Downtown Raleigh’s skyline will change dramatically in the next several years with the addition of new towers, particularly in the southern end. Are you excited?
UPDATE 10/08/2008:
First of the Edison updates:
UPDATE 07/20/2007:
He is an updated version of the future Raleigh Skyline rendering. It reflects a more current version of what we might see in 2008 and beyond.
Closer:
The current version of Raleigh (2006):
The future rendering of Raleigh:
A less cartoony look at the rendering:
Discuss!
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Created
on Sunday, October 29th, 2006 in the category Illustrations.
April 25th, 2008 at 9:26 am
The Edison Project
April 25th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Speaking of “The Edison” what is the latest on this project (renderings)? Someone tell me they will build tall around that grey monster parking garage (what a waste of land, that area could have been a courtyard or entertainment area surrounded by tall buildings).
Also, 222 Glenwood parking deck, what an eysore (that grey wall facing 42nd Street Oyster Bar) are they going to paint that or put up a mural?
April 25th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
The parking deck is now painted two different colors (maybe three?).
April 25th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
TC,
The Edison is alive and well, except we are not going to see any renderings for a while. I anticipate something before the end of this year. There are no real delays in the work done behind the scenes, but I am sure the developer won’t commit to a specific design until the parking deck is finished. In addition, and given the current problems with the lenders, the developer isn’t very likely to run into the same problems that other, smaller developers are running. The only delays will come from the parking deck, which is moving fast, anyway.
Regarding the 222 Glenwood parking deck, I agree with you… That is definitely an eyesore
The only good part is that it faces the railroad tracks and not the street. The 12-story version had addressed that issue better, but the usual suspects in the city council were complaining about the “out of scale” size of this project. Anyway, too late for this. Whenever we hear TCR in the future, we’ll know that 222 Glenwood and Hue is all they can give us 
Related to the skyline, today they were putting a “platform” in the middle of the crown basis. It looks kind of nice, but it is not going to be part of the crown, I suspect. Looks like this weekend we’ll see the crown finished, although I am not sure the antenna will be installed yet. I am certain it will be the last thing to deliver before the crane is gone.
April 26th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Ernest, thanks.
First,what is TCR?
Second: Did not know 222 was originally 12 stories (another city council blunder – how can 12 stories be out of place when you have that ugly senior home down the road and the ugly two story building across the street from 518). 12 stories should not be the issue, the design should be the issue, 222 design is awful and does not fit in with Glenwood Avenue (no character to this 222 completed building – and to use stucco – what the *^^*&%%- are they thinking – how does stucco blend in with the older structures on Glenwood?).
Bottom line: City Council needs to pull their you-know-what’s out of their you-know-what’s – height should NEVER be an issue, design should ALWAYS be an issue (and 222 design is wrong for Glenwood – I am not impressed with this building).
If 12 stories was an issue, are they going to make another blunder with the complex going up across the street from the Irish pub (it does not matter if it’s not directly on Glenwood – there are tall buildings in LoDo, 6th Street and Buckhead).
We need a younger/dynamic city council and City Manager – with FRESH new visions! We are at the turning point.
April 26th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Thnx anonymous
April 26th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
TC,
TCR stands for Trammel Crow Residential, the main developer behind 222 Glenwood and the Hue.
The 12-story design wasn’t rejected because of the height, or at least I cannot confirm this. There was some reaction about it, though. The current design may feel more urban, but the 12-story had addressed the parking deck “issue” much better, IMHO. I will send you the renderings I have, first chance I get, so you can decide for yourself. There are some people who even think that 7 stories is too tall for that location, but these people are the usual suspects.
April 30th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Ernest, just curious about msa.com’s status, I noticed the updated webpage a while back (btw I love the new format compared to the old one) but haven’t seen any updates since. I know must be busy and all, just wondering
April 30th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Thanks for your interest, Anonymous. I am slowly working on the New Projects, in a complete remake… A lot of material to work on. Also, I am silently working on getting the latest status on some projects, too. The truth is, time is luxury for me right now, but I am slowly getting there
May 7th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Something that would really enhance the Raliegh skyline would be to have some of the buildings outfitted with neon lights. This may sound silly but do a search on pictures of Dallas, TX at night and look at their skyline.
Think about it. Visitors sending out pictures of a the lighted Raleigh skyline to all their friends, family and future visitiors, noting raleigh as a place to come see and visit. Sure would be a boost to the local economy.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Rodney you are right on the money. I was in Philly and they have that on a few of their buildings as well and I was telling my friends that the color at night along with the traditional white lights of the buildings make any skyline more attractive and like you said could boost the local economy or if nothing more than just getting people to visit the downtown area after sundown. i’m sure once City Center is up and running and those who will be living in the RBC building when it’s done, Raleigh will develope a positive night life and will become somewhat of a destination.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I assume the owner of the building would be responsible for the lights. If they have not incorporated them at this point, I assume they will not do it in the future (probably some OLD STUFFY owner – who is cheap and does not care about anything except the bottome line (dollars)). Need young blood in Downtown Raleigh or people with vision.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Raleigh needs a signature building. That is how people will remember Raleigh, NC.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
But we do have a signature building: The new Marriott Hotel… It carries the signature of stupidity and lack of vision, plus the bonus of being visible from the money shot :LOL:
May 7th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
If other city’s can add lights to building to enhance the apperance of downtown, I don’t see why Raleigh can’t do the same. You want to make downtown Raleigh a destination…. Think about it, you live somewhere outside of Raleigh and a relative comes to town. You would like to show them around and you think Chapel Hill, Durham, Cary, no wait Raleigh has a really nice skyline with illuminated building, fine dining, theatre and much more.
Making Raleigh a more attractive destination may also attract business such as House of Blues or a HardRock Cafe, both which generate a lot traffic. These are the kind of things that “put places on the map”.
As for the old business owner…. well he’ll probably change his tune when business revenue starts to increase.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Business revenue will increase when a very good product is available (there are very few good products in downtown Raleigh (I have been here for YEARS and I am a downtown advocate – but development moves much too slow in downtown Raleigh). Example: When anyone talks of entertainment in downtown, there is NOTHING beyond the name Raleigh Memorial. Bring in a aquarium, another theater, a movie theater (can you belive downtown does not have a “CLASS A” movie theater),
better yet, my small hometown of 25,000 has a beautiful downtown library (stand alone building, not this stupid Raleigh city council/developers idea of a library in an office building)!!!!!!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Ernest: You are so correect about that Marriott (developer and people associated with this pathetic design should “NEVER” get a project in this city again (can’t wait to seek out city council and associated players during Raleigh Wide Open when the convention center opens (ask them, are they proud of this box in front of our – sick of this slogan – “front porch”
***By the way, what is the status of the city breaking ground on “City Plaza”? – I will bet ANYONE – this project will not look like the renderings and will be an ugly simple looking paved street when it is all said and done***
*******NY has “Cannon of Heroes”, we will end up with a “Laughable space from city council of ZEROS”*******
May 7th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
TC, the City Plaza project is one that moves at the speed of a snail. There are real obstacles, but progress has been made. The city officials wanted to have it ready by the time the 3rd Raleigh Wide Open, but the obstacles would not let this happen. In all honesty, I can understand the difficulties, so I am not going to blame anyone this time. Just because someone brought up a great idea, doesn’t mean it is doable within a short time frame. This project is a “go”, just not fast moving
As Rodney suggested, we love to see downtown as a destination, but if we want to be realistic we need to recognize that great destinations do not really exist in abundance in our downtown area. To invite people through a well lit skyline is noble and smart, but disappointment would follow. Not that DT Raleigh is not a great place – it is – but the destinations that bring people in great numbers are not there. From putting a library, to attracting a nice movie theater, the process will be long and painful, at least until the population of downtown exceeds 10,000 people. We definitely need a well lit skyline, but we are not ready to deliver on people’s expectations. Time will tell, though…
May 8th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I agree with Ernest, a nice skyline is great but DT needs something other than that to bring in people.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:38 am
And I forgot to add that a way that Raleigh could bring in more people, not nessicarily residents, is to have another professional sports team. The Hurricanes are great and it was awesome when they won the Stanley Cup, but Raleigh might need more. Just my opinion…