@John I can’t even imagine the amount of red tape it would take for the two to merge. I work in higher ed and see enough red tape at one institution to last five last times. St. Aug has huge problems so the ranking doesn’t surprise me. I don’t even know if a merge is even allowable with SACS or their own individual boards. The leadership at St. Aug before the current one was basically familial so I think it’s good they got a new leader who’s not hiring family members as administrators. It takes a few years to fix a mess in higher ed so all we can do it wait and see. Usually 3-5 years. I also don’t want those educators to lose their jobs who work there, which I know pays next to nothing already.
Related project.
https://dtraleigh.com/2018/07/pic-of-the-week-195/
The Hargett Place townhomes on East Hargett Street are pretty much a wrap from what it looks like. I imagine a form of this is the exact high-end product that balances urban living with convenient car access. Each side of the block has a driveway and each unit has a garage yet you can still exit through the front door and step down to the sidewalk.
While I love the historic rowhouses in other cities and wish to see a modern version of them here in town, this style of home is probably symbolic of our time. It’s a product of our built environment and how residents get around the city. That’s not a jab at it at all but rather an observation of current trends, a trend I think will continue for some time.
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I can’t speak for the boards but there have been a lot of mergers in the SACS territory in recent years (something like 14 in Georgia alone). Also, for what it’s worth, I’m not an expert on this kind of thing and I certainly didn’t originate the idea. Small colleges with tiny (per student) endowments have been merging a lot recently, largely for economic reasons. I imagine St. Aug’s and Shaw would be more inclined to merge with each other than say with a predominantly white institution like Peace (as has also happened, with no shortage of controversy).
Also, you may know more about this than I do, but I was under the impression St. Aug’s problems have been around longer than 3-5 years already.
I love those places. There is a floor plan in there that had close to a 1200sqft roof top deck. Amazing development.
I wish that these sorts of projects were larger in scope with more contiguous units side by side instead of them being built in small groups & arranged with their sides along others’ rear facades, or with a gap like there is between the two buildings facing East St. Also, I get that there needs to be a motor court, but why can’t it be accessed at an alley end only? I understand that dealing with cars and these corners is tricky, but I think that the could have been more creative in their approach. It’s no secret here (from my past comments) that I am not a fan of this project, and while its finished product is high end, for me it feels like new urbanism somewhere out in the burbs that one would find in a well manicured project with a “town center”. Also, if you just zoom out a bit to give the project visual context, it really starts to feel orphaned by its context.
While it’s nearly impossible to imagine someone assembling several blocks to create a more substantial row house district, I can still dream about it. In that dream, I’d have the homes running north to south with a central east/west street that would have neighborhood services in a small business district.
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That neighborhood is already pretty nice. While there are some individual properties on the periphery that could stand improvement, the overall neighborhood is mature and vibrant, and getting more so as time passes.
I agree, hence why the price is that high for those town homes. But given their quality, and what could go up around it further, that could be one of the best neighborhoods in the DT area soon.
FWIW, and from an architect’s point of view, I like the plan for units 3, 5, & 7 best. But, I’d make a couple of revisions: 1) extend the master living room by absorbing the right half of the master closet. Then, because you’ll lose closet space, I’d make the optional office/power room into a second closet accessed from the Master Bedroom. For the money that they are asking and given how many are for sale, I’d think that they’d be agreeable to some minor modifications.
Also, the garages on these units are larger. The units with the small double car garages could become really challenging if you have a large vehicle.
I agree. Unit one might be the nicest townhouse in Raleigh. It is going to be flipped or the buyers are backing out, I forget which, but our agent said its likely going back on the market for 1.8, which is insane. Supposedly the guy upgraded everything though.
Not sure how I missed this a few months ago.
5 single family homes are planned for 720 E. Davie St.
Currently only 1 building sits on these lots, and appears vacant.
S-025-18.pdf (1.6 MB)
You never want to own the most expensive home in the neighborhood, and you certainly never want to own the most expensive townhouse in, perhaps, the entire
city.
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This house went under contract over the weekend.
I guess the price point wasn’t too much for one family.
Saw this on my CAC’s FB page today https://hbcudigest.com/saint-augustines-is-on-the-verge-of-closure-trustees-and-consultants-fear/
This is no surprise to me at all. It’s been hanging on by a thread that’s on fire.
The land it’s sitting on would be a game changer for the city if it became available. Of course, there will be a large contingent in the community who will immediately say that it needs to be a park.
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At 105+ acres the site could hold some 1,750+ homes
It could also hold a massive Apple or Amazon campus.
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