Haha! We just had opposite thoughts on it…
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I’d take another SkyHouse concept tower but condos vs apartments. You could put that anywhere and I’d be happy.
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I think that’s a completely reasonable perspective.
My main point isn’t that we necessarily have (or need) a distinct Identity. I’m acknowledging that we lack one, and the small size of our city then puts us at risk of being defined by a poor urban built environment, which is what separates us from the other places you mentioned in your previous comment.
I just don’t want to become Charlotte, where we become known for bad, bland architecture. I think it is worth it – even if we have to wait a few extra years – to prioritize design, especially considering our extremely limited urban grid. Atlanta may not have a distinct identity, but it is still a pleasant city. It has enough cool stuff to not be overshadowed by the rest.
2 or 3 more skyhouses wouldn’t kill me. I also don’t think they’re the worst thing in the world, for the record – they’re bad buildings, but it could be worse. I’m just not thrilled by the idea of looking to them as something we should welcome in large numbers into our city, when it doesn’t really get us any benefit. Good design is worth a little bit of wait. It’s worth it today, and it will be worth it when we look back on our city decades from now.
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If we could get something with better design than Skyhouse, but for the same $/Square Foot or $/unit, and then mass produce that… it would be even better.
But to me Skyhouse isn’t even bad. It’s definitely generic but really, it’s actually better than average for residential high rise architecture. It’s definitely not bad enough for me to turn down a hypothetical opportunity to get the density equivalent of 2000 units, maybe more, in the space of a single downtown city block. Ok maybe 6+ of them on a single block wouldn’t be my first choice (but would that even be so bad??), but certainly a dozen so spread out in singles and pairs all over town (All corners of DTR, Downtown South, NH, Crabtree, Fairgrounds, Mission Valley, Durham, Cary Towne Center, DT Cary even …) would be just fine with me - awesome even, given the impact and obvious economy of scale.
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If I were to go back to living in an apartment, I’d almost certainly end up back at SkyHouse, mostly because of the amenities. Granted, it’s often just a slightly older frat/sorority, but the actual building amenities and 24h lobby attendant/security is really nice. I don’t think any other buildings downtown have 24 hour entrance attendance, do they?
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Skyhouse has good designs and I’m sure any city would welcome one or two. They do a good job with putting some sort of crown on them, which is always nice.
Raleigh:
Twins for Chartown!
(maybe Block83 parking can get a tennis court?) 
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I agree. Put it right next to the current one and make it 5+ stories taller or shorter than the current one to give it some offset.
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I actually LIKE the design of Skyhouse. I prefer the one in Raleigh (rounded top/crown) to the two in Charlotte with a parking deck sandwiched in between 
. As for a second Skyhouse… I think the former Goodwill parcel would be the one and only place that I might like to see a second Skyhouse. It would increase density, but I would hate to see cookie cutter buildings (ala big-box, monotone surburbia) all over the place, especially downtown.
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Yeah, I don’t really get the dislike for Skyhouse. I think it is a perfectly nice building, it looks good from Moore Square, has ground floor retail, and it adds hundreds of residents to downtown Raleigh.
I agree with those saying they would be happy with another one or two (or more). IMO, our downtown in Raleigh is so small, we still need to achieve a critical mass of density. Not every building has to be a masterpiece/statement of architecture. I think it may be in part because there are so few decent-sized buildings downtown that we are all so picky about each one. If we had like 50 buildings over 250 feet, we wouldn’t even care as long as the street level was active.
But as it is, we have tons of surface parking lots (including gravel), car-rental places, a drive-through McDonald’s, several Texas Doughnuts, etc, in the heart of downtown, so I would absolutely welcome more Skyhouses. I also like that it is relatively tall, but pretty narrow, it only takes up like 1/6 of a block, so it doesn’t overwhelm the pedestrian experience, unlike some of those apartment complexes that have an entire block that is not activated.
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I’m still waiting on our first one.
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Just to be clear, I have absolutely nothing against Skyhouse. I would love for them to build another on this lot, preferably like one in Charlotte because of the different top and would look a little different than the one already built. But if I had my choice, a second Walter would be nice because it is 35 stories and would add some height to the west side of DT.
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lol exactly… And literally no one is saying every building should be a statement in the first place.
From a layman (me) I think of Charlotte as being defined by two things… having top notch skyscraper architecture and having the single worst downtown street experience I’ve ever seen. (Good beer scene on the fringes though so that balances things some)
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Completely agree. When I first went there 10 years ago I was jealous driving in how much cooler it looked than Raleigh, and how it had the skyline I hoped Raleigh would have. Then I went to look for things to do, and I realized how boring and lifeless it seemed, and didn’t go back for many years (except for IKEA). The last couple of times I went more recently, the outskirts with the breweries and more local places actually make it kind of nice.
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You have to admit though that Raleigh is slowly having a wonderful skyline with 301 being built and soon, I hope smoky hollow phase 3 with their tower/zimmer tower as well. But the question is…do we really need so many high rise towers to look like charlotte ???, Note: would like to see the site 2 & 3 tower project near the RCC be built but again, Raleigh’s DT is indeed growing.
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We need that many buildings to look like Charlotte its be a money skyline. attract billionaire for the MLB, and others.
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I actually don’t think they even have good skyscrapers tbh, with the exception of Pelli Clarke Pelli’s BOA corporate center. Duke Energy Center’s alright too, but other than that, it’s pretty universally bland postmodern stuff. Height’s the only thing Charlotte has going for it imo.
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You don’t like Hearst ? That’s like right there with the Chrysler Building to my eyes.
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I Can’t agree with you, developers are on loans, and need tenants so no. We can become Charlotte and still have priority design, it just the process can’t be 2-3 years it should 1-5 months. Get there reasonable permit and zoning approval and requests done and start building.
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Dang, the Chrysler comparison is shocking to me lol (but that’s also one of my favorite buildings, so…)
I see it as bad pomo that didn’t age well, but I understand its appeal and this is probably a little bit of my own bias showing. I actually think the only postmodern buildings that aged well are the simpler ones more indebted to Art Deco. I think that’s why raleigh’s bb&t building aged much better than the Wachovia tower, which was built around the same time, and Charlottes BOA center still looks really, really elegant.
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