Downtown Wells Fargo is moving out of Downtown Raleigh. Sigh.
Wells Fargo also left the 42-story One Wells Fargo Center and the 32-story Two Wells Fargo Center towers in downtown Charlotte.
They’re just gutting their office footprint in NC overall.
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Time for some office spaces in DTR to be converted into apartments or preferably condos.
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Where are they going
According to the news they are leaving the tower downtown. The other locations will absorb the employees.
There is significant residential momentum in downtown and the city should be doing everything that it can to encourage it, incubate more of it, and augment it with a variety of supporting resources/experiences (Smoky Hollow Park anyone???). Create community among those who call downtown home and let the relationships organically bear fruit with start-ups, arts, and destination experiences that will attract others. IMO, corporate towers filled with daily commuters don’t create community.
Sitting around and waiting for a corporation to save downtown is the most foolish thing that I can imagine right now. Create a lively, creative and desirable place for people first and business interests will eventually folllow.
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Honestly I’m just shocked that WRAL didn’t say they were moving the Wells Fargo Building out of downtown. 
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i guess the space is tough to figure out. what if you basically just closed it back off to cars, and made it a quality meandering space (luminaries at night, a doggie poop spot, signage at each end) for the people that actually work downtown…who might flow out into that street/area for lunch and lunchtime shopping, etc…and just a relaxing urban spot for residents that happen to live downtown as an alternative…no grand scheme, iow.
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For those who didn’t want to Google it
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Whatever the solution it is, there needs to be big bold ideas. While I appreciate the things like parklettes, and the social district, we need more impactful ideas & experiences. For the life of me, and as an example, I don’t see the logic in moving slowly through the process of implementing SH Park. It’s gonna happen. Make it happen more quickly! The side street that the city is studying to make pedestrian friendly in the Warehouse District should be something that’s pursued with haste.
For Fayetteville Street, I like your idea of doing something big and impactful. Another big idea is just eliminate more of the parking and extend the sidewalk experience by extending outdoor dining and other activations like platforming more natural places for people to watch parades down Fayetteville. The restoration of the street to vehicles is ho-hum at best, and improvements need to continue!
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I’m curious to see how Fayetteville Street and Hillsborough Street (up to Boylan Avenue) will compare when the Holiday Inn comes down and goes back up. Fayetteville Street is cornered by the Capital on one end and the Performing Arts Center on the other. Hillsborough Street leads to NC State and Glenwood South. So I’m curious to see how the activity compares between the two of them; Both during the day and at night.
Both have residential near them.
Both have hotels near them.
Hillsborough has bike lanes, but Fayetteville is comfortable to bike as well without them.
Both have blocks which don’t really have retail.
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Looks like Lou Moshakos (owner of Carolina Ale House and Vidrio) officially bought 227 Fayetteville St (the YMCA building) for $15 million
Wonder if this is the beginning of the end for that YMCA’s tenure there. One of the quotes in the article mentions Lou Moshakos said:
“I wanted to buy this building a long time ago when I fell in love with it and wanted to have a food court before the food court craze.”
and
“It’s very important piece of real estate right in the heart of downtown Raleigh, and the building is 100 percent leased, for now,” Moshakos told TBJ last year. “If someone leaves, we will find a replacement tenant for the right price. I am in no hurry.”
I think he sees the same thing in this building that we all see. It’s got a ton of potential. It has a large downstairs location, two large and poorly used alleyways next to it (absolutely ripe for tables and chairs). While I am a customer of that YMCA, I can only feel that this building has much more potential than that.
I met Lou once on New Years a number of years ago at Vidrio. He’s a great guy and really sees a lot in Raleigh. I have to imagine that he has high aspirations for this street and am very happy that we have someone here that sees the potential here.
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As an avid gym goer, that particular YMCA floorplan just seems WAY too small to be a city’s main downtown location; I imagine if/when they move out, they’ll find an even bigger space to build out a more functional gym for the population it’s intended to serve (aka all of downtown). I’d go crazy trying to get my daily workouts finished while infinitely waiting for machines and benches to open up lmao
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My money avidly goes to the YMCA. Me? Not so much. 
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I remember when that Y opened, it was billed as a place for workers to get in a workout during the day. I wonder how many residents use it as all the new apartment buildings seem to throw in a gym anyway. I’d certainly use that Y but I’m a swimmer (higher maintenance, I know) so I go to the Alexander Y and sometimes Pullen.
I do hope they can stick it out, unless Moshakos has other plans, as workers are returning and residents numbers are going up. It’ll take awhile though.
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My partner and I use the Poyner Y as “West End” residents (not in apartments). I don’t like boutique gyms like Madabolic, F45, CrossFit, etc. I’m not a fan of the Alexander Y, despite it having way more equipment and classes, because I get sensory overload from big, busy gyms and end up not going.
There are definitely improvements I would make at Poyner (could we please get one more power rack? At least one bench with safety pins?). But I have no problem doing what I need to do there because I don’t go during peak times and all I really need are free weights and barbell setups. I’d be sad if it ended up just like every other gym I hate going to, but I won’t be surprised if that eventually happens.
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The one thing I’ll say about the usual “luxury apartments” amenity gyms is that … they are very basic/bare minimum gyms that might work for the residents that literally just wanna use the treadmill, or mess around with free-weights, but someone like myself would absolutely need to still have a membership at a standalone gym with a variety of machines and tools to maximize my workout. So I can definitely still see a need for a bigger, more robust gym downtown! I don’t think the downtown Y moving out would mean it wasn’t needed, moreso it’s just not as useful for what it’s needed FOR, if that makes sense. The Hillsborough St Y is so much larger, I’d imagine anyone with a membership to both more often just goes to that one (I think if you’re a member at one, you can utilize both - someone correct me if I’m wrong).
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Fan and user of the open and airy Alexander Y on Hillsborough Street. Although, if I didn’t go very early in the am, it definitely is way to crowded in the afternoon. I wish they had real competition by a larger gym and would think that there would be a good case for for such, but getting off discussion point, sorry… 
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Yeah, I use this Y pretty frequently too, but for the exercise classes. The lunchtime classes are always packed, and I would be sad to see this one leave. Alexander Y is always pretty crowded.
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From what I’ve seen, they plan on moving into the Duke Energy Center in Charlotte and want to put their name on top of the building