What makes it a dump though? It’s just older businesses that cater to mainly low-income blacks. Not everything can be bright and shiny. If we want an inclusive city that caters to all, those businesses need to exist. Now maybe when the BRT comes through they’ll add landscaping etc. and it’ll look “nicer”.
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I think that’s exactly what he’s talking about, though?
Old businesses with cheap, house-like constructions, poor pavement maintenance, tattered storefronts with graffiti and closed doors, car traffic seemingly ignoring all of it as they go in and out of downtown,… Urban (dis)investment goes hand in hand with economic and racial inequity in the US, and we are talking about eastern ITB Raleigh, here, where that’s exactly the demographic you’re working with.
Put another way: I disagree with the cause and effect @Straggler is implying (since it sounds to me like they’re implying local residents and businesses are at fault for “making things bad” in that community when I think it’s the other way around). At the same time, though, I think what they’re pointing out does reflect the pedestrian-unfriendly, less-than-inspiring vibes you do get from walking or driving or Google Street View-exploring around that part of Raleigh.
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May be interesting note that the same developer behind Park City South also bought that shopping center in your pic a year or two ago. He usually just positions properties to sell to other developers (except a handful of small-to-medium residential projects) but they’ve purchased this and other properties nearby that front New Bern.
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HAHA, this is actually one of my projects. 
I thought there had been some plans for the site submitted to the City. I’m just involved with the drycleaning env assessment/etc. here. From what I recall, the existing building was to be kept, and renovated to house retail, similar to what the owner had proposed for their property on South Saunders.
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I live off Wilmington St just south of downtown and it’s a dump too. The entire stretch between DT and Garner is a dump. No other way to describe it. Redevelopment can’t come soon enough.
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Add Garner Rd, Hammond, South Saunders, and Lake Wheeler to that list too. Its all a dump. An urban abomination.
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I want you to tell me what else those corridors have in common other than being an “abomination.” I’ll wait.
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Used car dealerships? More gas stations per capita than is necessary? No bars or restaurants or anything else that gentrifying white people enjoy? Am I close?
Edit: Forgot about the sweepstakes parlors and check cashing joints.
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Landscaping is a big deal, and something that the city neglected on the east side of town for, well, forever. If the city invested in sidewalk improvements and a tree program, it would change the entire vibe for the residents and businesses alike.
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Hey Phil - I really want to know - What do you like about Raleigh ?
What have you learned from your life experience that we could apply here?
flip side:
and just because an area is a dump doesn’t mean it’s majority black.
ANY area can be a dump no matter who lives there, race is irrelevant.
areas with poor residents, more renters than owners, and commercial property that isn’t maintained well can all cause areas to be a dump.
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You can add that areas that the city abandons with a lack of maintenance, no streetscape program (especially lack of trees) can also make a place feel dumpy. It’s not all on the property owners.
If one walked the east side of downtown prior to its more recent gentrification, it was immediately obvious that the city didn’t provide the same experience in its right of way that it did in other parts of the core.
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Hey guys, we moved here two years ago and love this neighborhood. I’m not sure what qualifies it as a dump, but it is more diverse in many ways than other parts of Raleigh we have observed. I think we should be sensitive to passing judgement as we like these differences.
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I guess I would have to look at the Hillsborough corridor for inspiration. The city invested in traffic calming measures while keeping the pedestrian focus alive. Granted, it’s also a university campus. But, the other three axes - New Bern, Capital, and Wilmington - are all run-through strips. Capital is definitely not pedestrian oriented. And, New Bern with Wilmington are low-density and car-focused with no municipal investment to improve the curbside appeal. None of those three arteries are places which make me want to stop and walk about.
Little Five Points in Atlanta, NoDa or the West End in Charlotte, or the Third Ward in Houston all come to mind about what could be done to fill in the gaps.
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The condo projects on New Bern are coming along quickly. I had a friend move into one of the units facing Edenton.
Also another condo project further up New Bern has broken ground. These will look nearly identical to the other ones.
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TBJ is reporting the city has selected a developer for the property at 907 E. Lane St.
https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2021/07/06/developer-selected.html
"RALT’s proposal, dubbed the Cottages at Idlewild, calls for 17 cottage court units – including 8 duplexes and a single-family detached home – to be sold to buyers making below the median area income. According to filings with the city, eight units will be available to buyers at no more than 50 percent AMI, five units will be sold to buyers at no more than 60 percent AMI, and four units will be sold to buyers at no more than 80 percent AMI. "
While I’m glad this empty lot will finally get redeveloped, 17 units on 1.17 acres seems extremely underutilized this close to downtown. There’s $800k homes on smaller lots down the street.
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Great to see progress being made! A little more ambition would have been welcome. Anyone have any more insight on the implications of the 99-year lease deal?
The adjacent neighbors had been vocal to council about it being single family, so the direction was to utilize existing zoning (and w/in the New Bern Edenton NCOD). Between the finalists the density ranged from 9 units by CASA to 30 by Archive, but there was question whether Archive was truly going to be able to get 30. So 17 units doesn’t quite match the 22 that were on the land before, but using the land trust model and cottage court is the big news about RALT’s proposal. They’re also working with Oaks 'n Spokes to get bikes for every kid on site, citrix cycle passes for every resident, extra bike racks, new bus shelter, etc. But the land trust model in theory should keep this site ‘affordable’ far longer than anything on the ground right now. And the cottage court could provide a good template for other areas that might otherwise be townhomes/single family. The changes Council recently made to address the missing middle definitely helped pump up density possibilities on the site even within the NCOD, because the proposals several years ago topped out around 9 SFs. I can see this site from my house so I’m excited to see this go forward (no, I was not one of the neighbors that told council to keep it lower density).
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“According to the proposals, RALT will maintain ownership of the land and lease it to the homebuyers with a 99-year lease term. This will allow the group to ensure that future buyers will meet the AMI requirements to keep the properties affordable. The homeowners will then only pay property taxes on the structure and not on the land. Raleigh Raised Development LLC will be the manager at risk and serve as an ancillary development partner and financial partner on the project.”
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Another in a growing list of development plays where the city is providing affordable housing in a wasteful land model. That said, I am at least happy to see that this is a for purchase program, not a rental one.
Also, since when does the city listen to neighbors’ concerns about higher density? Nearly all rezonings have gone forward in this city against the will of neighbors.