Wait, are those string lights across the street? Don’t they realize what a fire hazard - sorry hazard to firefolks - those are???
In all seriousness, I like how this looks very much. Lots of good details, like the curbless and permeable road. I have never in my life been to Apex - it was so far out in the country. But I guess I need to stop by sometime soon.
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Apex = Cary - 100k people basically if that helps give some context.
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This is fantastic, truly building a place that will attract businesses and visitors.
I recently was at a public hearing for the planning board of Apex representing a rezoning case, and in that meeting they recommended approval to adopt a vision zero plan, which aims to eliminate all traffic related deaths through the city’s engineering.
Although I wasn’t planning on it, I made a public comment when the time opened urging them to approach any changes to their road network holistically, separate roads and streets, and reduce speeds on streets while reducing complexity on roads
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Yeah Salem street is under all sorts of construction. Oaklyn Springs from Fuquay is opening another taproom on the ground floor of a new mixed used building they just finished too. Think I read October is when it should be open.
Awesome to hear about the zero emissions initiative. They have signs all over town about it and I’m hoping they follow through with it too.
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Clearly indicates tower plans have been scrapped for a good while. No tenant will sign a 3 year lease
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The pizza place is still there, so that’s nice.
Damn ugly for the Capital City of NC 
Considering how awful the area looked at the time, I am glad the city attempted to improve upon it… 
The street trees and newer buildings definitely helped to beautify the street. I hope to see some of the parking spaces be replaced with parklets and outdoor seating sooner than later.
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With the International Wine Festival and another event over near more square happening, and the beautiful weather, Fayetteville Street is more activated than I’ve seen in a long time during the day. Really encouraging!
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I saw the gold polygonal decorative entrance is gone from the Fayetteville side of the lobby. Anyone know why?
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For the Wells Fargo Building? This is owned by Highwoods now?
So logic will not follow actions.
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I hear that they are going to demolish the building and put in a gravel parking lot.
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As someone who has spent my entire thirteen years of Triangle residency in the suburbs and drives to downtown more often than I take the bus, I can tell you right now that I have never once had significant trouble finding parking. In fact, more often than not, I find free parking within a block or two of my destination.
Fayetteville is dead for… a lot of reasons. Hardly anyone lives on it and office occupancy is down significantly. There’s a serious lack of street activation: entire sections are tower lobbies or government buildings.
But all of that would probably be salvageable if it weren’t for one thing: the death spiral. New, interesting businesses and restaurants don’t want to move onto a street that is seen as unattractive. This makes it hard for new vacancies to be filled, and abandoned storefronts reduce the appeal of the street further. This has been happening on Fayetteville for years now, before the pandemic or the riots. It’s just not seen as a “happening” place, but you’re still going to pay the rates of a street like Glenwood or West. If you can afford that kind of rent, wouldn’t you opt for a place where you’re not surrounded by abandoned storefronts?
If I were opening a business right now, Fayetteville Street wouldn’t even make my shortlist. I only ever go there to visit Foundation or if a festival is happening. And that’s the whole problem: no one wants to be there, so why would anyone go there? It’s cyclical, and I have no idea how to even begin to address the problem.
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Maybe they should turn it into a pedestrian mall… 
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OOOoooOOOOooOOO! I have an idea! How about some sort of program where the city significantly covers a large portion of rent for new/local businesses who need a space but can’t afford downtown retail rent anywhere? Badda Bing: new/small local businesses are given a chance at success in their city, Badda Boom: Fayetteville St’s stretches of dead/unoccupied space become occupied and given new life.
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I have no clue if the City would go for that, but I love the idea, at least in theory. I think the biggest advantage that Raleigh’s downtown has over a lot of other peer cities is that retail space is primarily occupied by small, locally-owned businesses. That’s not incredibly common, and I think it’s a huge selling point for us (and something we should advertise more). The problem we’re running into is that local businesses are starting to get priced out, and we may see rents get to a point where only larger chains can afford them. Anything we can do to prevent that is a win for our “brand” (or lack thereof).
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Use one of the abandoned spaces as a commissary kitchen (Oxford?), relax permit rules on food vending carts, and make Fay st. the Street Food capital of the state.
mic drop
EDIT: To add, I recently sipped and strolled DT starting at Whiskey kitchen, to Faye street, down Faye st South to the convention center, then back up McDowell. It was… completely dead. If there was any critical mass of street food on Faye, we would have gotten a snack, hung out, maybe even found a nearby bar to buy another to-go beer.
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