This whole area is going to be really interesting. As Glenwood South gentrifies past the bar scene to more mixed use over time, I can imagine this area becoming a big party scene destination.
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I got an ad in the mail today for that car repair place…
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The NIMBYS can hear you, don’t say things like that. I think what you meant to say was that this will be filled with church tenants
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Rezoning request for 2114 Atlantic Ave (warehouse just south of the Iron Works) just came across the wire… twenty stories. Think it’s safe to say this is the new Warehouse District.
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Oh hell yeah!!!
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I can get behind that idea.
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The city’s comprehensive plan used to call for extending Whitaker Mill to Capital, across from Crabtree Blvd. Don’t see that plan there anymore, wonder what happened? It feels like there’s getting to be a pretty substantial “right/wrong side of the tracks” vibe here with Atlantic/Wake Forest booming like gangbusters and Capital Blvd just… continuing to be the same it always has been. Which is unfortunate, I guess? Anyway, some better connectivity would probably help.
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How are you coming to the conclusion that there’s a right/wrong side of the tracks going on here?
The Capital Blvd. corridor plan from 2012 only recommends extending Whitaker Mill towards Capital, then turning into Laurelbrook St. This looks just like the comprehensive plan’s street plan, so I think it changed when this Small Area Plan got adopted.
Other than citywide plans, Raleigh has Small Area Plans to describe how specific neighborhoods should be connected inside itself. We also have them for Five Points and Midtown:
…but I wonder if it makes more sense to stop talking about these places as different places? What if it makes more sense to re-think this entire area as a “Downtown North” district, and use it as a reason for better connections?
By the way, if we cared enough about this, anyone can petition to have the Comprehensive Plan amended.
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The census data that was just released show people living in the East End (518) and Mordecai (505) census tracts have pretty different incomes with respect to poverty (graphed by yours truly):
…and then there’s also different development patterns, city plans, and resident demographics between the two sides of Capital Blvd. I think the latter (SFH-centric Mordecai vs newly- and densely-developed East End) is what @orulz was pointing at, but there’s the former, as well.
This issue is on my mind, too, since it reminds me a bit of Durham’s downtown and Hayti district being split apart by NC147.
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The city is clearly prioritizing the experience along the stretch of Capital from DT to the Beltline. Frankly, I can’t blame them for that decision, regardless of how it might bisect potential connected experiences to each side. I also think that we have to remember the challenge that the railroad presents to connection anyway.
In the particular case of the East End Market vs. Crabtree Blvd., I think that both sides will develop, and the Crabtree Blvd. side will particularly benefit from an improved Capital Blvd. “gateway”. In fact, I predict that there will be more complaints about rapid gentrification and displacement in the future than any perception of there being a deliberate “wrong side of the tracks” situation. In fact, the Crabtree Blvd area is already seeing rapidly accelerating home values.
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The reason I mention “right side/wrong side” is that all the investment seems to be going on the Atlantic/Wake Forest side, and Capital isn’t getting much as of today. But you’re right, it may yet! And these days, right or wrong, investment and development is often scapegoated for displacement and gentrification.
At any rate, if/when BRT dedicated lanes ever make their way up Capital, there’s a chance the Norfolk Southern bridge might have to be rebuilt. And once that’s underway, perhaps they might as well build an extra underpass for Crabtree Blvd over to Whitaker Mill while they’re at it.
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For some reason, I seem to also remember that there are wetland/creek issues to also be solved within the Capital corridor. Maybe it’s a false memory?
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I found this on that corridor’s area plan, hidden among other development-related proposals. Was this what you were thinking about?
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I have always wished that Crabtree Blvd would extend and connect to the Atlantic Ave area through where the Salvation Army building is, especially now, seeing that huge crane looming above. It feels totally disconnected, as is.
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Hope this is the right thread for this. Fencing going up around the Country Club apartments (Oberlin / Fairview) for demolition.
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Fencing has been up for a while, and they started removing windows a week or two ago! Wondering if they’re going to try to reuse the windows, otherwise I don’t know why they’d take the time to remove them before demo’ing the buildings.
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Are there any future plans to connect the two streets?
No, there are no plans to extend Crabtree Blvd. We talked about transportation plans for this area not too long ago.
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