Raleigh Renaissance

Pop quiz: Name 4 Raleigh streets downtown that you can also find outside the beltline. Hillsborough, New Bern, Glenwood and . . .
thats about it. If you look at a map you’ll see that Wilmington sneaks under the beltline, but those are the only ones inside the original grid that keep their names outside of the beltline. (Glenwood is outside of the original grid, but I think we can consider that “downtown” now) What happens to the grid? What about the east-west Martin, Hargett and Jones Streets? What about the north-south Wilmington, Blount and Person Streets?

Renamed Roads

Road names in Raleigh can be slightly confusing for the uninitiated. If you don’t believe me try taking a drive along New Hope-Millbrook-Duraleigh-Blue Ridge or as I like to call it the middle loop. This happens to a few roads downtown as well. Capital is split into McDowell and Dawson and Person changes into Wake Forest. While I don’t suggest changing the names now, it would be nice to see Capital Boulevard downtown or the intersection of Person and Six Forks. Some may argue that the name of the road doesn’t mean much as long as it takes you where you want to go. The name, however, helps to reinforce downtown away from the city. It makes downtown more familiar: someone visiting Glenwood South can think, this is the same street that runs by Crabtree. Also it makes it easy to get downtown without thinking: Try giving someone directions to downtown via Hillsborough Street or Falls of the Neuse. Although neither one requires “turning” the name changes in the latter make it a confusing trip.

Death of a Grid

Looking at satellite imagery, Raleigh’s roads resemble more of a web than a grid. While diverging from the grid can give a city character, it can make getting around difficult. Take southwest downtown for instance; going west can get frustrating until you finally run into Hillsborough Street or Western Boulevard. North and south are better, but there are gaps every now and then. Going east the grid remains practically intact all the way to Raleigh Boulevard. An intact grid means better connectivity, which means a closer tie to downtown. Its important that downtown is a cohesive part of the city: ideally it should be difficult to tell where downtown “ends”.

How do we fix it

Unfortunately there aren’t many fixes for the issues raised. Roads could be renamed, but this goes against tradition and could result in more confusion. The grid could be extended, but that costs money, destroys property AND history in its path. There are no easy answers. Signage should play an important role, we’re spending money to make downtown a destination, so we should advertise it an all the major roads in Raleigh. Signs should be carefully designed: we want it to draw attention, but not to look like the South of the Border signs on I-95.

The grid should also be strengthened, I’m not suggesting that everything inside of 440 look like a giant tic-tac-toe game, but it should be easy to get into downtown. We need more connections to the West so that its a “part” of downtown.

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Nash Square: Missing Link

In the last article I talked about the role of Nash Square in Downtown Raleigh’s Renaissance. This week I talk about the developments in store for the area and what I envision in the future.

On the drawing board

Already there are several projects on tap in the Nash Square Area.
• The block to the northwest is home to the Dawson and similar residential project is planned for the southeast corner of this block.
• The block to the southeast of Nash Square will be the home of the Wake County courthouse annex.
• The News and Observer will build a new headquarters tower on the block to the East.
• Two blocks to the south the county is building a parking deck that could have 44 condos and ground floor retail.

Once the dominos start falling (Let the speculation begin)

After the News and Observer headquarters is complete and their printing is relocated to another area, redevelopment of the rest of the block should continue. I’d guess that 8-12 story residential towers are likely.

With all the construction going on around it, expect the block due south to become a prime candidate for redevelopment. Once again I’d expect 8-12 story residential with ground floor retail. I don’t think the current buildings are of any historical significance.

The same applies to the block to the southwest; hopefully any development can be done in phases so that present tenants can keep their locations.

The Not so near future (Wild speculation)

The fire station to the west will probably be moved or consolidated into the Clarence Lightner Center. This would clear the way for more residential units on this block.

The truth of the matter is that the City of Raleigh has long outgrown its City Hall on Hargett. As the city continues to grow, I’d expect a city hall tower in the next 15 years.

No idea on the Switching station on the block to the northeast. Not sure of its long term needs, or the ability to remodel the building if the equipment were relocated.

What I’d like to see

When the Wake County courthouse annex is built, I’d like to see it front Martin Street and for a narrow plaza to run along Martin. This plaza would encourage east/west Pedestrian traffic downtown and would serve to unite Nash square and Fayetteville Street. There should be a couple of sculptures/water features on this plaza.

Across McDowell Street to the west, the pedestrian connectivity would continue with a wide sidewalk for outdoor seating/street vendors. The rest of this block would feature residential towers 8-12 stories with ground floor retail/restaurants. In the center of the block there would be a parking deck that would be capped over with green space. The residential component would not go higher than 2 stories above the height of the parking deck.

Finally the pedestrian path would cross over Dawson Street and turn down Commerce Plaza. This area represents an opportunity for an additional entertainment/art district. The wide sidewalks could be lined with outdoor seating for bars/restaurants or art exhibits. Additionally, this area might represent a good location for a grocery store; the mid-block break could give large trucks easy access to a store without sacrificing the pedestrian experience.
Its very important that at Martin’s intersections with McDowell and Dawson that traffic calming measures are put into place for the increased number of pedestrians.

In addition it would be nice to see appropriate residential infill wherever possible. It’d also be nice for the City of Raleigh to go vertical with city hall and either sell the land or find another municipal use for it. I tentatively added a grocery store at the site of the News and Observer’s current printing facilities thinking that a conversion to a grocery store would be fairly easy and the loading docks are already there. I wouldn’t want to leave the loading docks facing Martin, perhaps screening of some sort could be built into any potential conversion.

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Raleigh’s Nash Square: Connecting the dots (Part 1)

As Raleigh’s downtown renaissance continues, two districts stand out above the rest. Glenwood South has truly become a destination: it has been successful in bringing people to the city’s core outside of the hours of 9-5. On the southern end of downtown, the city has invested hundreds of millions with a similar goal in mind: bringing conventions and conventioneers to Raleigh. While bringing people to downtown is essential, the ultimate goal is to have them stay downtown, as residents. Residents need amenities and entertainment; the closer they are the better. This is where Nash Square (the blocks adjacent, not the actual park) comes into play, easy accessibility to Glenwood South and the Convention District.

Weighing Nash Square’s location

Pros:
• Close to Glenwood South
• Close to Convention district
• Close to Fayetteville Street
• Close to Moore Square/ City Market

Cons:
• Proximity to the jail
• Pedestrian “unfriendliness” of McDowell/Dawson
• Development resistant blocks: Raleigh City Hall, Bellsouth switching building, County Jail/Court House.

The Current State of Nash Square

Block 1 is where the action is currently happening. The Dawson sits on the north side of the lot and there are plans for another residential project in the lot to the south.

Block 2 Park Devereaux one of the downtown pioneers sits here along with a fire station.

Block 3 Joe’s Place, which will be staying in business.

Block 4 Some restaurants and other businesses here. Probably minimal historic value in most of the buildings though.

Block 5 Parking deck/ Wake County courthouse’s future extension and the public safety center.

Block 6 News and Observer, which will be redeveloped to into an HQ tower plus additional future development.

Block 7 Bell south switching building (terrible pedestrian experience)

Block 8 Raleigh city hall and police facilities.

End of Part 1, coming up next a gallery and the Nash square of the future.

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2005 was certainly an interesting year for Raleigh: we learned of a new tallest building and a long awaited rumor finally became reality.

We were surprised at the beginning of the year to learn about The Soleil Center (formerly the Glen Tree), which will be built adjacent to Crabtree Valley Mall. In addition to being the new tallest at ~44 stories, The Soleil Center will also give Raleigh a much needed 4 star Westin. (If I recall correctly, I think that more 4 star/luxury rooms were a requirement for Raleigh being able to host the NHL All Star game.)

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