Adding in my view on the other side from walking around yesterday
17 Likes
Yet another upzoning (and added density) of an older apartment complex to the Crabtree Valley Mall area. I think this is the 4th of 5th new/redeveloped residential complex in the Crabtree area with in the past few months. I have my fingers crossed that the BRT is a stunning success and a line between DRT and CMV and DTR to NH will come with Phase II of the BRT rollout. Two very dense (and densifying) hubs in Raleigh need to be on major transit lines.
9 Likes
I personally think that Glenwood Ave is an easy choice for Phase 2 of BRT. Very little privately-owned ROW acquisition needed as most of the corridor is already two lanes in each direction, and lots of opportunities for TOD. Have it follow what will be the existing BRT lanes up Capital Blvd to Wade Ave, then follow Wade and Glenwood to Crabtree.
I also see two major obstacles to this idea. The first is all the wealthy people with driveway access on Glenwood. Those folks are going to lose their minds when you try to tell them youâre taking away one of âtheirâ driving lanes for a bus. Theyâll all lawyer up. Maybe thatâs an unfair assumption, but I recall something very similar happening in NYC not too long ago (fun fact: that busway was implemented anyway, and now the city wants more).
Second obstacle: NCDOT. Glenwood is also US-70 north of Wade Ave, and NCDOT hates giving up ROW to transit projects. I think thatâs a key reason why Raleigh selected S Wilmington St for the northern segment of the Southern BRT corridor, and I also think thatâs why the Northern BRT corridor will be the last portion of phase one to be implemented. That being said, if the northbound corridor actually goes well and reduces congestion on Capital Blvd, NCDOT may give Glenwood some consideration. Who knows.
I do agree, though. Glenwood to Crabtree and Capital/Six Forks to Midtown should absolutely be next in line following the initial buildout (also Capital to Triangle Town Center, but NCDOT has their own weird, overpriced, car-centric plan for that).
Edits: some grammar choices.
7 Likes
Also, fun fact, the Glenwood Ave segment next to the mall was ranked number one in terms of suitability for bus lanes in CAMPOâs R.E.D. Priority Bus Lanes study (see p32 of the final report). Donât entirely understand that decision considering how short the segment is and the fact that all of the bus lines that run through that area actually enter the mall property to reach the station there, but I digress.
1 Like
Surprised there was still some open space there.
Probably easier and better ridership combining them into 1 line. Out Capital to Atlantic to Navaho to Beltline to Crabtree. Hits a lot of both existing higher density and more opportunities for TOD.
5 Likes
Overall, I think this general strategy is the smarter move. âŚthough it could be an engineering nightmare to build (if the geometry even makes that possible).
For example, @orulz and I tried to draw out (see here and here) possible ways to implement exclusive transit right-of-ways around the Glenwood/440 interchange a long time ago. But we ran into the same problem as the actual Crabtree connection study on steroids; it might make the challenges of running the New Bern BRT downtown look like a piece of cake.
I guess this also depends on how the Midtown Area Plan comes to life, too. But itâd be cool to see it happen, once the first phases of BRT get built.
3 Likes
Wouldnât be surprised if they ended up going this route. Only thing I donât like about this is running on I-440. One bad car accident (which, as we all know, is a common occurrence on the Beltline), totally screws the route, even with BOSS implemented. Perhaps it could follow Northbrook and North Hills to Lead Mine instead?
Also, Iâm guessing theyâd have to keep the Glenwood 6 line in tact⌠itâd probably still be faster then riding the entirely of that L-shaped line. Still, I can see it working.
3 Likes
12 story with retail is decent for the location.
At least itâs way better than the Clairmont Crabtree abomination planned across Glenwood from the mall, which is the schlockiest, low-rise, pitched roofed, surface parked, stick built piece of crap Iâve seen planned this side of Knightdale. The buildings range from a 1 story clubhouse, to apartment buildings in the 2(!) to 4 story range. This proposal earlier prompted me to dub Crabtree Valley as âDisappointment Gulchâ.
12 Likes
Oh, yea this is super high-level. Itâd have to be separated dedicated lanes on the shoulder if they used 440 right-of-way for the BRT.
1 Like
Love love love this monster, moving very fast, KANE gets it done.
1 Like
Flying cars are actually coming⌠Uber Elevate is a whole division of Uber for flying cars theyâre developing. Friends of mine are working on the facilities where they will land and take off.
Uber is banking on flying ridesharing as soon as 2023
I wasnât playin man, I am first in line, planning to be first person in NC flying around.
Does Morrisville have a developer for any part of their town center yet? It seems to me they are still in the RFP phase. They do have an oddly detailed plan for phase 1, but reading through the RFP it seems this was just produced by they townâs consultant and is highly conceptual in nature. As for parking, they clearly do want parking decks. The new library has a few surface parking spaces on its leased site that will not go away, but the RFP clearly even gives a developer the option of redeveloping much of the rest of the library parking lot if they can provide replacement parking in a deck.
Morrisville has spent decades lost in the wilderness with unambitious or conservative town center plans, but it is great to see that they have finally settled on something that is meaningful and will have an actual impact on the townâs walkability.
2 Likes
They have not yet selected a developer (that has been announced anyway). They do have a design partner that has drawn up the âpreferred land use planâ to outline how they want everything laid out. This is a public-private partnership project, so the town will retain a good deal of say in the project (hopefully).
3 Likes
The Research Triangle Foundation (RTF, the nonprofit behind RTP) sold off some of their sites for smaller biotech R&D to double down on their upcoming Hub RTP development.
The Foundation bought a building thatâs already standing across Davis Dr.'s eastbond onramp to I-40. A lawyer retained by the RTF called this a âstrategic acquisitionâ and thinks it could be significantly renovated. This building always got left out of Hub RTPâs plans since it was the only building in that block that wasnât Foundation-owned; now that thatâs no longer true, I wonder how it can contribute to this mini-downtown area? 
And where did that $10.5M come from? Last week, the RTF sold 72 acres of lab and office spaces (which can support up too 300k ft²). They tried to attract new biotech startups to âthe Labâ using smaller spaces and shorter leases, but ended up selling this plot of land to Thor Equities for $20.5M.
5 Likes
Looking good, this one is moving fast. Also interesting bank building just down the road on 6 forks. Merry Christmas to all.
22 Likes
Just curious if anyone here knows anything about the 5/6 story FCB building on Rowan Street. Ironically, there is a suburban BB&T at the intersection of Rowan and Six Forks, and this building sits behind BB&T away from the streets. When I drop off/pick up my kids at Carroll, I have noticed that this building appears to not be used. I wonder if FCB if just sitting on the property until it can be redeveloped (by Kane?) or if they have plans to expand their Midtown âCampusâ on that property they already own.
4 Likes
Itâs nice just hope Smoky Hollow III is at least the same height or taller.
5 Likes