Seeing it from that view, it’ll be a nice connection through that kind of dead, no-street-level-activation section between all the Pendo/Kimpton/State of Beer stuff and the Capitol/Fayetteville St area.
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An EVENTUALLY, the COR parking lot along the south side of Morgan Street will also be redeveloped as Phase III (Public/Private?) partnership after City Hall Phase I and II are completed.
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Check out the center of downtown and start working your way out. There are some large available lots that are big enough for some of these skyscapers we all want but not many. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over losing old buildings…there are plenty still around
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I’m in the center but lean YIMBY.centerist
Excluding the 111-foot spire on the PNC Plaza, this tower will have a higher roof top by 2 feet or so.
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And let me add to that, I think Mary Black is becoming more centrist, Jane is NIMBY, Christina I pay her no mind, Patton she confuses me sometimes.
Back in my younger days I think this was the BellSouth building where I went to pay my phone bill. I prefer cell phones and paying online so no historical significance to me. Glad to see it being replaced. 
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That is pretty far from a fair statement. No one who has argued that there should be consideration for one of the structures on this lot is saying “don’t develop here at all.” It’s about some form of character preservation. Mixing the old and the new. Nearly everyone on this board is pro growth, density, and develpment in general. This area has done an excellent job of keeping remnants of its past - Dillon building, Union Station, etc. Sticking to that approach makes sense when possible. That is exactly what a middle ground is.
On another note, that church on Morgan is a hideous office building - good to see that one get replaced.
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Not really sure what you are saying that is different than I did to be honest.
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Your comment indicated that having concerns about the existing building being completely removed is “NIMBY”.
I indicated that being against this development if the building gets removed as well is a NIMBY line of argument and it is. That is what people have been implying directly or indirectly in this thread. I would be fine with and welcome them incorporating it into the design, but I don’t think that is the only path to an iconic building and should not be a prerequisite for approval given the density and tax revenue it will be bringing online. Hope that clarifies.
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Thing is, no one has said they are against this tower, full stop. We have said we’re against the Berkeley Cafe building being torn down. Ideally, we’d like Berkeley’s building to stay in addition to this new tower being built. Hardly even close to being NIMBY. We most def want this new tower in our “backyard”
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Just found this in the TBJ today. Looks like a 36-story tower will be going up at 217 W. Martin/303 S. Dawson: https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2023/04/06/downtown-raleigh-tower-berkeley-cafe-development.html
From developer’s site: Portfolio - Alchemy : Alchemy
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Yup, that’s what the discourse above is all about…TBJ sliding in fashionably late again…
There was this in the article from the Berkeley owner about looking for a new space (current lease has been extended through November)
“We are actively looking for a new location. We had a couple great candidates, but they fell through for different reasons,” Little said in an email. "Finding a 2nd generation restaurant space in the downtown area that is large enough for us has proven to be difficult. The desirable properties are often leased before they hit the market, so getting advance notice on the right property at the right time has been a challenge.
“… I’m hopeful that a new location will provide us with room to grow and host more music, art and community events. We love being part of the Downtown Raleigh community and we want to give back even more in the future.”
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I saw they posted this building on Instagram. I expect, despite the initial rendering, that the final building will look pretty close to this:
Also, the TBJ article ended the article with this tidbit. Talk about burying the lede!
“Amenities include a basketball and pickleball court and a 10th floor amenity deck with a pool.”
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My guess, based on photos from Olde Raleigh, is that the Berkeley building replaced a single family house, so yes. That building was higher density for it’s time
To your second point, why not have both? I don’t think this building has to come down completely to build something great here. Even if just the façade is incorporated, that will make the new building more interesting than 95% of what’s currently being built. That would make it iconic.
If we get the rendering as above, eh, it’s fine but nothing special besides the height. Especially for such a prominent location on one of the squares. The city deserves something really great here.
We’re going to get what we get here, but I’m definitely in the camp of more floors does not necessarily equate to an iconic building. Maybe my standards are too high. 
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Honestly for an apartment building, the tower in the render is really high quality. No crappy stucco panelling, big windows, generally good looking materials. Not iconic, but very solid stuff.
I’d rather have that than the North Hills glass boxes to use a comparable local example.
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I understand it is subjective but The Berkeley Cafe building infatuation seems much more about an individual’s nostalgia for it than “historic preservation”
I have no nostalgia for this building or business; I’ve never even been there. I am concerned with preserving buildings of this scale because they are no longer constructed due to modern mechanisms of capital/investment/development. That in itself – regardless of the architectural merit of the building – makes early 20th century narrow lot commercial structures an endangered breed. I am not even talking specifically about this particular building, but more broadly about the value of granular, human-scaled architecture in a city.
there is very good chance the Berkeley building replaced an even older building when it was built.
Not a good comparison due to the reasons above. There was not a paradigm shift at the time of its construction that led to a complete change in how we build.
To that effect, I would much rather focus on replacing this building with something more iconic than preventing it from happening at all to save a standard brick building that just happens to be old.
Seems like a bad-faith argument. This board is full of people who support density and this development, and who recognize that this was not an either/or situation where preserving The Berkeley meant that the tower couldn’t be constructed. I am confident that the developer could have generated the same amount of profit with the same amount (or more!) density while still preserving The Berkeley. To demolish it was a decision made based on values.
I do not think that every historic building merits preservation at all cost, but I do think developers should always ask themselves why something has to be demolished, rather than why it should be preserved. If something old can remain with reasonable compromise, keep it. For the record, I’m not devastated by this news. Just disappointed.
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In my headcanon 200 W Morgan is the lot for Raleigh’s first 50+ floor building. Shame it will never live up to that.
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The building the Berkeley Cafe exists in today is in effect being replaced with a parking deck. The livable parts of this new building (I believe) don’t even exist in the sliver footprint of the Berkeley Cafe building.
So, yay. We get more parking a one less historic building.
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