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And, I kinda miss the “labs” section of the site too. That was fun to see before all of these projects started actually going up.

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* Would you publish an RFP before the convention center officially opens and you have some success to speak of?
* Given the troubles and headaches lenders have caused for developers, what are the chances we’ll get some decent proposals? Maybe it is better to move slower.
* As work on the new urban guidelines continues, we may need to wait a little longer, in order to avoid any back-and-forth discussions between developers and city planners. Open space requirements will have to change permanently.
* Sites 2 and 3 are currently used for more than just parking. I assume they will be used during the construction of Site 4 and Charter Square. Until these two projects are well under way, should the city move forward with RFPs?
* Do we have an adequate system to deal with developers that don’t deliver as promised? So far, we seem to have difficulties, but we are learning.
* Regarding the perception of moving slow, we need to keep in mind that the City Council is a part-time entity, not a full-time one, like many other cities. Considering that, we are moving fast, in most cases, anyway.

Whether we’ll see tall structures going on Sites 2 and 3 it is early to guess. Without some minimum requirements by the city, it would be hard to assume that high-rises will end up there. I certainly hope we’ll see nothing less than 25 stories – I would love a couple of towers above 35 floors, or course – but I am afraid we’ll end up with buildings up to 15 floors. In terms of design, I would not mind a twin tower project, similar to Kio Torres (Puerta Del Europa) in Madrid, Spain. They are iconic, however plain the overall design may look. We can have something like a “Gateway to Raleigh” project, with two towers that “serve” like doors to Fayetteville Str. Two other towers that may offer inspiration are the National Bank of Dubai Building (Dubai) and the Burj Al Arab (Dubai). I am not suggesting we carbon-copy these two towers, but their design may provide some inspiration. It goes without saying, these sites MUST have a superb street-level experience

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This is why I keep saying Raleigh is slow to develop. We do not have to wait for one project to finish to start another. Get the process moving yesterday on site 2 and 3. Proposals should have been in conjunction with the convention center. The Convention Center team should not be surprised when conventions do not come back to Raleigh after their first experience (I will bet the farm, no entertainment or additional hotel rooms will equate to convention center authorities reducing square footage pricing to attract additional conventions – they will be lucky if they break even after reducing the rate because of the lack of amenities and hotel rooms – all resulting becasue of the lack of vision and the lack of urgency building out the area around the center – not to mention there is absolutely nothing to the west of the convention center for blocks – but ugly vacant lots – the downtown alliance should have started discussions a couple years ago about a signature development for entertainment and signature towers next to the convention center – convention goers will not wait 10 years for the Edison – they will have selected other cities long before the Edison is completed)

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There are some people who have already dismissed Morgan Stanley because they have confused the type of operations that company was interested to expand. Morgan Stanley is interested in building a regional operations group, and something of The Edison’s scale would be perfect for them. A reliable source mentioned to me that the interest in genuine, but nothing is 100%, mainly because the decision depends on many more people, not just John Mack. If it doesn’t happen, nobody will know about it, that’s how low-profile Morgan Stanley wants to keep on this. If it happens, on the other hand, it will be a major operation and will add a lot more image and pedestrian activity to our downtown. For the moment, it is wishful thinking, but not improbable…

From the top of my head, I can think of any other entity, but I do not dare saying it :LOL: First Citizens Bank. Based on the latest ratings, FCB does very well when compared to other banks. Maybe some day they will see the green light. They have until 2018, in the case of The Edison :LOL: Generally speaking, it could be a major anchor and several other smaller ones, but I think that in order to get those towers started, the condo pre-sales and the hotel operators will be the major factors. In other words, I anticipate some speculative office space, although not much, if the residential and hotel components do well.

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1. = Could be considered signage

Alright then, goodnight.

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NICE album, dude.

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dbearhug/Ari, you are correct on the Mystery angle. From New Hope Road between New Bern and 264 exit, on the road near the landfill but not atop it.

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Mystery angle is somewhere east-north-east of downtown. Maybe along 64 business?

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Am I really the first one to post? :LOL:

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