Marbles, and some other parks projects, got some money approved for a big expansion by the Wake County Commissioners.
Five Sports and Recreation Projects Score Big with Wake Commissioners | Wake County Government
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Is that going to go on the same footprint, given that Vela is taking the parking lot?
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That’s a good question, the only thing I found was something dated from 2019. Not sure if any of this is still accurate at all.
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The approved project looks much more modest than their ask in 2019. They are doing a 3,200-SF expansion and a courtyard for an estimated $6 million. They were previously wanting to do a 60,000-SF expansion for $45 million (in 2019 dollars, obviously would cost more four years later).
But I’m glad they are improving, even if at a smaller scale. Marbles is great. Kids love it and it draws families downtown. We will sometimes go to Marbles then get lunch downtown.
Edit: looks like they asked for $2.7 million and got $600K. I would have liked it to be more…hopefully the project will happen, looks cool.
Here’s the current plan: https://wake.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=11890650&GUID=F553C3D7-FBF1-43F1-B817-B23EEFB50E8D
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I think with Vela and all the proposed residential coming to Moore Square area will have lots of additional potential foot traffic coming into the area.
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I’m delighted by this. Marbles is an absolute treasure. It’s not a ton of extra space, but every little bit helps, and I’m excited to see how they utilize it.
Incidentally, I went to my first-ever Marbles 21 night two Fridays ago and the place was absolutely packed. It was a fun event that brought in a ton of people. If you’re ever looking for something fun to do downtown on a Friday night, I’d certainly recommend checking it out the next time they hold one.
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