from the article’s list of 3 things that will take place to revitalize:
" Alexander Square Deck (120 S. Wilmington St.) Upgrade : Highwoods plans to give the popular FS District deck a face-lift, complete with upgraded facade, new awnings, garage doors and more to make it more attractive to FS-goers. “It’s most important to us that this part of Fayetteville Street gets activated and it’s the cool place to be,” says Highwoods’ Skip Hill."
So, sounds like redeveloping the parking deck there is completely dead. MEH.
Also to add: there is no way just plopping yet ANOTHER new restaurant on Fayetteville will do ANYTHING to revitalize it. Have they not learned anything from the past, idk, 15 years?? LMAO. ENTERTAINMENT & NIGHTLIFE is what is needed to spark more interest on Fayetteville St. Give us STUFF TO ACTUALLY DO on Fayetteville St.
I just think the right entertainment concept(s) is what is lacking to turn it around. With all the residential development proposed and the potential ‘flagship’ towers near the performing arts center they will desperately need things to entertain people/visitors with.
I know we’ve all mentioned ad nauseam things like movie theaters, bowling alleys, Carolina Hurricanes bar, etc. Hell I’d even take something like Partee Shack on Fayetteville street.
Multi-prong dining plus entertainment concepts like Pinewood Social in Nashville would help…maybe it doesn’t have to be so ‘trendy’ but morning, noon and night active…yep.
I like the positivity and energy, but IMO it strains credibility to say the goal is to be “the coolest street in the southeast and beyond.” Curious to see what they do to make it cooler than Bourbon Street, Beale Street, and Broadway.
Agree. The level of irony is nauseating.
From the article:
“the once dynamic corridor is the focus of some key power players who have their sights set squarely on its resurgence. As a major investor owning 1.4 million square feet of office space Downtown (including four towers on Fayetteville Street: Charter Square, One City Plaza (including the four plaza “jewel boxes”), PNC Plaza and, as of July 2021,
the Wells Fargo Building), Highwoods Properties, of course, is one of them.”
Highwoods developed none of the properties they own on Fayetteville Street. Not a single one. If they are one of the power players behind the effort, then my expectations are lower than a whale’s turd in the deepest ocean.
It’s a nice name, sounds good in a Southern accent, Fayetteville isn’t a meaningful competitor city in any way, I wouldn’t get tied up in knots around it.
Hell, the most famous street in the Midwest is Michigan Avenue, and it’s in Illinois.
Main Street would be a continuation of Raleigh’s tendency to default to the most generic possible names for things (ahoy Village District and Forest Park).
You’re reading my brain, though downtown may not be a good location. I’ve already indentured the right corridors for a Gucci store it isn’t downtown. However a district for open beer is great I hope there serious about development, as High woods attended a meeting to try to attract HQs here.
I was always told that the four streets radiating from the capitol represented the four cities that vied for the state capital recognition: Hillsborough, Halifax, New Bern, and Fayetteville. This is great to know and clear up that misconception.
Also, I like the street names. Its respective of Raleigh being a planned city, and one of the earliest in the US to be planned specifically for a capital.
I’m also seeing a lot of the same ideas being thrown around, as if having what other cities have and plopping it down in DTR will suddenly make it like those other cities. If you want Manhattan…move to NYC like I did, but let Raleigh be what it is. Stop aspiring for Gucci or attractions in Chicago or LA or whatever. Glenwood South didn’t need that when it became a destination. Sure a selfie museum sounds fun, but it’s not really organic, nor is it sustainable for residents to use more than once.
Instead, we should look at Glenwood, and Hargett and Martin, and Hillsborough streets as places that are vibrant for locals, and make sure we are putting that same effort with Fayetteville Street. No more $50 steak joints. Bring in locals who know the area, the food, the culture, the vibe. I love walking the aforementioned other DTR streets, stopping in a Bida Manda for dinner, strolling to Lucettegrace for dessert, hitting up Deco if it’s still open at that hour, and then going to Raleigh Times for a night cap. That one evening, I have hit four different businesses and spent more time there than I would at some Gucci store or selfie museum.
