Agreed. Overall I like the added density. But it is kind of meh for a prominent location. But it’s an improvement over what is there now. - As long as they keep the trees.
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You’re right that there’s not much separating them. Because it’s done by the same firm. The same firm that has done 80% of multifamily construction in the Triangle over the last decade. Honestly, the quality of buildings being built here would improve tenfold if developers would literally just work with someone outside the bottom tier designers that just recycle their own work. Fresh eyes bring different results.
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It’s all about the 
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Talked to an employee in Wilson’s today. He has worked there a long time and said he has heard nothing about redevelopment there. I wonder how far along this project or proposal is?
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Only problem is…with ALL of those supposed 40 story options I would be willing to bet that none of them actually even come close to utilizing that height… 
The PDF in Leo’s opening post is an administrative site review application. It means the developers, a mysterious company called Dalian Development, just started the process of getting a thumb’s up for going through their project plan (which has to happen before they can get all the necessary permits to make this building happen).
The signature was dated for July 7, and it just got uploaded and made public. Of course the employee didn’t know about this; this is news for everyone (who’s not an insider) and it’s just getting started.
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Hopefully the planning department will advise for the design to be modified to prevent deck entrances on Hillsborough.
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My thoughts exactly. This might be an unpopular opinion but that area as it is right now… is like a ghost town. They really need to develop this area. It makes downtown look sleepy. I feel like although it’s not a major vertical building. Having more housing downtown will add density and foot traffic by default. Plus residents will want walkable stores etc.
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LCD…$$$$$…ugh, Cline…
Very few humans, in my experience, do not have the $ top of mind or at least in the top tier of desires…
This is where the civic aspect of development misses connecting with the business aspect.
At some point, even as an armchair developer you’ll find yourself in your first remodel and you realize it’s easier to raze the damn thing to get what you really want and then 
you have to then decide if your heart can get to the place your checkbook arrives first.
The one thing about this site that I see on the regular from comments, is LOTS of folks seemingly have not been through this reality.
Towers! - build them TALL! Save the cool things!
Think about not prioritizing where cars go! Whhhhyyyyyy…?
Well, yeah - it’s the F/n money…
It’s where we all should put our 
Otherwise, shake fist at sky on community sites…not saying that’s you @John
Just saying, in general…
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The real question from a developer’s perspective:
Why increase cost basis and financial risk to deliver ________ when there’s little competition in DTR for basic offerings like new apartments/condos/retail space?
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Wow, so both Flex and Legends have redevelopments in the pipeline. I’m sure being the only gayborhood in North America without a single gay bar will be great for the Warehouse District’s reputation. 
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This is exactly why I’m most upset. Our gay hangouts have gone from 4-5 eight years ago to now possibly zero. It sucks for the community. I was a karaoke host at flex for years and I’m really going to miss it if it goes away.
So while most of you don’t have any attachment to these buildings, I do. And many others do. Now we’ll have some generic apartment retail like the Hue, which is probably some of the worst I’ve seen.
Losing things like this, to me, makes any city have a little less soul, a little less history, and little more boring.
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I don’t believe I’d call it a gayborhood. This is Raleigh after all. But yes, it is sad to lose a place that fosters a community. Like southland ballroom when smoky hollow was built… Or goodnight’s impending doom. These are the types of spaces that can’t be easily replicated with a new development
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You might not see it that way, but history says otherwise:
Whenever I try to convince people here in Chapel Hill and Durham to take downtown Raleigh’s art and culture scene seriously (beyond highbrow things like museums and the Duke Energy Center), they always look at me weirdly and dismiss Raleigh’s “lack of character or soul”. …and this just seems to play into the stereotype 
I’m not fundamentally against this building, either, since we do need denser buildings for sustainable growth. Plus, buildings develop character over time; it’s unfair to expect new buildings to express them from day 1 -especially since architects have historically been taught to look down on the idea of “buildings with character” in the first place.
With that said, though, I also wish the city had more robust ways to help specific businesses survive in some way or form if they’re key parts of local communities. The UN has a program to protect and preserve “intangible cultural heritages” as an extension of how the Geneva convention makes it a war crime to destroy world heritage sites. I wonder if the City of Raleigh can create a local version of that, and make creative policies to help preserve community hotspots that are uniquely meaningful to Raleigh’s culture?
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There’s really nothing surprising to read here. That’s been the narrative for decades.
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There is also Work on Fayetteville St which is pretty fun; and they take cards instead of cash only.
This is another of my projects. I dont have design dates yet but the project is moving forward. At one point there was consideration to go to 10 stories due to lumber cost.
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You and Jake can have a duel. I’ll be your second since I’m happy for anything going in here.
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That is… quite an analogy. There’s a few differences between developing a block and committing a war crime. And while I agree that some things should be preserved or valued, any code like that with subjective discretion has room for abuse.
Take the curious case of this shopping center: https://twitter.com/benrosstransit/status/1418985825455460355?s=21
I’d rather keep those store fronts too. But let’s not overcorrect.
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