There’s columns going up at that site now. Exciting.
Also the scaffolding tunnel is down and they’re putting in sidewalks now outside the big monster apartments.
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crazy how big this is. Almost 4x as many people could live here as The Creamery.
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Re; first picture. There’s 5 potential customers for the apparently zero ground floor retail that won’t be included in that new apartment building. So f**king stupid that ANY new-build apartment buildings would omit street level activation. The city should mandate it, IMO.
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Regarding the other 2 pictures, I’ve actually been following the slow progress of this on a webcam. Nice to see some real images of it.
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It was a bit before 3PM and Hillsborough Street was packed with students on the sidewalk. I agree that every inch of that corridor needs retail, restaurants and services at the sidewalk.
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These buildings are really growing on me. If I were a student, I would be happy-ish living in these. Just sayin’ not bad.
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I took one today as well!
As a student, it truly wouldn’t suck. Then again, I can’t imagine my parents ever springing for this sort of housing for me.
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You get brownie points for the car with all the pollen. LOL>
Yeah my parents wouldn’t have sprung for that housing either. Dorm all the way baby. Or less fancy apartment. With roommate. And no windows. In the basement. You get the idea.
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Yeah, the pollen is there to visually date the photo! 
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Fun fact, that pool is supposed to be clear without the pollen
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That’s just a little bit better than my non air conditioned dorm room with a hot plate sitting on top of my mini fridge. LOL
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That’s a recipe for stopping new-build apartment buildings.
This developer has shown that they’re not interested in managing retail, as it doesn’t fit into their business plan. Even if they’d built retail, there’s no guarantee that they would have leased it out, or managed it well. I’d much rather have retail property owners who want to be in that business, and do that business well, than have a bunch of empty because-I-had-to storefronts.
Things will work themselves out. If there’s demand for retail, someone will add retail nearby. (If you’re so sure it’ll make money, you’re welcome to develop it, too!) In the meantime, the residents can walk one block down Hillsborough, or three blocks to the Village District, just like the many people who stayed at the hotel on that site long before. And those who prefer to live right above retail can self-select into Stanhope.
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From @John’s walkabout photos it appears they have ground-floor units with street-facing glass. So there might be plenty of “street activation”.
And if those ground-floor units have patios…
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I couldn’t agree more. There are countless neighborhoods within cities in the U.S. and abroad that are considered world renowned locations but don’t have a lot of retailers compared to the local population. There are more ways in which neighborhoods can be vibrant than simply having retail in every building.
Sight lines, architectural styles, and vegetation matter more than the amount of retail in an urban environment.
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My freshman dorm was a decades old cell block-like, cinder block building. Living in a place like this would have been extremely luxurious to me lol.
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