Anyone have thoughts or opinions of Glenwood South? I am very optimistic for the future, however the current situation appears to be going in an unfortunate direction. Is Raleigh trying to make this similar to a broadway st. in Nashville or a bourbon st. in New Orleans? It just seems to have become more trashy over the past year. I think having 3 cornerstones is one of the worst things that could have happened to Glenwood South as well as Raleigh. And I am so confused as to how this could happen. It has such huge potential to be something unique and great for Raleigh. To be a nice entertainment, restaurant and retail district… but we keep getting crappy bars and restaurants that only last for a month then change names. Are we getting the younger crowd because all the dive bars on Hillsborough have been torn down? So that crowd has no where to go but Glenwood South?
My hope is that with One Glenwood… the upcoming AC Marriott (The WIllard), everything happening on west st coming, that it will continue to fill in other empty parts of the street and create a great destination for all. I would love to see more places like C-Grace, Cortez, Vidrio, Hibernian, Clockwork, etc… less places like Alchemy and Cornerstones.
I would also love the see the city go in and really clean it all up… repave the street, redo the sidewalks, etc. Its not that long of a stretch.
In every city there is a trashy district where people go to get trashed and walk from block to block with many bars to choose from, where cheap drinks and clubby vibes are most important. We are a college town. Hillsborough has no nightlife so Glenwood is the closest for state students. I keep getting older but those college students keep staying the same age, it’s crazy.
The reality is that these buildings are generating incomes until such time that they are redeveloped. It’s a pattern that plays out across the country in fast growing cities.
If Smokey Hollow proves successful, and the demand for RE increases, these trashy businesses will no longer be able to afford to be in their locations, but other smaller places like Clockwork and C. Grace are at risk as well.
Glenwood South is in its infancy still, and its potential is enormous. I expect it go through some cycles of good and, uh, “challenging” before it settles into its longer term stride.
No neighborhood is picture perfect, your going to have places that are “Cool or Hip” per say and your going to have places that are not so hip. Glenwood South is changing constant with condos, shops, bars, etc. and with the Peace/West project finishing up and phase 2 coming soon, Glenwood South is the destination that folks will continue to go hang out on weekends, ( the college kids and your 20 somethings ) Also with the Warehouse district blooming with new storefronts, it too will become another great place to hang out.
I like the nightlife. A whole bunch. Love Glenwood South. Cornerstone, Ale House, Noir, Solas, Alchemy and several other spots.
Many young people don’t want to move to cities without vibrant nightlife. Many of these young people, including myself, make the decision to live downtown not just because you can potentially walk to work and food, but so that you can also walk to nightlife (instead of uber or get a dd).
There’s a lot of young people going to bars on Glenwood South because there’s a lot of young people moving to Raleigh. Who do you think is moving into Kane’s Peace apartments? I’d bet majority are 25-35 year olds who want to walk to bars. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have a “party street”. I’ve been to Nashville and New Orleans in the last year and you know where I hung out most of the time? Broadway and Bourban street, and I don’t think I met any locals. Since I live in Raleigh I know which bars to avoid, though for some reason my friends love cornerstone… All this to say I think Raleigh needs a party street for the young crowd and for tourists and that is what Glenwood is becoming. Fine with me.
I live Five minutes from Downtown…45 minute walk if I feel the urge to, I even Uber Home after a night out with friends for Dinner or Drinks. Born and raised in the City ( NYC ) so im quite used to it. So living near DTR is great…Only one thing is commuting to work by Bus transit.
I agree…you’re going to have Good spots and Bad spots as long as Police maintain order then party all you want, Glenwood South is Just that. Glenwood South has been Dominated by the College/20 something crowd for a while now and will continue to do so, So maybe Warehouse district will be for the 30 / 40 crowd.
I agree with TheNightHalk: Most of the smaller properties along Glenwood Avenue with their 1-2 story older homes are being rented out to the bar operators, who utilize the properties with relatively minimal investment. When the time is right the owners will sell out to developers who can build up to the 7-story height allowance, but in the interim the number / variety of bars that cater to the late night crowd provide these property owners a good income. As an older Glenwood South resident, I am hoping that the Kane Developments will encourage these owners to re-develop some of those bars, e.g. Blue Ridge Realty are the owners of the Cornerstone properties.
I notice that Cornerstone catches a whole lot of flack and I’m not really sure why. I’ve been there once and while I have no interest in going back I don’t harbor the same disdain I read here, I think the reuse of the houses is kinda cool and offers a unique setting. Again, it’s not my scene, but I’m glad there’s a diversity of options and scenes in our city. Anyone care to elaborate?
To connect with this thread, I think the residential density will not have as much impact as the office space. Having daytime foot traffic will be a boon for the restaurants on the street… Although it’s possible that Kane’s development keeps the office foot traffic within the development.
It’s a douchey owner with primarily douchey customers. I’ve been there a few times for group events and didn’t have a bad time. I don’t have any issue with Glenwood South either. But at 36 I’m not exactly going clubbing and to $2 Bud light bars till 2am either. I wouldn’t mind some more mature places in the vein of Vidrio and Ale House that cater to everyone.
(sarcasm font)
Glenwood South is changing constant with condos, shops, bars, etc. and with the Peace/West project finishing up and phase 2 coming soon, Glenwood South is the destination that folks will continue to go hang out on weekends, ( the college kids and your 20 somethings ) Also with the Warehouse district blooming with new storefronts, it too will become another great place to hang out.