I was able to visit Raleigh and I enjoyed the driving on 440…I think and seeing the Renaissance Hotel and the Cap Trust building. Hope to see more like that around the city…buildings above tree level.

Regarding the FCB high-rise, I am one of the fortunate people out there. In fact, I have a rendering in my website and I happen to have in my possession one of the images they submitted to the city, courtesy of an old friend who worked at DRA. If that mystery tower is part of their future plans for a return to downtown, I will be ecstatic.

As for the envisioned transit center, I also want to see developers stepping up with some good ideas for redevelopment. We need dense residential developments to make that area safe and vibrant.

Then again, considering the general attitudes of the masses here and the crappy “leadership” in the area, it will probably suck.

The transit center will be a huge opportunity for Raleigh. It will be somewhat of a hub connecting the north to the south. I really hope we can seize the opportunity and build something that represents our city well for a long time.

So many questions, Steve!!! Let me try to answer all, as best as I can:

1) One Glenwood – Delays are due to many factors. The developer started small, with a 15-25 stories and about 200 condos (based on what I heard and read). Right now, this is the only “official” part. But, the designs revealed a major shift, to a 39-story building, with 64 residential units and 200,000sf of office space. Obviously, the current market forced this change. Sandman is a low-profile person, as far as I know, as opposed to the big “noise-makers” you see all over the newspapers and magazines.

2) Winston Tower – Unknown status. My guess is that they may be interested in getting something near the new conention center first. Let’s keep in mind that they wanted to offer their bid for the convention hotel, but they were late. If we see any activity (leasing) returning to the proposed site, then we’ll know for sure that nothing will happen for years.

3) Charter Square and The Edison – Most likely in the next 1.5-2 years. Charter Square developers are more hard pressed, though, because there is a contract with the city and the clock is ticking.

4) Sites 2, 3, 4 and 301 Hillsborough – Only God knows when we’ll see RFPs for those parcels. My guess, not earlier than 2-3 years from now. A bit longer to see anything rising there; maybe 5 years from now.

5) We don’t hear of mystery towers often. Not often, at all. Some people may argue about some of the proposals that have been stalled, or cancelled, but only one building qualifies as “pie in the sky”: The 20-story residential high-rise for the NE corner of Martin and Wilmington Streets. Even the 29-story First Citizens Banks HQ was for real – it failed because Two Hannover Square and Wachovia Capital Center were built at the same time, and we all know for how many years there was a ton of empty office space in downtown.

However, I do see massive potential along Salisbury and Wilmington Streets, as well as the Hillsborough Street corridor. It may take the completion of The Edison and One Glenwood before the potential becomes clear to all, but we’ll get there during our lifetime Nash Square is definitely a huge opportunity, but not for long, if developers bring us small projects, like The Hue. What a waste of space!!! Nothing against the project, just the location. The Hue would probably fit better in Glenwood South, or other Warehouse District locations.

In your opinion, without asking for any details you might have, how likely is it that the mystery building you’ve previously mentioned is going to go up? Perhaps a better question is, how likely is it that the block between Wachovia and RBC is going to see anything of significance? I feel like that and the Hillsborough corridor between Glenwood and the Capitol are the two most likely areas to get any real development (since the Reynolds Tower is on a property the city clearly wants for a high rise and the Winston and One Glenwood developments are both on that corridor as well). Also, what is the likelihood that the area around Nash Square is redeveloped? I feel like that area, especially the south end, is a little underused. There’s no reason why the shops there would have to move (they could go into the bottom of a bigger development, like they’re doing with Clyde Coopers and Edison).

As for my website, what a disgrace it has become I have done so many updates off-line, but nothing gets delivered. I am still working on some updated content, but we’ll see how long it will take this time. The New Projects (DT Raleigh) is pretty much up to date though.

I just clicked on your name and I didn’t realize you were the curator of Raleighmsa.com. I check that site pretty often but there hasn’t been much for you to write about. Funny that I should meet you here.

If you want to compare Capital Blvd and North Hills, the former is more like a corridor and the latter seems to be more like a “neighborhood” center. Both have potential for urbanity and taller buildings, but they will always function differently. I think it will take a MUCH longer period for Capital Blvd, not only because it is a much larger area, but because too many different land owners control land along that corridor. I don’t expect to see much for another 30-40 years, though

Good point about the possibility of the future of the Wake Forest Road corridor. There are still many portions of Six Forks and Wake Forest Roads that are primarily single family residential, though. I would not expect rapid redevelop anytime soon, unless something were to surprise me. I personally think the priority focus on redeveloping any area north of DTR should be the Capital Blvd corridor inside the beltline.

Interesting response from NCDOT, Laryea. I guess my response to NCDOT would have been something along the lines of, “Oh, yes, the planters do a much better job of improving visibility than street lights ever would.” No, seriously, I do love the look of the plants along 440. I would never suggest ripping those out in favor of lights – but there are right-of-ways and shoulders on both sides of the freeway that can accommodate lighting. Where 440 is specifically concerned, I have no idea when the roadway was constructed or when improvements (barriers and landscaping) were made – but it’s safe to say it was probably a considerable time ago when traffic volume was less and Raleigh was a much smaller city than it is now. But at least we all now know where NCDOT stands on the issue – they haven’t given any thought to it, nor do they plan to. I would guess it would take some initiative on the city’s part to get things moving in that regard.

Ernest, I think downtown Raleigh is safe from tornados – not enough mobile home parks around to attract one. (insert cymbal crash here)

I do appreciate that mayor Meeker is willing to take a good look at this project from our perspective. Nobody wants to hear of any increases in expenses right now. Sure, I would hate to see a significant decrease in services, and it sure feels good to have the police HQ near where I live – I can walk there in less than 10 minutes – but it is also time to move on and take a few calculated risks, even if we need to wait for another year before we start digging.

Again, John Odom is probably the only vote you can count on. He has no high-rise phobia, as far as I know, and his name is already established, regardless of how you may feel about him. His arguments were not based on hot air, and now he has one less reason to cast a “No” vote. Any polite and to the point emails would certainly help him see that we count on his vote to move this city forward. Pointing the benefits to our emergency response agencies would be more important than anything relating to the skyline improvements, but you don’t need me to tell you that

NC SECU’s building is going to begin as soon as Green Square is well under way. In fact, I see them digging more and more in the spot where this building will go, which tells me that pretty soon we’ll see another crane No delays due to backing out, just waiting for construction of Green Square to reach a certain stage.

i really wanted to paste it but for some reason this link wont allow it so basically they said:

there were improvements done to it in 02 and instead of putting lights they decided to put planters because they felt it would be more sutable instead of lights. they said the whole point was to make it easy for traveling vehicles to see the shoulder and highway barrier not to provide illumination to motorist for brokedown vehicles. they also said that as of now there are no future plans to put lights on 440.

Did I mention that I would love to see this building get taller