Nice pictures Matt!!

excellent pics matt but this just shows how many empty spots are still in or around downtown… man i can only dream of developers coming in and developing these areas

Matt,

Have you EVER disappointed us? I doubt there is a person who can answer “yes” to this question. Great views, good clarity, and I love how you took advantage of your location to show us North Hills, Durham/RDU and Glenwood South.

laryea brought up an interesting observation. As usual, I am so inspired by these photos that I have to offer my 2 cents. There are not that many lots the developers can put their hands on. Either they are owned by the State Government – definitely a force that pushes our downtown backwards when it comes to urban development (and high-rises), or they are consisted by pieces owned by several landlords. It would be too costly and time consuming if a developer tried to assemble land for a high-rise. This is one of the big problems/challenges that every developer has to overcome. Underdeveloped parcels is another problem (i.e. Shaw University, Warehouse District).

It is very inspiring to see the small, yet growing skyline of North Hills. The Eastern section is definitely going to make a difference, especially if we see the envisioned high-rises rise above CAPTRUST Tower, as it has been planned for at least a few of them. It may sound like a competition with DT Raleigh, but it is a healthy competition, in my book. In this series, we also get a good idea of how big Sites 2 and 3 are. They can easily host 30+ story buildings, but even a couple of well-designed towers would do miracles. A twin project with two towers similar to Burj Al Arab (Dubai) would be ideal, in my opinion. The “curved” sides can point to the South, or one of them to the East and the other to the West.

Anyway, many thanks for sharing these great images, Matt. Your work is much appreciated.

hey ernest do you or anybody up here know about what is going on with the soliel center did they just scrap it like the lafayette?

In picture #15 from the top with the caption “Cameron Village with Downtown Durham visible over 20 miles away” you can see an airplane landing at RDU. Half-way between the RDU Control Tower and the tower in downtown Durham, where the sky meets the ground, there’s a white regional jet with a blue vertical stabilizer.

laryea, your guess is as good as mine at this point. Banks do not loan money for such projects at this moment and the market cannot support high-end condos. Soleil Center is not canceled, as far as I know, but it may take a while before we see anything rising from the ground. There is already a lot of prep work done and I doubt VERY seriously the developers would simply let all that disappear.

Also, there is Creedmoor Tower, which not many people speak of. So far, we are talking about a 15-story mixed-use building that will include a parking deck, offices and hotel space. It is envisioned to replace the 2-story building that faces Creedmoor Road, on the same section with Soleil Center. That is a gorgeous contemporary design and I hope to see at least that high-rise breaking ground. I have seen updated renderings, which is a good sign, but nothing in terms of deadlines. I assume they are also waiting for the economy to turn and the banks to start loaning again…

Ernest, Do you know the status of the 2 mixed use projects up the hill and across the creek from Crabtree Valley Mall? I seem to remember seeing a 10 story hotel/residential with lots of shops and restaurants for one, and something very similar for the other. I believe I saw billboards for them in the lower level of the mall once upon a time. I rarely go there, but I seem to remember seeing them nonetheless. It looked almost as if CVM was trying to copy the success of North Hills by bringing in more residential in close proxemity to the existing mall. If all this did get built, it would make another intersteind “hub” for Raleigh. Now we just need the mass transit to tie it all together. What can I say, I’m a dreamer.

The RBC building does not look like it is 100 foot taller than Two Hannover. I guess the spire makes it taller.

Love the photos, as always. Wanted to point out that in the Cameron Village shot with Durham’s skyline in the distance, you can make out some foothills in the distance that more or less mark where Orange County is. The sight line from the “top of dtr” is quite a bit better than I would have imagined. Supposedly there is a point in Orange County where you can see the Raleigh skyline under just the right conditions, but I’d have to do some investigating.

I’m glad that Bloomsbury Estates managed to see completion, but the result is not overly pleasing. I would hope in the future we’ll see additional mid-rises in that area so that it does not stick out by itself so much – perhaps immediately south and east. I’d love to see the property by the Boylan Bridge redeveloped (but not in a way that blocks the great view).

As DTR continues to evolve and grow, my mind frequently wanders to East Raleigh and the Saunders Street and Wilmington Street corridors. I don’t think there is much argument that this is not one of Raleigh’s best areas, but I do believe there is quite a bit a value in having what could be a strong residential neighborhood with its proximity to downtown. I still hope that planners will eventually wake up and see that a renewed and revitalized southside corridor is a key part of moving Raleigh’s downtown progress forward.

Sorry for rambling – just sharing some various thoughts out loud. Matt’s photos really are worth a thousand words, and everytime I contemplate each of these new series, it’s like each photo tells an intriguing story. I’m sure many of you feel the same!

Nick, the two projects you mentioned are stalled due to the usual: market conditions and financing. Neither one is cancelled, as far as I know. There may be some redesigning taking place, however.

This is the best series of pictures yet!

Is the Green Square web cam stuck on 12:40pm of yesterday for everyone else, or just me? Maybe the cold broke it.

the camera for the DENR one is often stuck or not even working
the NRC one sticks sometimes, most often around 12:40pm, but usually fixes itself within an hour

I agree with Ben!!! Best set of all time IMO.

Great series, Matt!

ok, actually that is weird with green square. it’s still stuck from 3 days ago. there’s not even anyone on there listed to contact to report the issue.

well i was watching mayor meeker yesterday on the public access channel talkin bout the lightner building and it looks like we have lost people. he was saying how there are too many people who dont wanna even see the building go up so they are doing everything they can to just give raleigh some mediocre bulls#@%… once again. you know what, as much as i love my hometown and as much as i know the economy is still picking up this is a bad move in my opinion. its almost becoming uninteresting anymore to even hear about downtown development anymore because there just isnt anything promising. i swear this would have been at least a good step forward so that at least we could have green square, public safety building and the courthouse under construction so that by the time they finish, the economy would be solid again and some of the other private projects hooooopefully could get going. i cant lie people sometimes raleigh makes it hard to defend it against the charlotte critics in that there are so many leaders and people here who are clueless like alicia silverstone and brittany murphy that you wonder how the hell these jackasses got elected in the first place? i try to fire hard at the critics but it gets redundant after a while and just plain hopeless. i do hope we will get something eventually but i just dont see it. HOPEFULLY I AM WRONG EVERYONE I REALLY WANNA BE WRONG! once again very nice pics matt i really do love your work maybe one day we will get a chance to see a series of yours for raleigh with at least two or three ‘for real’ skyscrapers in raleighs downtown core. i know it will be phenomenal to see!

laryea, if the city council throws this great project out the window, entirely, we definitely need to react. As I mentioned before, I am ONLY against the way Meeker and Allen want to finance this project. Any scale down would be an insult, but we can cut some of the costs up front. Had the mayor and city manager gotten a bit more creative – and I know this is VERY hard to do during these times – this project would have received a lot more support.

With that having been said, there is no reason to give up on DT Raleigh. There are cities and developers that will suffer the consequences of their arrogance and image-building tendencies. It will take a VERY long time for them to recover, while Raleigh will be getting, although slowly, a good number of high-rise developments. This is a very conservative prediction and contains none of my previous enthusiastic attitude. Things will happen in a fashion similar to Portland, OR. You don’t see many tall buildings – for a city the size of Austin and Charlotte, but you see a great urban fabric that most cities the same size with Portland would envy.

When the dust settles in Raleigh, and it will happen quicker than most other cities, Matt will capture more interesting scenes and new angles. Until then, I encourage you not to give up hope. After all, we are gathered here to share our dreams and concerns, thus getting them out of our system… You are not alone, my friend

I think that the momentum for making DTR become what we all hope and dream it could be is now lost. By the time it recovers, considering the narrowminded people we have in office making decisions, it realistically may not happen in our lifetime.

Im sure we will have some low to midrise buildings, that do nothing to inspire us or make our city more attractive, constructed on the many parking lots we have wasting space now. Im also positive that we will continue to replace failed clubs, bars and resturaunts with more of the same and maybe eventually realize that what DTR just cant sustain these places until we do something drastic to really get people living in and around downtown.

The excitement and people need to be there all year long, not just at RWO’s and parade time. I walk around regularly and take my own pictures that never seem to be as nice as Matt’s and leave dissapointed there aren’t more people enjoying DTR

…the timing of the credit crisis and the state of the economy came at a very bad time for making this city a wonderful place… it’s a shame.

My thoughts exactly, 10 years after I move away and move back, the same old mentality from city council. Personally, I’m counting the days until I can get a job in an establiched city, sell my house, and get the heck away from this disappointment we all call Raleigh.

Travis, your last sentence says it all… The timing of the financial crisis was simply bad for DT Raleigh Still, I think some people here are simply too “harsh”, for lack of better word. Many cities we now envy – except for the large established urban centers – had their fair share of disappointment and obstacles when they were Raleigh’s current size. Once they begun revitalizing their downtowns, it took them a long time, in most cases over 20 years, to get where they are today.

Sorry if I sound like I am trying to tell you how to feel. In fact, the last thing I want to do is just that. I have had my share of disappointment, but that is only because I have been following the recent evolution of our downtown long enough to expect more. There are people out there who feel ecstatic with the changes and couldn’t care less about skylines. We are not on the same page with them, but we should at least be happy about something.

Now, going back to the photos and looking at the North Hills images: Anybody cares to bet how long it will be before we see a skyline develop there? The current zoning allows for up to 365ft/35 floors, without any additional permits. Considering the height in feet, the maximum floor count is for residential high-rises. My guess is that something around 25 floors would be the maximum allowed for office buildings, according to the current zoning.

Next time there are elections we need to find out who the candidates are that are pro-downtown. Then we’ll know who to vote for and who to campaign for.

how bout we just make north hills our new downtown and just start there! lol it does look really nice.

raleigh has progressed i will admit but sometimes its hard to convince people that raleigh is a REAL city. i remember when raleigh didnt have any entertainment what so ever i mean hardly no clubs to go to on the weekends and the bar scene was very limited. not too long ago you could come to downtown and on the weekends it would be a cemetery! now… there is a club or lounge to go to just about every night of the week if you want and the bar scene is very diverse and choosy. there are more people present downtown BUT the problem is raleigh’s reflection. what people dont get is that the downtown area is the reflection of the personality of the city. you can look at the downtown of any real city and tell whether or not the city is boastful, whether it is large/small city, whether the city has a lot of diverse offerings for its residents, whether or not is an established city historically or financially, usually these things can be told off of your dt ’s image. with raleigh… NOPE NOT AT ALL. raleigh gives the impression it is a small city with little to offer and that it has a country small town feel. it also makes you believe (and i almost do) that the leaders of the city dont really care what visitors or out of towners think about the city and that they could care less if it becomes a destination city or not! most out of town people who come here laugh when they see our dt core and these are people that sometimes come from smaller cities. there is a lot missing from dt, no: coliseum, amphitheater(we will get that), not enough hotels(in my opinion this shouldnt be delayed because of a financial crisis people are always coming into town), no central library, movie theater( not a big one but at least 4 or 5 screen one could be nice), street car, nice size park in downtown (not the moore square one). these are some things raleigh should have BEEN HAD LONG TIME AGO! ima need raleigh to elect better leaders PLEASE they really make us a laughable city to talk about when your discussing cities with other people.

I know we talked about it before, but let me put emphasis on having a full time city council, without many, if at all, conflicts of interest. Numerous times we’ve seen a council member, or the mayor, having to step out because they couldn’t vote as a result of such conflicts. Full-time city leaders would certainly cost us more on an annual basis but a) we are heading that direction, and b) they would be able to focus on recruiting larger tenants to downtown – and not only.

As a resident of North Raleigh, I would hate to see pro- or anti- any place in Raleigh. We need city leaders who can see the city as a whole, identify its needs and present solutions that do not lack balance. We do not need pro-downtown leaders. We need pro-Raleigh leaders, who can create a good growth plan and bring the city what it needs the most. We are currently trying to improve many areas, but to say that Downtown isn’t getting more than its fair share would be totally unfair and inaccurate. If things happen at North Hills and Brier Creek it is because there are still some developers who can deliver, not because city leaders have lifted a finger to help. The same cannot be said about downtown. Not to mention that people support downtown entertainment venues. Bring some unique shopping (i.e. Babies-R-Us, A Southern Season, CompUSA) and you will see how things will change.

Something related to our skyline. Today, I discovered a project that looks like it will be located downtown. If I counted correctly, it looks like a 35+ story mixed-use high-rise, but what I loved the most is the architecture. One of the best this state can get and a huge step forward for Raleigh. For the moment, I only know the architect and the graphic designer, but I am trying to find additional information. Based on the input, I may only confirm that this is not a pie in the sky, or I will provide more info. Assuming they will bother answering…

yea ernest i wanna hear bout this one man soon as you find info post it please.

Where might this tower be located?

I promise y’all, information will be posted as soon as I hear more about this proposal, provided I will not be asked to keep it secret

Regarding the location, I am almost totally clueless… The more I look at it, the more it appears to be at the SE corner of Fayetteville Str and Hargett Str, across from CVS, but the rendering shows a rather wide front that takes up almost half the block. The only clue that I have is a mid-rise that looks like the Masonic Building (where Urban Design Center is currently located), but in the rendering it looks like they added a couple of floors. There is no other building that fits the image of what I see in the rendering. It has a great urban form, with set-backs in the rear side and the top 6 floors appear to be residential condominiums. The crown looks like the basis of the BofA tower’s crown, in Charlotte, sending a thick beam of light to the sky. Overall, a very elegant design. Evidently, the architect and designer (especially the latter) seem to have a ton of experience in modern elegant high-rises. Let’s hope the developer is someone with tons of money, although it would be hard to break ground without 1-2 major tenants.

Ernest, I believe I’ve seen the same rendering as you. I requested information from the designer back in July 2009 but I’ve never gotten a response. Hope you have better luck. I agree, it is no pie in the sky.

rich, if you are interested to exchange information, send me an email – click on my name, go to my website and select “Contact Me” – and we can talk more about it. It does look like a serious project and I doubt they put all those renderings for nothing. It would look great in our skyline, especially if placed where I think it would go.

Who is the designer? Share and share alike

Att: Matt I have written John Odom twice concerning voting YES for the SAFETY CENTER. Would you and all of your friends do the same? His contact info can be found here:
http://www.odomforcouncil.com/Contact_Us.html Thanks for your help. Dwight Nipper

Sorry, no info can be shared in a public forum for two reasons: 1) the architect may not approve (yes, there are such cases, believe it or not), and 2) these renderings might have leaked by mistake, without the developer’s approval, thus forcing the architect to remove the renderings from the website (i.e. One Glenwood) and not being able to access them for a while. If I don’t hear from them for a month, then I will make the link available

Ernest, you are always on top of your game… looking forward to hearing more about this latest potential project downtown.

What I would like to see for Raleigh is additional density downtown. I think it is often too easy to obsess about going vertical and trying to catch Charlotte in the skyscraper game. Yes, some taller buildings in the 40-50 floor range would be very nice, but every time I see our skyline I wish that it had some additional broadness to it – particularly to the north and west. I believe this will come in due time, hopefully sooner as we emerge from the credit crunch. Raleigh is fortunate enough to be one of the few cities that will be in a strong position to come out of the recession sooner than most and speed forward rapidly. But I think before everyone all at once starts clamoring for those 600 foot tall towers we’d all love to see, at the same time I’d appreciate some added depth and width to the overall look of the skyline.

Ernest, I think I saw this rendering via google images. The rendering does look nice.

Matt K., you said it right. Depth/broadness is what our skyline needs before we dream of 600ft+ towers. In fact, it can happen at the same time, but I see the need for extending our skyline to the Western areas – I wouldn’t mind towards the East, too, but there are too many NIMBYs to let this happen – of our downtown, which is why I was extremely supportive of The Hillsborough and can’t wait for One Glenwood. Which is also why I’d rather see less development at the CBD right now. The current conditions do not allow for anything tall, so we might as well start filling up the transitional areas with buildings between 15 and 25 floors; it would be hard to fight taller proposals in the future

Imagine how Matt’s photo, titled “Clarion Hotel, Quorum Center, West at North” would look if The Hillsborough was built. Add the Powerhouse Plaza and you can see a cute little dense skyline, even though the Powerhouse Plaza would not have been visible from that angle.

Interesting you mentoined a Movie Theater, Ernest. I was in Knoxville a the weekend before last to see a couple of basketball games and they have a nice 8 screen theater downtown. A real nice stadium setup with a lobby that hearkens back to older theaters. Raleigh certainly seems to have a similar number of people in walkiong distance and it was a great addition to the downtown.

Ernest,

This seems to match your description of “The crown looks like the basis of the BofA tower’s crown, in Charlotte, sending a thick beam of light to the sky.” Is this the tower you speak of? If not, do you have any idea what this is?

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://capprenderings.com/images/raleigh_mixed_use_rendering_w.jpg&imgrefurl=http://capprenderings.com/highrisemixeduse.html&usg=__D29zwsFSNaNqwJ0Uazesoab0tFU=&h=800&w=491&sz=168&hl=en&start=6&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=XYo5h92Vg6k7MM:&tbnh=143&tbnw=88&prev=/images%3Fq%3Draleigh%2Brendering%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26um%3D1

Yea. downtown needs some more night life. A movie theater would be a great start to that. With a movie theater, maybe more restraunts would pop up around it. I know Raleigh was sort of starting to plan about thinking about building a stadium and i think that would be great, just like in downtown Luiseville KY.

brandon,

Yes, that is the one, although I was trying to avoid posting the link because the architects may end up removing it if the word gets out, like it happened with One Glenwood. Now, let the game of speculations begin

Ben(14), I like the idea of a movie theater downtown, but I have reservations concerning the additional destinations it may bring. Theoretically, it could work well, but it needs to be in an environment like North Hills, where everything is “right there”. I am wondering if something like Raleighwood could work. Enjoy a meal while watching a movie

I believe the Edison (if it ever happens) may have a theater planned for it as well as a Harris Teeter.

Having spent the last year in an unpleasant far away place, I have to say these photos are a true pleasure. The whole archive provides me a sense of home. I so miss Raleigh, and can’t thank you enough for your art!

Leaving politics aside, I recently visited from Doha, Qatar, for a few days and one only need look at what has been accomplished there in little more that a decade to see how vision and purpose can go a long way.

The thing that bothers me the most about DTR is that it feels like no one lives there. I visited the city often, but always left feeling as if it were akin to a trip to a mall. Not unpleasant, but a tad unfulfilling. There are no theatres, no grocery stores, no large parks, no transit, hardly even a cab to be found. Most of the restaraunts have no real feeling to them. They could be hatched anywhere, and are quickly forgotten. That being said, I miss it terribly.

Thanks again Matt.

Scott,
“vision and purpose”? Is that what they call oil money these days?
The rendering definitely looks decent, But who is gonna build this thing? All Ive heard about is the rendering with no further explanation.

Am I the only one who thinks that rendering looks REALLY similar to RBC Plaza…? At least the mid to lower part does. Maybe its just all the glass…but the way it has three “boxes” stacked up on each other reminds me of RBC Plaza. Don’t know if that makes perfect sense but it just struck me as interesting. Either way it is still a GREAT looking tower!

It does kinda in the back, but thats it.

i dont even wanna know anymore bout this building til i hear it from a developer about building it lol. i get excited too quick and then the next thing you know i will be disappointed if they dont deliver it but in terms of looks it does look really nice looks like it is much taller than the rbc tower. i cant lie now yall got me envisioning it somewhere on fayetteville st or wilmington st along with the rbc, wachovia and bb&t building… damn you for showing me this lmfao!

Adam, I doubt very seriously that this is the case (RBC Plaza) for a few reasons: 1) The mid-rise to the left doesn’t look like that 4-5 story eyesore (FCB) that is on the NE corner of Martin and Fayetteville Streets. 2) The early renderings of RBC Plaza were released and we know what this vision looked like before it reached the final version. 3) The architect is not the same, and Highwoods Properties didn’t change the selected architect, as far as I know. 4) The designer would have used RBC Plaza instead of a vague name (most likely). 5) If RBC Centura and Highwoods had seen this rendering, I doubt they would ever build RBC Plaza as is today

I firmly believe that this is an unknown project that will not be officially presented for a while, until the economy returns to normal. Putting together renderings – there are more images of this building in the website – is not a cheap task. A developer would not put so much money unless he knew that there is a good chance it will happen. Based on my sources, and I have no reason to doubt these people, there is a lot of interest in DT Raleigh, both from local and national developers. There is interest from corporations who are looking to relocate, but this is the kind of news that almost never finds its way to the public. Serious investors, whether to develop or relocate their businesses, take a very slow approach, and don’t want much publicity until they get close to the final decision.

Regarding this mystery project, it doesn’t make sense to create any additional enthusiasm right now. However, it answers a question that many here have raised, either directly or indirectly: Is there interest in building tall buildings in DT Raleigh? Indeed there is, although I would not hold my breath for the 700ft+ skyscrapers we wish to see right away. Realistically, it will happen some time during our life, but let’s stick with what our market can handle first.

laryea, sorry for causing too much excitement… Are you going to be fine? Should we take you to the hospital? Don’t have any heart attacks before you see The Edison, One Glenwood and this mystery project get built, PLEASE

Ernst, I believe we need a major tenant or two to commit to this new high rise before it will be built. I still wish First Citizens Bank had built downtown instead of settling on North Hills.

Doing some more looking, I can tell you almost definitively that location you mentioned Ernest is correct. Check it in Google maps streetview. It is where Mechanics and Farners Bank is now. Looking a tthe rendering, it is hard to tell for sure if t fits with the Alexander Square deck that is there. The style seems pretty up to date though, so hopefully it does not predate the deck.

I can tell you firsthand that many many large buildings have been rendered for Raleigh over the years and the drawings are sitting in various drawers in architects offices. Now with the web, the drawers are sometimes a little more public.

Also, looking at the rendering, it seems to be mostly residential. The top section is only deep enough for condos on each side IMO.

i should be fine ernest… however what really might seal my fate would be to see a rendering of the one glenwood building… do you have it or know where i could see it omg i feel like a virgin at the senior prom right now lmao!!!

laryea, I think you will remain the prom virgin for a while I do have renderings, but I cannot post them anywhere, as I promised not to share them, so I have to keep my word. I might be able to help a little, so feel free to email me and we’ll go from there.

Lee L, the location of the Mechanics & Farmers Bank (with the lot) was among my first guesses, but I dismissed it because the rendering shows a road between the buildings, which is why I figured that it may be the SE corner of Hargett and Fayetteville Streets. The only thing that I am almost confident about is that the mid-rise shown is the Masonic Building, where the Urban Design Center is located. That would have been AWESOME, but without information to support my theory, it is pointless to continue guessing. Neither the designer, nor the architect answered to my emails

You’re right, it could definitely be across Hargett, where hte Christian Science Reading room and about 10 other small properties are. Plenty of depth there, but I would not sure not want to have to assemble all that property.

It is hard to tell from the rendering, but I thought maybe the road might be acces for parking or something, but you are right, it could be an actual street the way the rendering is done.

so if you scroll down to the Raleigh ones, there’s a few more views…. http://capprenderings.com/images/

there’s dozens of renderings of things for Raleigh that never got build tho, so i’m not holding my breath. even the safety center, which was practically a done deal, is now up in the air.

By dozens of renderings, you mean six different drawings/renderings of the same basic building.
‘
Also, What is the supposed timeline of Powerhouse Plaza? ‘Small’ editions like that would help Raleigh get events like the 2011 – ‘13 NHL all-star.

no, captain sarcasm. go back and read again, this time using context clues to glean the correct meaning.

ok ,I will shutup, never really looked at the other renderings lol.

you know what people i just now realized that i’ve seen that building in the rendering before. isnt that the building planned for wilmington st somewhere between the rbc tower and wachovia building? i hate to say it people but that project i think got stalled or scrapped. there is another website that had that building rendering along time ago, like four years but couldnt come to an agreement on something about the property so the building was stalled and eventually never built. if i can remember the website i will post the link. maybe they finally came to an agreement and now are ready to build but the economy has stopped it instead. i hope i am wrong it really is a nice looking building.

laryea, the answer is [most likely] “No”, it is not that building. I have a rendering of that as well – we also used to call it “the mystery tower” – and it is in my website if you want to see it. That was a 20-25 story residential tower envisioned for the NE corner of Wilmington and Martin Streets. Your guess is really good, though, as it is obvious that the “road” between the buildings could have been a ramp to the parking deck, but the purchase of the air rights, as well as the width of the building in the “new” renderings, imply otherwise. In the renderings of the first “mystery tower” there was no visible space between the buildings and part of the structure was going to be built above the ramp.

Now, if anyone purchased, or plans to purchase the plans and the parcel, along with the air rights, and revised the tower, it is yet to become public news. The original developer simply didn’t have the money to proceed, although most of us back then thought otherwise. I wish it had happened

Lee L, one thing I have to say about my theory is that the tower will not have as much depth as it appears. Morning Times, Raleigh Times and the rest of the buildings on that part of the block are there to stay. It has to be a “leaner” building, but we all know how renderings are sometimes deceptive.

aperson, the Powerhouse Plaza is one of the many projects that wait for the “better days”. It is not cancelled, and I doubt it will be, but until we see the cranes on that site we can safely call it “stalled”. They definitely need 1-2 major tenants before they break ground.

REQUEST/SUGGESTION FOR MATT: Since we have so much to talk about and we tend to carry all those conversations every time you post new photos, would it be possible to create a little forum with at least a couple of topics? Skyline would be one and Urban Developments would be another. I say this because I find myself repeating the same things, and while I merely answer questions, some of your visitors may get annoyed. I am sure we can avoid redundancy when we have 1-2 threads were these topics can be discussed, away from the comments area that you reserve for your photos – although I would argue that it is your outstanding photos that inspire these discussions

Thanks.

Ernest- I may create something like that sometime. For what its worth, the future Raleigh skyline post is still around.

Matt, thanks for looking into it. I know it will tough to maintain yet-another feature, so please don’t feel pressure… I made that suggestion because I don’t want to annoy some people who get annoyed easily

i, for one, am never annoyed by this. i love the pictures, and i love any talk of new developments downtown. it’s also comforting that there’s other skyline nerds like me out there.

IT FEELS GOOD TO BE BACK IN RALEIGH!!!!! I hear about the new STATE EMPLOYEE CREDIT UNION building…6 level deck and 12 floors……18 total….So whats going on with the Charter Square, Edison, Hillsborough, Winston Tower, and the Wake County COurthouse addition?? I am behind, I KNOW!! haha. Im now stationed at FT BRAGG, so I may come home to Raleigh on the weekends!! YAAAYY!!!

yea the credit union and the entire new museum extension will be nice. i work downtown and i do fire safety for the state buildings and the guy who is their building coordinator says that it will include live animals along with a huge shark tank… now that will be very cool for raleigh. as for the rest i hate to tell you but hillsborough and winston got scrapped and the edison idk what the hell they are doin, prolly been delayed from the recession so they should build that sometime before i die i hope lol. charter square is also delayed however they have started on the wake county courthouse so at least that is good!

KING OF RALEIGH, the NC SECU building will be 12 floors, total. Regarding Winston Hotel it is not scrapped, only delayed. The developers want to have two of their own hotel brands and 200 condo units (or more), so it makes sense that they have delayed. There is another possibility that I will not state here at this point, so let’s wait and see. Only The Hillsborough and Lafayette have been cancelled. As for the rest, they are looking for major office tenants.

ATT: Matt and everyone. If you will, please e-mail the city council on voting YES on the safety center by Monday evening. Every council member will get the message at this E_MAIL. Citycouncilor@ci.raleigh.us; Thanks again Matt and EVERYONE. We all need to fight as hard as we can. Dwight

new development downtown. perhaps not affecting the skyline, but still a good sign the improving economy is bringing about some result finally. http://blogs.newsobserver.com/business/charlotte-developer-plans-40-million-mixed-use-project-off-hillsborough-st

It is not really a downtown proper, but they want to promote it as such. It is a couple of big blocks from where DT Raleigh actually ends and quite frankly this is a great area to build urban projects of good quality. I think this developer will do well building in phases and not the entire thing at once. I will lament the loss of a nice, tiny urban section, but sometimes we need to sacrifice something in order to get better quality projects. Glad to know they are planning several townhomes along Ashe Ave; we need townhomes, as long as they are arranged in an urban fashion.

Anyway, a positive sign, but much like with any other project these days, I have learned to reserve the cheering until it is built. I do hope to see the strengthening of the Hillsborough Str corridor and its transformation into an ultra-urban “district”. There is already a certain degree of urbanity in that area and proximity to downtown can make any project like Hillsborough & Morgan a desirable option for urban living. Can’t wait to see/hear more about it.

On a side note, the developer seems to own/manage the other half of the block where One Glenwood is envisioned to go. There were plans for redevelopment, but didn’t work out. I wonder how long will it take them before they build something taller on that parcel. If One Glenwood gets built as envisioned, this developer can shoot for something at least 20-30 stories. Let me stop here before the day-dreaming begins

i dont know if they were trying to promote it as downtown, but i just said that because i live in brier creek and hillsborough st is downtown to me…
youre right about it being good to have a project there at the transition area. it will help connect that area to the rest of the downtown, plus it will be another good thing for h street after the renovations end to have some new interest in the area.

Urbanity is welcome everywhere in Raleigh

Ive always thought that area could be its own little district. I hope they will do it right.

I’m intrigued by the scope of this new Hillsborough Street project proposal – mainly because it is a key link between the campus area and DT Raleigh. I am hoping it will be done right and preserves – perhaps even galvanizes – Hillsborough Street as a key arterial into downtown. I think this project could lend some momentum to proposed projects along Hillsborough closer to downtown and help with fill-in developments between DT and Glenwood South.

Well said, Matt K.. However, I hope we get to see a few high-rises built before that area gets flooded with stupid NIMBYs of all ages, who will start bitching about anything above 5 floors This project can encourage a many more urban infills and redevelopments along Hillsborough Str. It would have made a lot of sense to plan for a future light-rail line, but now it will be very hard, as some city leaders figured out how to ruin everything with round-abouts. Nothing against the latter, but Hillsborough Str is not a candidate, IMO.

Forgive me for my ignorance, because I am not versed in local gov’t politics. It just seems to me that what many people want downtown Raleigh to be is out side the grasp of Raleigh city gov’t, they still govern with a small town menality and doesn’t serve downtown Raleigh well.

Make the Dorthea Dix land into a recreation park? Are you ****ing kidding me?

Mark my words, the Hillsborough/Ashe/Morgan Street development will get either shot down or downsized dramatically because Raleigh city gov’t will cave to the NIMBYs, like they always do

Hill, I totally agree with your Dorothea Dix Hill comment. Right now, for any city leader to come out and preach the purchase of Dorothea Dix campus and its conversion to a park will be out of touch with reality. Too bad there aren’t any true visionaries who can buy the land and create a mixed-use destination where people can live, work and play. Even 100 acres of true urban development, with 200 acres of open space, plazas and small parks would benefit our city and state leaders – make it a special tax zone, to secure some sources for services to the mentally ill.

Quite honestly, I doubt that the newly proposed project will be shut down. For one, the NIMBYs are not directly affected – not that they care about distance – by any “excessive” heights. There are already buildings around 4 stories over there. Plus, this project will be done in phases, which will allow the developer to build the townhomes before anything else. When the project is under way, it will be hard to shut it down. But then again, I can expect anything to happen from the usual suspects

Regarding the “small town mentality”, I do not want to be fair to our city leaders. They can’t possibly create a big city vision when Raleigh is not even close to being a big city. In my opinion, they want to accomplish too many small things – important things, I believe – but they do not seem to be going aggressively after larger corporations with incentives that will benefit Raleigh in the long run. Maybe some work is done in the background, but so far I have not seen anything of substance. Until we start looking into bringing larger corporations to DT Raleigh, I would be skeptic to call our leaders visionaries, but I cannot blame them for what is wrong with our center. Good work has been done since the early 90’s, but we just need to dream a little bigger.

maybe im slow but what is the nimbys?

NIMBY or Nimby is an acronym for not in my back yard. The term (or the derivative Nimbyism) is used pejoratively to describe opposition by residents to a proposal for a new development close to them. Opposing residents themselves are sometimes called Nimbies. The new project being opposed is generally considered a benefit for many but has negative side-effects on many local residents who want it to be located elsewhere. The term was coined in the 1980s by British politician Nicholas Ridley, who was Conservative Secretary of State for the Environment

thanks gene well in that case RALEIGH HAS TOOOOOOOOOOOOO MANY OF THESE DIMWITS! they surely will protest just like ernest said. if they want to keep their backyard they need to move to johnston county or something. raleigh is growing and needs to be more dense. like i said no one will take raleigh serious as a real city until RALEIGH takes itself serious.

I agree with ernest in that the Dix property should be only partly developed. We should keep the open spaces and make different kinds of little parks and space for museums and such. Once the places become well established, the city can lay out a new street layout within the tree lined streets that already exist and then sell the lots to developers. Then we could see the use of this land maximized. Another skyline could develop here. Think about it.

JRD, one person mentioned about a new skyline appearing there and people laughed Personally, I am not against this idea, but I think it would be too far in the future before we see something tall appearing in that area. Other than that, I agree with you. Also, let’s keep the city out of this… Meeker had a good idea initially, but then he sold his soul to the devil (NIMBY’s) for votes, I guess. It is up to the state to do something, but this governor doesn’t have the guts to think big. The market isn’t helping, either