There was a previous TBJ article that said 21-story residential and 27-story office were being submitted soon. They must’ve upped the residential tower. Should see the office tower soon I would expect.
13 Likes
That general massing is probably the most efficient use of the space, and pure rectangles have been out of fashion since modernism faded away (though honestly, with good materials they’d look better than most of these attempts at zhuzhing up the basic shape).
1 Like
I think it’s interesting Steve Malik is a Managing Member on the filing.
And this is zoned DX-40, so of course would be good to get some more use out of that zoning but I’ll take what’s submitted all day.
6 Likes
I don’t love how it turns it’s back to Saunders St., sort of locks in Saunders as a speedway to get between 40 and Downtown instead of making it a true gateway to Downtown. Minor complaint, I suppose!
3 Likes
Agreed. Kane did the same thing at NH along six forks with Tower 1 and Tower 2. It creates larger hurdles to ever making Saunders or Six Forks a walkable, multi-modal corridor and further concrete’s it into “if you aren’t in a car, you don’t belong here”
5 Likes
My opinions on this tend to shift from time to time. These days, I tend to think that arterials (Six Forks, South Saunders, etc) should prioritize transportation and not really try to be destinations themselves. They should accommodate all modes (cars, buses, bikes, pedestrians) comfortably, but their purpose is getting from one place to another so not having human scale buildings along them is kind of OK.
We want to focus on creating inviting human scaled environments that are connected to, easily accessible (and visible from) these arterials - but not necessarily facing the arterials themselves. Who wants to sit at a sidewalk cafe facing South Saunders Street? Nobody.
15 Likes
The best views will be to the north/northeast facing downtown so those units should have premium. The other units will get non-stop highway noises.
2 Likes
Wouldn’t that Red Roof Inn building be acquired for the new development?
I agree but I would complain less if they had put a plan in place for pedestrian traffic between North Hills’ 2 sides ahead of time. The current situation is untenable and the “trolley” between the sides is a joke.
4 Likes
Philosophically I agree with everything you stated. In practice though I’m skeptical that these arterials will undergo road diets to become friendly to modes outside of an automobile.
To that point, I think my brain was heading in the direction that Cain could have included in his site plan the sidewalks and bike lanes that Saunders needs, but I understand the reverse argument
2 Likes
We’d still be waiting for NCDOT to tell him that the traffic doesn’t support it. I honestly don’t blame him for not going down that path at this time.
He is incorporating a greenway down Green Street though.
And DOTs are finally warming up to multimodal so I do think at some point they’ll let the city turn Saunders into more of a mixed corridor.
8 Likes
I think this is true of all of the peripheries of Kane developments. The streets surrounding Midtown and Smoky Hollow just feel like means to access the the shops which all face towards the interior. I wish they did more to activate those surrounding streets to invite more developers to continue weaving our urban fabric rather than hemming themselves in.
1 Like
The pool and grilling area at my apartment complex is right next to Duraleigh and, even with a few bushes and trees between us and the road, it’s still loud and a little unpleasant. Not ideal, for sure.
I think I’m mostly with you on this. Let the arterials be arterials (but don’t build any more), and maybe in the future they can go the way of what we’ll soon be seeing on New Bern. Building density around an arterial often ends poorly: Six Forks is a literal canyon in the middle of North Hills. They really need a tunnel there.
18 Likes
Downtown Raleigh is set up better than most other big cities access wide. I don’t see where we could even put any new arterials other than neighborhood connections - which would increase connectivity with our grid and help diet our main ones.
I’ve done a few write ups on it but the key to being able to diet S Saunders is to enhance the grid south of Downtown.
15 Likes
a decent hedgerow that invites birds and privacy fencing where neeeded?
1 Like
if you look at all the SFH stuff in quail corners with sidewalks and all the SFH stuff along Lassiter mill, i think also with sidewalks, a walk from Compton to get a beer at NH or a bike ride from that area to harris teeter isnt bad at all. kind of easy really.
2 Likes
Sorry couldn’t resist. Have lived near Compton for 10 years and that song goes through my head every time I see the road sign.
3 Likes
I agree. I’m on the Lassiter Mill side of Six Forks and if I have time, I will walk to get a manicure or to an appointment at Lenscrafters or to pick up food for my 
at the vet hospital. You just have to have the time to do it, which is actually my biggest challenge because I work so much. I run on Six Forks in the morning, and that does make me a little uncomfortable because no one making turns on/off Six Forks is looking for people on the sidewalks so you just have to keep an eye out.
8 Likes
Just under 300 feet tall. Would technically be the 5th tallest building in Raleigh. I wonder how tall the office tower will get.
6 Likes