Good afternoon everyone. I was out for a bike ride to Cold Off the Press for a nitro cold brew with a shot of agave and their housemade almond milk (my go-to, highly recommended). When headed back home, I noticed that the Hartwell building had a pop-up vendor market and food truck outside, and open doors! Check out some pics, then I will share details I learned:
I talked to Hannah, in charge of the management side of this project. She informed me that they truly want this to be a gathering/community space, open to anything. The interior has been opened up, but they have saved as much of the original material as possible (this building is originally from the 50s).
Here are slabs of the original wood:
And this OLD school wood walk-in freezer door that will be hung and displayed somewhere inside:
Wood paneling has already been installed behind the bar in the back, but is covered for now:
The bar will serve beer and wine, and some NA beverages, though she is not sure what yet. She confirmed they will not sell any competing items with any businesses down South St- so no coffee or tea, but you are welcome to get something at Cold off the Press and bring it inside! There will be tons of seating on a floating bar top made from the remaining vintage wood slabs, and tables/chairs to the right side of the interior.
The left side will be retail from rotating local vendors, all managed by the Raleigh Night Market. Everything will be sold through QR codes so you pay the vendors directly and they don’t even have to be there. Amazing innovation! All the seating, bartop, and retail display will be on wheels so everything can easily be rearranged or moved out, and the space can be rented out for events. They will have workshops with local vendors and makers, and will also have artist talks!
The retail area:
Rotating Local art will be displayed on the walls, between the newly installed windows (managed by a local gallery owner, not sure her name but had a space in M. Night Shayamalan’s The Village District.)
One artist Hannah mentioned was King Godwin, the local young autistic artist who makes some really great paintings. Love to see it.
There is a skylight installed in the center of the roof, so there will be tons of natural light, and the staircase to the partially covered rooftop deck is outside the front entrance, which will remain open to the sky with wood beams added above and also full of ample seating (the entryway, not the stairwell). The rooftop deck will be able to accommodate 30-35 people. The stairway is again pictured here:
They will pave what is all currently gravel lot and have outdoor vendor markets twice monthly, and hope to have food trucks present outside each day they are open! The open hours will be Thurs-Sun. And yes you can get your food and bring it to any seat in the house!
The back area will remain green space, and front area that lines South St will be landscaped 
Hannah also said just today that she spoke with a guy who is on 3 different neighborhood committees for the Lynde (the ever-delayed condo building [current pit] across the street) who stated that one of the big wants was always to have retail space lining South St, and they have apparently confirmed that as of this week, and construction is supposed to begin this Fall. But that wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard that! I really hope the retail space is true- it was originally planned, then scrapped, and I hadn’t heard any updates about it being included again since!
As for the Hartwell building, Hannah also told me (perhaps my favorite part) that they’ve color matched the original seafoamy green paint of the exterior, and will be bringing it back to its vibrant green glory!
Anticipated to open to the public in August!!! Seems optimistic to me, but I hope it does!
Nice pic and nice to meet you guys!