20 Likes
Iāve been to atlanta twice and itās one of my fav cities to visit in the south. but as a 19 & 21 year old when i went, it wasnāt downtown atlanta that was cool. i thought it was sketchy and there wasnāt anything fun to do. i think thereās a lot of factors that go into the cool factor of a place. a lot of it, of course, is personal (like age, what kind of scene youāre into, etc.) so we really liked little five points and inman park, where things seemed more for us. of course, those are closer to DT atlanta than north hills is raleigh, but i donāt go to north hills other than the target. just not my scene personally, but i understand itās other peopleās of course. itās good to have a variety
3 Likes
Itās good to have variety at a city level (I mean, thereās clearly a solid chunk of people who enjoy North Hills; not even the most anti-normie person can deny that), I absolutely agree with that. I think the main debate here is that several people on this thread (myself included!) think itās also nice to have variety at a local level, too, within Downtown Raleigh and all of its business and entertainment options.
The common thread between several of the replies here is that we think DTR has the parts to offer a kickass experience for its visitors, including those who may not have the same patience as us locals. Correct me if Iām wrong, but it sounds to me like the dominant narrative seems to be that people are content with just that. In that case, whatās wrong with suggesting that, if we just:
- tie up a few specific loose ends in terms of where people gather and ācareā about;
- strategically recruit specific types of businesses, and;
- encourage more activities in different places/different times of the day,
then we could, God forbid, maybe make downtown Raleigh even more active and welcoming and exciting in a deliberate way?
I agree with where youāre coming from, but I feel like thereās a better way to frame this. Couldnāt this also be because, as it stands today, DTR isnāt very welcoming to wandering and exploring for non-locals? Isnāt that ācluelessnessā something we should be fixing by design, instead of trash-talking?
3 Likes
I didnāt mean it to be insulting. It took me a few trips to Charlotte, Denver, Richmond, Greensboro, etc. to realize that I actually liked them once I found the fun things for me. I just didnāt know about them at first.
Unrelated, some good progress on boxyard RTP:
7 Likes
Itās all good! Iād be lying if I said there wasnāt a part of me that thinks those people are clueless and stubbornly unwilling to step out of their comfort zones. I just feel like thereās more we could (and should!) do, planning-wise, to make the fun experiences easier to come across.
Also I canāt wait for the Boxyard! My grad program does industry outreach and special events at the Frontier sometimes. I canāt wait until thereās more casual places to network and hang out after hours, nearby.
4 Likes
I just have to wonder why people who are more interested in areas outside of downtown, than downtown itself, even want to be here.
1 Like
Maybe because itās the city of Raleigh not the city of Downtown Raleigh, downtown is not in a protective bubble and a lot that happens in The City impacts downtown and the chatter on this site one would think
This particular community has a focus on downtown. Nobody is denying that there is more to the city.
1 Like
If thatās the case, then most of this website is irrelevant and Leo can delete multiple threads. I visit the website because even though I donāt want to live in DTR for various reasons, I am rooting for it to be successful since I live 3 miles away from it and all Raleigh residents probably benefit in some way from DTR being a good place to live and visit. I respond when we get into the DTR versus [fill in the blank] so that there are some facts provided by those who live in [fill in the blank]. In my case, I try to fill in voids of info regarding NH since Iāve lived here for 15 years.
6 Likes
Ahhh hah, here is the DTR entertainment I was looking for, thanks #cancelculturejohndtr. Canāt wait to buy you a beer at the next meet up. Have an awesome day sir.
Actually @dtraleigh has deleted threads because they are irrelevant to the mission of this site & community.
Plans for North Hills Innovation District show 18-story tower, amenity building
5 Likes
There is one thread that covers developments in greater Raleigh outside of downtown and RTP (this one). If you donāt care for the topic, donāt click on it.
3 Likes
Shopping. Crabtree Valley Mall is reported to have 10 million visitors annually. Iām sure we get a lot of visitors regionally.
Other than shopping: Hockey, State Fair, College Football, Events that happen outside DTR (PNC/ Coastal Credit Union), Umstead, and the Lakes.
Realistically I think people visit Raleigh either for work (for example the conferences that were listed here) or because they are looking to move here for a scene change. Family is another reason to visit. Iāve had friends and family visit from both Northern and Southern CA, Wyoming, and Germany. All did have fun visiting here, but probably would not have come here if we had lived somewhere else. I do love it here, but itās not a very tourist place (which is ok).
Edit to add***
Northern part of Raleigh has the miniature Eiffel Tower lol. I wish they would expand that shopping area. I think that place could have a good regional draw.
Wasnāt Boxyard supposed to open last fall? I was so excited that I almost renewed my lease out near RTP. When I figured it probably still wouldnāt be open last fall, I decided to move since the night scene is lacking.
I think it has good potential. It reminds of The Exchange in Ft. Collins. The only difference is The Exchange is off the main street in Ft. Collins.
Yea, I posted those plans 2 days ago. Pretty significant building for North Hills! But people would rather argue about something(??) apparently? 
1 Like
Yes Boxyard RTP was supposed to be open already, but isnāt yet. I havenāt seen any announcements on new opening date. I work near there and it is pretty far along, but still needs work. My guess is that they are intentionally slow-rolling it bc so few people are coming in to their RTP offices. Their website lists a pop-up market event in June, so hopefully open before then.
On a somewhat related note, there is a lot of infrastructure work happening at Hub RTP. Iām hoping this area will be much better bc of those two projects.
1 Like
This is a great example of a project the city should have recruited for downtown. This opportunity will pay dividends for decades to come in NH. I would. Have killed to have this and partner with this innovation center when I worked at St Aug and Shaw U. It would have been a super cool opportunity for those students.
2 Likes
Complete apples and oranges, Kane owns dirt in NH, and heās angling for different office tenants because the rents, access, prices, and infrastructure are completely different than in downtown.
1 Like
Correct, this thinking is why itās a slow go in DTR, must get better leadership who know how to partner with commercial companies to get these things going. not cool with the same ole same ole. The city has plenty of land to sell.