I already did the next meetup. 
Didnāt get the note it was cancelled and did it anyway with @OakCityKarla
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Iāll be there. I look like Barney Rubble.
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My toes look like Fred Flintstoneās.
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Another building that looks like the PNC or the FNB. Sad. Except this one has a huge ugly parking platform at the bottom. Also, I know everyone is excited about this areaā¦ but phase II should have been at least twice as tall. It didnāt have to be āa towerāā¦ but this is such a prime location to only be building 6 stories is a waste. A least make the commercial building 20 storiesā¦
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I recently returned to Raleigh after being away for a year, so it was great to finally see the progress in person. As much as Iām stoked about the new developments finishing up now, Iām a little disappointed by the massive scale of the buildings. One of my affections for DT Raleigh is that itās a perfect human scale for a downtown area. The footprint of the structures and the diversity of the structures are very pleasing for a pedestrian and even on/in a vehicle. These new structures just seem so massive and clumsy at street level, and it greatly takes away from the coziness of the existing area. Even though The Dillon has a massive footprint, I believe they minimized this relatively well for a decent pedestrian experience on street level. The new developments finishing up on Glenwood and Peace were massive failures with respect to this, IMO.
Again, Iām all for these developments, and realize the difficulty on the financial side of things. Iām just disappointed that we are no longer expanding on what is a pretty unique quality for larger cities in the sun belt.
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Letās wait until theyāre done and the street level experience can be, experienced. Iām hoping the courtyard area between the buildings in Phase 2 are going to be really cool. (fingers crossed)
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Iām really hoping that the phase 2 experience is bolstered by what happens along Tucker Street and possible additional phases. I donāt want it to be an isolated experience thatās only about what happens in the middle of it. Iād really like to see the NW & SW corners of Tucker & West become more activated than just Still Life nightclub. That could activate both sides of West at Smokey Hollow. Frankly, that whole west side strip on West St. from Tucker to North needs to be re-imagined. That āparking in frontā development is going to look ridiculous when surrounded by new, more urban development.
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I think if Raleigh had a rule that parking structure can not be visible from the first 3 stories or 40 feet it will make a world of difference. 1 story store fronts with a massive parking deck on top of it is so visually bad looking.
Of course we can always encourage the Texas Donut method.
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Amazing how protective/conservative our City Council is on the zoning to go higher yet any hideous above level parking garage is welcome
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Daylighting the creek thru here would have been really cool
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We complain about potential traffic, yet build giant parking garages for people to drive to.
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The irony, right???
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Regarding the Phase 3 massing image: Honestly? YAWN AF. Itās basically the Box-on-a-block-long-parking-deck we keep getting over and over and over againā¦ but with another smaller box on top of the main box. āwOrLd cLaSsā my hairy ass. I mean Iāll take it for the height, but damn. Welcome to Raleigh, check out this parking deck! Weird flex but ok.
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Itās for massing, not the final design. Theyāre not going to build a 30 story crystal sphere balanced on top of a 10 story spire. 
@dtraleigh I think I saw you in the back of the meeting tonight. I was the one towards the front asking if thereās a second building eventually planned on the other half of that deck in Phase 3. (There isnāt.)
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Yup. I snuck in late but left to catch the Canes game.
As for Bonnerās presentation, nothing spectacularly new. The parking will be wrapped on three sides with apartments which is the norm. The tower will have more apartments over office. The parking that faces Capital will be screened.
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I know itās not the final design- but letās be real. Itās definitely gonna be a box on a parking deck- the second box on top will hopefully redeem it to some degree butā¦the MASSIVE parking deck really leaves a bad taste. Especially now knowing thereās no second tower planned for the future.
What if they end up covering the top of the deck with green space and amenity areas that are open to the public? It would be like having underground parking, but in an area that is in a flood zone and not conducive to underground parking.
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@dtraleigh
You are not āsoundingā or ācoming acrossā as impressed? 
What happened to āworld classā?
Or are we talking 2nd or 3rd world? 
Either way, thank you for sharing as always! 
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Nothing to really go on here to be honest. We need to show up and support the rezoning. Thatās what weāre discussing right now and thatās the next hurdle for something large.
After that, more details on what it looks like come out.
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