Better yet... (which would never happen) is if Raleigh digs up Nash and Moore Squares and build giant underground lots under them, then covers them with a park. I believe this is what Boston has done. The city could then rent slots out to surrounding buildings in exchange for the developers not having to build as many of their own. Again, I would never expect this to happen in my lifetime.

[Jones_]

I would prefer parking below the buildings. The current style in raleigh of placing parking above ground seems to just be an attempt to jack up heights.

Better yet... (which would never happen) is if Raleigh digs up Nash and Moore Squares and build giant underground lots under them, then covers them with a park. I believe this is what Boston has done. The city could then rent slots out to surrounding buildings in exchange for the developers not having to build as many of their own. Again, I would never expect this to happen in my lifetime.

The State government complex already has a grassy expanse on top of a double decker underground parking deck. It was supposed to be a really big fountain (we were tryingto copy Albany's design) but hedging on cost got that part taken out.

I agree that there are too many parking decks and that they are ugly no matter how much attention the architects give them...I also understand that in this day and age the car must be allowed downtown for downtown to have a chance. I think of how beautiful cities like Georgetown and Alexandria VA are and recognize that they evolved in an age devoid of automobiles and all the accouterments they require. I can also see a day when automobiles are obsolete for various reasons such as energy prices (Gas, Hydrogen or otherwise) and the simple need to cram actual people into places.....people can't expand outward forever...assuming humans keep their population expanding and avoid plagues, famines, and devestating wars, governments will one day not have to entice people to live downtown but will be saying, 'if you want to live this far in, the car stays behind'. Mass transit and the convenience of density will prevail...for better or for worse.

[thewhister]

The State government complex already has a grassy expanse on top of a double decker underground parking deck. It was supposed to be a really big fountain (we were tryingto copy Albany's design) but hedging on cost got that part taken out.

I agree that there are too many parking decks and that they are ugly no matter how much attention the architects give them...I also understand that in this day and age the car must be allowed downtown for downtown to have a chance. I think of how beautiful cities like Georgetown and Alexandria VA are and recognize that they evolved in an age devoid of automobiles and all they accouterments they require. I can also see a day when automobiles are obsolete for various reasons such as energy prices (Gas, Hydrogen or otherwise) and the simple need to cram actual people into places.....people can't expand outward forever...assuming humans keep their population expanding and avoid plagues, famines, and devestating wars, governments will one day not have to entice people to live downtown but will be saying, 'if you want to live this far in, the car stays behind'. Mass transit and the convenience of density will prevail...for better or for worse.

Agreed that the car will be around. The BIG question is really how to accomodate them. The norm is to build to regualtion requirements w/o a blink of an eye. It would be interesting if downtown projects did not require parking, even so there should be concessions for it. If we continue to think about accomodating the car as primary method of travel, our transit system will not have a chance.

[orulz]

If we continue to think about accomodating the car as primary method of travel, our transit system will not have a chance.

We don't have to stop accomodating cars as the primary mode of travel to have a successful pedestrian environment and transit system. Even in many cities with adequate or exemplary transit systems, the majority of all travel is still done with private automobiles. It really is convenient. Gas prices may rise, and congestion may get worse, but the convenience of driving is never going to change.

We do, however, have to stop accommodating cars as the ONLY acceptable mode of travel in our cities. 99.99% of economically and physically able people in Raleigh would never even think of doing something besides driving to actually get somewhere. Many people walk or bike for excercise, but when it comes to actually getting somewhere for a reason, the thought of doing something besides driving isn't even on the radar screen - and our transportation infrastructure reflects that. You would probably be surprised how many people haven't gone anywhere at all without driving or being driven over the past 20 years.

[bikwillie]

The point I was trying to make in my original post re: parking was that there was plenty of parking to rent downtown. If you really wanted to build condos downtown w/ the price point we are talking about, you couldn't do it and build parking (even with a pre fab steel one like at Oberlin Court). You'd have to maximize the lot with units and leave renting a parking place up to the resident. Some may end up not needing a car. If you buy a place for $110,000 or so, you can't expect to have two reserved parking places.

[orulz]

On the topic of parking,

Are there actual parking requirements in Raleigh's CBD zoning district? With all the parking decks and on-street spaces, I hope not...

[Jones_]

On the topic of parking,

Are there actual parking requirements in Raleigh's CBD zoning district? With all the parking decks and on-street spaces, I hope not...

I was always under the impression there were none. It took me as a surprise how quickly parking became a standard amenity in all the new stuff going up downtown.

[ncwebguy]

I think the Paramount would fall just outside the new Downtown Overlay District. The DOD is roughly bordered by glenwood/West street, South, East, and Peace streets, with jaggies all over the place.

I'm not sure if it actually got approved or not, but I think it did. It allows for no parking to be needed for new construction or rennovations less than 20,000 sq ft, staff review (vs. city council) for smaller projects, and united regulations to help streamline the building process.