Seeing this big time from Wade > 440!
@Daniel I guess technically, we should follow the arena construction in this thread. I didn’t realize this corridor was as big as it is on this map.
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Clearly there are folks who are trying to package a district here out of some organically developed identities. Jury is out for me if they are able to create a cohesive identity beyond just a colorful map. Out of the bunch, the South of Hillsborough is intriguing to me because it seems to be something that has room for identity creation.
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I live just to the west of the orange section in the Beer & Snacks District. Wonder why they didn’t include that…
Well, the pieces are there already. From North to South, the Health and Wellness District is anchored by UNC Rex and the surrounding medical office. The Arts and Research District is anchored by the NC Museum of Art and Prairie Ridge Ecostation. And the Entertainment & Education District is anchored by PNC Arena, Carter-Finley, and the Fairgrounds.
So there are a lot of assets, they are all just kind of siloed and not cohesive. It definitely could benefit from walkability and connectivity. They are supposedly working on that pedestrian/bike bridge on Blue Ridge Road, although I haven’t noticed much progress recently.
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Yeah we’ve been wondering about that too. Did that stall?
I’m not sure. It seemed like they were working for a little while, and then nothing. The project’s website was last updated in June and says the the construction start date is winter 2023 and it is supposed to be completed in spring 2024.
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Probably wanting to finish the Blue Ridge Rd tunnel under the RR crossing before anything else…
the Entertainment & Education District also include the NCSU vet school and hospital, between Blue Ridge and Beltway.
I’m possibly too much of a purist urbanist, but the idea of these themed districts is dumb to me. Build dense neighborhoods with neighborhood services in the boundary zones between neighborhoods. We’re in a housing crises, not a research and development shortage…
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Isn’t this similar to how zoning districts were to separate residential districts from commercial, offices, etc? So still creating an environment where people are going to need to drive to get to these districts? I don’t like these separated districts either.
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I agree. It’s just marketing, I guess. 
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Department of human services is starting to peek
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I live in an older section of Meredith Woods between Lake Boone & NCMA. I’m excited to see the conceptual drawings, but most of the underutilized land along Blue Ridge is state owned. The idea of a “collaborative” effort with private developers will probably be a painfully slow process. Hope I’m wrong.
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SoHi?
Here are the characters…
I believe negotiations are already underway for phase 2 of the DHHS campus which is developer led (vs phase 1 being state run).
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I went to the top of the Wade Park parking deck yesterday and still couldn’t see the steel frame of the DHHS building. But this morning at the Trinity/Blue Ridge stoplight, I snapped this.
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You can see it peaking above the trees now from Ridge Rd at Martin Middle School. I did not pull over for the photo, but I am sure some trusty reader on the west side can grab a shot.