I couldn’t agree more. This is the block that could connect the wild west side to Fayett St.
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And be the bridge to the warehouse district, the eventual west st. tunnel extension, and all the development coming around Dix. I can see an eventual continuous arc of density from Moore square all the way to Maywood Ave. down Lake Wheeler Rd. But Nexus is a huge part of that future.
BTW, whatever happened to that ~30 story tower that was proposed at the Legends block?
4 Likes
If the city was serious, they could offer up their 1.34 acre parking deck @ 429 S Wilmington to a developer for a 50 floor building: ground floor retail, parking levels 2-8 and 800+ units above (150+ affordable).
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Maybe we need to land somewhere between being a realist and idealist. Not sure what that looks or sounds like though. LOL.
It’s unfortunate both these projects are dead at least for now I think with the construction Salisbury I’ll give some developer confidence to change there plans to residential. And fill that area up.
But think of the shadows on the historic parking lots to the east!
2 Likes
That would be a great block to redevelop. The square to square connection wld be awesome. Bus depot is an issue.
A new (additional) location for Sir Walter Raleigh coffee is coming to 555 Fayetteville (It may be where the B.Good restaurant used to be). That’s a plus for the area. It looks like it will be a much larger venue than their original location.
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I thought I heard that they’re going to maintain both locations. One just serves coffee, the other goes more for food (and coffee).
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That is correct. A much larger menu at the second location.
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This will be good for that part of Fayetteville St. Chido Taco has outdoor seating which gives some outdoor life. I’m assuming Sir Walter will add some as well.
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City of Raleigh should progressively try to extend Fayetteville Street perfectly straight for as far as possible south with key features terminating the vista like the performance art center and fountains and art work.
South Raleigh streetscape is shaped by hostile highways which goal is to completely avoid south Raleigh until it reaches another highway. That is a mistake that needs to be corrected. There’s no reason Wilmington Street south of MLK Blvd should stay a highway when there’s two huge high speed roads next door (I-70/McDowell and Hammond).
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Not a fan of that idea. The bookends of Memorial Auditorium and the Capitol are great. There’s no practical reason to extend Fayetteville farther.
I do think grid repair to the south of downtown is a major need and a challenging one.
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The Terminating Vistas of the Auditorium and the Capitol will ‘bookend’ the view already, extending the street will start to transform a dead area next to downtown into a high density but walkable urban area. The Dix Park projects are high density but not really walkable from downtown at the moment.
Europes longest walking street is pleasant walk and comfortable walk. Try walking from downtown Raleigh to Garner. lol
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Would there be any political motive to get rid of the McDowell/MLK loop and restore some of the grid there? It does literally nothing useful for traffic.
Best option (not cheapest) is that when it continues, go under the Performing Arts Center. Kind of European in idea but it keeps vehicals going through? 
You can walk around the PAC and continue south. Eventually in many decades from now a plaza will form around the PAC.
Jeez that’s crowded! Is that Glenwood South on a weekend night?