Smoky Hollow Phases 1, 2, and 3

I’m not gonna turn down a taller building anywhere downtown, but I don’t think this area is exactly screaming for 40 stories. Still gonna be nice and tall there compared to everything else.

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FWIW RUSBUS shows its 32 floor at 361’ 6” :thinking:

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3 32 story towers is better than 3 underutilized lots.

I will never, ever be disappointed with a 32 story building, anywhere at all in Raleigh.

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RUSBUS is 35 floors unless that was changed again.

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32, 35, who cares? As long as they get started soon.

When exactly in 2022 are they supposed to start work? Website just says “2022”

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Last I saw, RUS Bus groundbreaking is scheduled for April. Federal deadline is October 31st, so that gives them a nice buffer.

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Here’s a crazy thought… what if Kane took over the Zimmer property on the east side of Capital and build SH Phase 3.1 over there with pedestrian bridge(s) over Capital. Then from there more bridges over the tracks and Peace to connect over to Seaboard Station. Not trying to kill the street level activity, but those are some pretty busy streets, and giving pedestrians a safer (elevated) alternative may make these projects feel more connected back over to Glenwood South and Smoky Hollow.

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I can’t remember the exact details but Zimmer already has an agreement in place for a ped bridge over the tracks. Hopefully there will be one over Capital too

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There’s a 14 wide sidewalk under Capital on Peace connecting to the two sides. I doubt that a pedestrian bridge would ever happen there.

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Love the idea! :+1:
However, lets go with Zimmer taking over the Kane property and build a partner companion set with a bridge over Capital because Zimmer looks cooler and will be taller? :drooling_face:

Last I spoke to a stakeholder with RUSBUS (maybe 2 months ago?), all fed deadlines were met and it was just up to the various parties to come to agreements on various things. Seems we’ve made progress on that, but I don’t think there’s a pending deadline at this point.

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Not the greatest pic, but this bridge now finally looks pretty awesome!

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Now let’s improve the experience of walking under it! I am pleased that the sidewalks are wide, but they are also very bland.

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Curious what experience would you like to see?

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Seems nice enough to me - clean and well-lit. After making it through the dark narrow bird poop covered stretch under the railroad it feels like a huge relief.

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It’s tough to say. The designs I’ve seen for phase 3 don’t currently show a massive parking garage being covered up by a lackluster screening system. In that regard, I’m curious if phase 3 will somewhat rely on the parking garage of phase 1 so they won’t have to build as much this go around.

Phase three designs have shown large pedestrian plazas that run deep into the development that are surrounded by retail. I really like the creamery renderings because of the proposed enclosed alleys that could be lined with retail. This sort of thing is missing in our city and would be a great spot for small businesses.

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A few street trees would be nice but no space was left in the median or sidewalk

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Some cleanly executed artwork would be nice - maybe continue the iron overlay theme

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The city could allow a local artist to paint the inside walls under the bridge :man_shrugging:t4:

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Yes it’s cleaner. Yes it’s wider. However, it’s really, really uninspired. Clearly a lot of money was spent to improve the experience for the drivers with that artwork, and I’m glad that it’s there. However, there was zero dollars spent on elevating the experience for the pedestrian. I am not sure how many people here have actually walked under Capital since its completion, but I have several times. Yes I feel a bit safer, and I definitely feel cleaner, but that’s about it. If we are serious about connecting/improving the pedestrian experience in downtown, then I think we should make this walk something that people want to experience. Maybe it can be reactive to the presence of folks going through there at the floor/sidewalk plane? As @evan.j.bost suggests, maybe it could be metal work related to what was done on the outside of the bridge? Maybe it could be a simple lighting rhythm that breaks up the monotony? Maybe it could just be less utilitarian in its final finishes? I mean, we can spend a ton of money putting up patterns or laying bricks for sound walls on freeways, but can’t make a short underpass span pleasant in our downtown for pedestrians?

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