Talked to employee of Wilson’s outdoor equipment this morning . Today is their last day. Not reopening anywhere else. No details on when construction will begin .
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That’s a shame, unless I can fix my blown up lawn equipment myself, I’ll have to haul my stuff to North Raleigh or Garner.
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As an adult, I’ve never lived in anything but apartments or condos, so I’ve never stepped foot in that store.
Yeah, but still sucks that a SUPER longstanding downtown Raleigh small/local business is getting shuttered due to a super lackluster development.
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I marked them permanently closed on Google Maps, and it was instantly accepted. Must be official!
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And literally the only one around for miles. Retail, parts, and repair for basically commercial grade lawn equipment.
But like @John was saying, most people moving downtown don’t have or want a yard and all the maintenance that comes with it. Part of the reason many move downtown.
Oh well, it was inevitable but good while it lasted!
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Owner died inn November. Family decided to cash out
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I wasn’t making a value judgment. I was only saying that I had never been in it.
Well RIP to the owner, but makes me feel a bit better about them shuttering their business!
EDIT: Not “better” per se, I’m not saying I’m happy they’re closing because the guy died. Just better that they’re NOT closing because they’re being pushed out. I probably don’t need to overexplain my statement I just don’t want to look like I “feel better” about it because the dude died haha
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It’s interesting to look at the project in Asheville. After seeing it, I’m convinced that the addition did a disservice to the original facade by trying to tie its colors by reference. A simpler and darker aesthetic would have been more respectful by allowing the original facade to be highlighted.
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They were doing some soils testing today on the Wilson’s Outdoor Equipment property.
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I went to Wilsons on Saturday to see if I could score some discounted lawn equipment, and they were completely sold out of everything. They only have a few parts left and oil for sale at 20% off, the owners said things are progressing quicker than they anticipated.
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It sounds like they’re closing up in the next week or so. Apparently the deadline for the entire block to be vacated is July 31, and they’re already doing soil samples, etc. I’m not super sympathetic if a business has been around for 50 years and never bothered to buy their property or even update the building, but it is definitely a noteworthy change. I’m actually more concerned about Flex. I naively think maybe gay bars aren’t as necessary today as they were 20 or 30 years ago, but it’s kind of not great when 1 of the 2 long established ones downtown closes. They didn’t respond to questions about their plans, so maybe they will just be moving to a new spot downtown.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article260737607.html
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demolished to make way for a high-rise apartment building.
high-rise.
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As a resident gay :P, gay bars are still extremely necessary for a lot of the community ~ and so I do second your “naive” statement. With the Legends rezoning and the Flex rezoning, our 2 established gay bars will be gone. I do hope another pops up with the size of Legends, and another one pops up for the clientele that Flex mostly caters to, in the downtown area. The demand is there, it’s just finding the space. I’m happy to see the development of these two sites, and have faith that something will come into the area to replace them. But gay bars are necessary!
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Honestly I kind of figured as much, especially as I thought about it more. Last I heard (been awhile tho) was that Legends was in on the rezoning and would have potentially a bigger, updated presence for whatever comes next on that block. So some hope there maybe, too?
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I believe the sale of the Legends lot was contingent on the developer finding/providing new space for them
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I’ve heard this rumor but never seen it in writing haha. I think I even asked this at the neighborhood meeting and the only answer I remember hearing was that this development isn’t happening any time soon. Anyone have any evidence this is true?
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CityPlat, the real estate firm that purchased the property said that there are no current plans for redevelopment but that plans are inevitable. I read somewhere that CityPlat is required to offer the owner of legends a location within the neighborhood to move the club to however these promises don’t always work out.
I frequently go to legends and understand the value it brings to Raleigh. That being said I also understand the added value of a 30-40 tower being built in its place. My dream is that when redevelopment occurs legends is offered a site either in the basement of the new building or on the roof. I think both options would provide an upgrade from the current building. This is highly unlikely tho considering that CityPlat now owns the land and will most likely not include the legends owner in the negotiation and design phase of future development.
My fear is CityPlat will either resell the land and drop the requirement for the new owner to offer legends a new location OR CityPlat will offer the owner of legends a new location that is either out of their budget or not adequate for the club’s needs resulting in legends turning down the offer and closing down for good.
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Serious question - has CityPlat ever actually built anything? Seems like they are all talk.
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