does anyone really think Raleigh Development Corp. will build a 30 story tower on that land? Isn’t that neighborhood sitting higher than this land we are talking about? I doubt anyone would build a tower that high right there as there so many spots all over the downtown area upzoned and no action.
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A reminder of what it looks like from the neighborhood side. This is from months ago, but still holds I’m sure that the view is mostly covered by trees anyway.
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Developer agreed to 25 story cap
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Just wanted to remind y’all that this development will not look anything like this. It will not look this good. They will inevitably VE it down to be more mundane and blocky. That does not mean it will look bad, per se, just think North Hills East or The Weld.
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The lawyer speaking for the developers in todays meeting said 30 on the portion closest to peace st and it will scale down to 25 stories as it moves down west st.
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I think this has a chance of passing but still, that might be a legitimate concern.
I like planted medians but the City has a spotty history (at best) of maintaining them. The neighborhoods up and down Creedmoor Road in north Raleigh fought tooth and nail to get planted medians when Creedmoor Road was widened, so that it wouldn’t end up being like Falls of Neuse Rd. We won, much to NCDOT’s chagrin, but 35 years later many of the trees have died and the City begrudgingly cares for what remains.
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Interestingly enough, about the best chance the city (and its residents have) to reduce flooding is to add new large scale development. With that development, the city can require strict stormwater management. Without it, there will be no one to pay for new stormwater management measures – and it will simply get worse as more impervious surfaces are added upstream.
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Yeah and the article mentioned the new park as potentially helping with the flooding elsewhere, which is actually the reason I posted it, because I thought that was interesting and ironic, given the recent revelation that the developer is no longer paying for that either.
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I don’t think the amount of impervious area in that part of town has changed all that much over the last twenty years. Everything was just one story, but it was all still paved. Shoot, ten years ago the currently empty gravel lot across Harrington was all pavement and old buildings, so that block is a gain on pervious area.
I’m not saying that’s what everyone is going to eventually realize, though.
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Agreed, the flooding issue is a red herring with respect to development. In an absolute sense, yes, flooding has become more of a problem simply because global warming has increased the number of intense rainfalls. And it’s going to get worse.
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They are just now throwing anything and everything at the wall in hopes that something sticks.
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Raleigh Planning Commission advances 30-story mixed-use building on Glenwood South council to consider Aug 19 Raleigh Planning Commission advances 30-story mixed-use building on Glenwood South
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Flooding definitely is a concern with any new development. But infill projects within the city core that replace already impervious surfaces are not the culprit. Countless miles and miles of suburban sprawl with strip malls and big box stores, accompanying large roads annd parking lots, among other things, have a much bigger negative impact.
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The Herald-Sun published an op-ed about this development with the headline “Don’t sacrifice Raleigh’s historic neighborhood for a new 30-story tower” and a comically exaggerated graphic of the shadows that a 30-story building would cast. It popped in my Facebook feed, and the Herald-Sun is just getting absolutely roasted in the comments.
I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this project. A high-density building right next to what’s going to be an absolutely fantastic public park, on land reclaimed from light industrial use, stretching out the boundaries of downtown? The whole thing is going to be absolutely phenomenal. I can’t wait to see it happen. 
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Yes, the N&O published a letter with that same title and graphic the other day. I believe it was from the guy we saw interviewed the other day, the head of the opposition. It rehashed the scared tactics, the shadows will destroy that neighborhood, and if they can do it them they can do it to you. Aren’t they the same paper these days, along with the Charlotte O?
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That letter to the editor was written by Russ Stephenson, he’s part of Livable Raleigh.
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I made a conscious choice not to click the link, but hoo boy, is that what Russ Stephenson is up to these days? Man, there’s some real Viva la Vida energy there.
I used to rule the town
Projects would fall when I voted them down
Now in the morning, I write op-eds alone
In shadows on the streets I used to own
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