Category / New Construction

by Leo Suarez

Townhomes Coming To Peace Street, Can Smell The Doughnuts

Corner of Peace and Person Street, August 2012

Little activity has been going on in the Blount Street Commons area of downtown over the past year until recently. Peace Street Townes is bringing 18 townhomes to the corner of Person and Peace. If all goes according to plan, we’ll see dirt moving this fall and owners can move in Spring of 2013.

Peace Street Townes is a scaled down version of what was originally planned for this plot along Peace Street. If you take a look at an older post in 2007, the plans called for “live/work over retail” development as well as a rendering of what it could look like. Things have changed since 2007 and while not as dense as planned five years ago, Peace Street Townes looks to deliver some new options to those interested in buying downtown.

by Leo Suarez

Skyhouse Apartments Helping The Edison Project Come To Life

Skyhouse Apartments Raleigh rendering

Here’s some very positive news for fans of The Edison, a multi-building development that was planned for the core downtown area. Skyhouse Apartments was up for review by the Raleigh Planning Commission yesterday, June 26, and was approved unanimously.

The 264 foot tower will sit at the southwest corner of Blount and Martin Streets and will consist of ground-floor retail as well 320 apartments. It’s a great location and turns an empty lot into an active, urban development with plans for one to four bedroom units.

Watch your Raleigh Planning Commission in action in the video below. Included are more renderings and conversation over a few concerns about the building.


Get Microsoft Silverlight

As a little side note, I thought it was cool that the presenter mentioned the William Christmas plan.

“The applicants received a variance from additional right of way dedication as most all projects do in the historic Christmas plan for the City of Raleigh and this project is no different. No additional right-of-way was provided and no additional street widening is required.”

If you are unfamiliar with the southwest corner of Blount and Martin, for years it has been a grassy field with numerous whirligigs made by Vollis Simpson. You may have seen a bigger one, titled Wind Machine, at the North Carolina Museum of Art. In the video, there was discussion of incorporating one of Simpson’s pieces into the new building as public art, most likely for the outdoor pedestrian plaza.

Here is a snapshot of the plan for the ground floor, click for a more zoomed out view.

Skyhouse Apartments Raleigh site plan

North is up in this picture so the intersection of Blount and Martin is in the top right corner of the image.

A couple of quick notes about the plan:

  • Along Martin, a small pedestrian plaza will be built along the west side of the building.
  • Between the building and the existing parking deck will be a driveway with a few more parking spaces.
  • Other than the few spaces mentioned, no new parking will be built as the deck that exists today will support the new tower.
  • 14 foot sidewalks and new urban trees will be planted around the building in keeping with the comprehensive plan.
  • Retail space will cover the entire Martin Street side of the building.

A concern about the building and it’s proximity to the historic structures in City Market and along Blount Street was brought up in the commission meeting. We’ve talked about building large towers next to small buildings before and I feel there is no issue as the corner of this block will accommodate all users adequately.

Earlier news reports claim that groundbreaking could occur as early as this year.

Skyhouse Apartments Raleigh rendering

by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Wake County Justice Center construction in June 2012.

The Wake County Justice Center dominates the intersection of McDowell and Martin Streets. Almost three years ago, there was just a hole at this site.

For more trips down memory lane, over four years ago we’ve discussed the project and what buildings it has replaced.

The ugly parking deck, the Garland Jones building, and the Lawyers Building are all coming down for the expansion of the current site right next door.

via Justice Center Expansion, $200+ Million and a Historic Raleigh Cost.

by Leo Suarez

Demolition Underway For 400 Glenwood South Apartments

During a walk this past gloomy weekend, I got a chance to see some of the demolition going on along St. Mary’s and Tucker Street. The rental market is huge these days and developers are reacting not far from the main drag of Glenwood South. About 400 apartments between two new developments will start to be put together after the land has been fully cleared.

The now called St. Mary’s Square will bring about 145 apartments along the southern block bounded by St. Mary’s Street, Johnson, and Gaston Street. We’ve gone over the site plan before and now that land clearing looks almost done, construction should begin soon.

Click on the image below for a gallery of before and after photos of parts of the 600 block of St. Mary’s Street.

E-mail and RSS readers, jump to the post on the web to see the full gallery of images.

Future home of St. Mary's Square

Across the Street from the currently completed apartment building, 712 Tucker, 425 Boylan will be built. Currently, houses have been removed along the south side of the 700 block of Tucker Street and once the land is cleared, the 7-story, 250 apartment building will be put together. The mixed-use building also includes 13,000 square feet of commercial space along the ground floor.

Below is another gallery of images.

Future site of 425 Boylan apartments

Glenwood South may have the highest population density in Raleigh in a few years. Take Note.

by Leo Suarez

New Talks of Salisbury Street Hotel, Wants Inn On The Convention Center Action

Proposed Residence Inn on Salisbury Street, downtown Raleigh

Hotel space seems to be a lacking resource for downtown Raleigh but reading through the city’s Budget and Economic Development (BED) Committee agenda yesterday shows more rooms may be on the horizon. Longtime readers will remember The Lafayette project proposed for what is called “Site 4”, the parcel of land along Salisbury Street that butts up against the Performing Arts Deck. That project is officially out the door and the city is ready for new blood to come into town.

Looking through the agenda, City Manager Russell Allen sent a letter to the BED committee to suggest they consider Request For Proposals (RFP) of the site. He mentions multiple requests have come in from interested parties. He includes a copy of one such letter of interest, copied again by me and pasted below:

October 27, 2011

Mr. J Russell Allen
City Manager
City of Raleigh
P.O. Box 590
Raleigh, NC 27602

Dear Mr Allen:

Summit Hospitality Group, Ltd. would like to engage with the City of Raleigh in the appropriate process to acquire the three parcels of city property on South Salisbury Street at its intersection with Lenoir and South Streets. I believe this is generally referred to by the city as their “Site 4”.

The intent for the property would be the development of an upscale mixed use property, the largest tenant being a MArriott extended stay hotel. The hotel would be similar in scope and scale to a similar property located on Mint Street in Charlotte, NC. For purposes of illustration, I have enclosed photos simulating the hotel situation on the Raleigh site as well as photos of the Charlotte hotel.

We have a verbal approval for a Residence Inn by Marriott franchise and tentative financing from local conventional sources contingent on the strength of a market study by a nationally recognized form. As soon as we could enter into a Letter of Intent or Memorandum of Understanding with the city, we are poised to immediately contract for the market study and begin the design phase for the presentation to the city.

Regards,

R. Doyle Parrish
President

The attached pictures are shown in this blog post. Here’s a Google Streetview link to the hotel in Charlotte. I’ll emphasize that the pictures here are not final and no designs exist at all. This is just a model, made up for visualization.

Proposed Residence Inn on Salisbury Street, downtown Raleigh

The Raleigh Convention Center needs more of this in order to host some of the much larger conventions that it can handle but are not getting because of lack of hotel rooms. Skyline fans may be disappointed as a building of this scale is nothing to cheer about.

For me, it’s a great project really. The building should make a great compliment to the Performing Arts deck, helping make use of the extreme oversupply of parking that we have in downtown Raleigh. Also, while not unique in character, the urban form is a fine addition to the sidewalks of Salisbury Street. If you take our Marriott hotel on Fayetteville Street for example, the street trees, tables, and chairs are inviting. I see people sitting and relaxing there on many occasions.

The location of this hotel is also primo. It’s easy to get in and out of downtown by car and visitors can experience the Fayetteville Street/City Plaza area with much ease.

We’ll stay tuned for updates.

Proposed Residence Inn on Salisbury Street, downtown Raleigh