Raleigh Renaissance

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.