ABC11 has a vague article talking about this project.
In a nutshell, it says the couple of businesses that are on that block have received vacate notices.
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Wow they are already getting those lots vacated? Seems like they are really aggressive in getting these plans underway
Is development of undeveloped land considered gentrification?
I donât know what the text book definition is but most of the concerns around gentrification center around displacement of residents and businesses and the way new residents interact with long time residents.
While S. Saunders will displace a couple of businesses, no residents will be displaced. As a long time resident of this area first as a renter and now as a home owner, I see the development as a net positive and inevitable as the urban core of Raleigh pushes outward towards 40 to the south.
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To add to this, I think considering only the first development is too short-sighted. Yes, the initial development is mostly displacing a few business that probably donât belong on the outskirts of downtown anyway, but it will draw more attention to this area by other developers. As areas get âhotâ they tend to draw multiple projects, most of which will probably involve some displacement. Now, I believe rising property values are good and so are investment and infill development, but we should all understand that some displacement will happen and we should try to minimize the pain for those affected.
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Exactly. While S. Saunders wonât displace anyone directly, itâs more than likely displacement will follow when other projects move down Lake Wheeler. I think this is why affordable housing inclusion in developments is important. It helps neighborhoods foster an economic diversity which I believe leads to a more robust city and community.
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Can we not all agree some of the dilapidated businesses along Saunders, heading into the southern gateway to DTR, need to be displaced?
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Donât forget about S Wilmington - nothing but used car dealers.
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Is there anyone disagreeing ?
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With the news that businesses have been notified they will need to vacate the S. Saunders plot in the coming weeks, will Five Horizons have to submit individual site reviews for each building or is the master plan sort of a blank check? I assume theyâre still going to have to go through the review process on each building but Iâm not familiar with the process.
My question⌠Does Five Horizons indicate there may be five âhighriseâ buildings on the horizon?? (No I havenât really looked over the submittal yet, just skimmed it quickly.)
Just a side note and personal quip⌠Does anyone else cringe when a 10 story building is referred to as a âtowerâ? Seriously⌠letâs call a 30+ story building a tower, the rest is either a midrise or infill.
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Five Horizons is the Developer, I think the Master Plan has 7 towers. Highest at 20+ stories.
I agree that ten stories is not a high rise. I donât know that I have a particular number of floors in my head to define one, but itâs probably somewhere around the height of either The West or The Quorum condominiums. Even then, I could be convinced that these are still midrises.
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I think âmid-riseâ is something Raleigh needs to get into its vocab. 
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I believe Emporis, which is the database for building information that I use most regularly, defines âhigh-riseâ as above 12 stories.
It definitely seems like Heritage Park is right in the crosshairs of all the development going on in this neighborhood. The city needs to start thinking about the residents there and how theyâre going to deal with the inevitable development pressures on that site.
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I think itâs possible to agree with you and still be concerned with displacement. I would love to see all these dilapdated and suburban businesses redeveloped, and Iâm 100% certain they will be, but I also recognize that this will drive up rents and lead to a lot of evictions, and I just think we need to keep that mind. I donât think anyone on this site is opposed to development, but there are things like gentrification and historic preservation that should be considered.
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Maybe the residents there should start thinking about this, so they donât feel blindsided in a couple years when theyâre told they have to move.
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Honestly, not that Iâve ever lived in public housing, but even if they know itâs coming, I donât think there are a lot of places to go. Like basically every successful metro region, Wake Coâs affordable housing stock is pretty overwhelmed. I mean, youâre not wrong, but Iâm not sure how much difference it really makes.
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Because Heritage Park is city owned, there are going to be a lot of different things at play in the redevelopment of that land. Someday it will happen but Iâd be surprised by anything in the next decade. There are two other projects on the same street that have completely stalled that Iâd like to see completed, the South Street Condos and a set of âbrownstonesâ going in at the corner of S. Saunders and Dorthea. Unfortunately the Condos arenât going to have any retail, a real missed opportunity if they ever get builtâŚ
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