Interesting. I didn’t watch the video, but clicked the schematics for each option and they were all just “buffered” by paint. I’ll watch the video.
There’s just not enough ROW on these old city streets that are bounded on both sides by development.
I think we’re still years from this and not sure if businesses / homeowners would like it (even though in city setups they’d probably benefit) but anytime we have blocks like this where streets are parallel you could have “A” and “B” corridors.
“A” corridor could be a traditional two-way street with traditional sidewalk and parking.
“B” corridor could be a multi-modal street with no vehicles, just walking, bikes and transit.
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The options shown by the city includ parking protected / buffered lanes. Oaks and Spokes has a blog post up with feedback on the project. I would encourage anyone that would like to see all ages and abilities bike infrastructure attend the meeting tonight or the one on the 21st. There is also a survey open through the 27th.
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I agreed that I think we can do better on the roundabout and provide dedicated facilities for bikes around the roundabout rather than forcing them to merge in with traffic.
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Are you thinking of a Dutch-style roundabout, where bicyclists have a path around the roundabout next to the sidewalks?
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What’s the deal with the empty newish building on the NE corner of Person and Franklin? So odd when the shopping strip across Person is such a successful magnet for the district.
You talking about the O2 Fitness building? I think formerly RetroFitness. With the HUGE surface parking lot that fronts the corner? Yeah, HUGE waste of space. I, too, am continuously surprised that it hasn’t been redeveloped or at least purchased with future redevelopment plans yet. My dream for that lot would be a 5-10 story apartment building with ground floor retail, parking hidden underneath and behind the retail spaces, a la many of the smaller-footprint apt buildings on Hillsborough. Extend that retail corridor baby!!!
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If that building could somehow be magically transported to the opposite corner of the lot, fronting the two streets, I’d bet they’d have less difficulty filling the spaces in it.
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True but even then it’d be a ton of wasted potential. 1 story building with huge surrounding surface lot, either way. I wanna see some D E N S I T Y there, and a TON more retail space. That area of Person St is honestly Raleigh’s most dense retail corridor, IMO.
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Oh, for sure. No disagreement here. Just lamenting about how even the current building as is would be better off closer to the street.
Isn’t that building owned by Hobby Properties? Isn’t Hobby Properties the ones who own the strip across the street (w/ Yellow Dog, Person St Bar, etc)?
If so, I think they are trying to be really choosy about what goes in there. I bet they’ve had a lot of inquiries and proposals.
They are financially involved in Standard I believe, so they dont’ want anything that will compete with that. They probably don’t want anything that will compete with any of those businesses across the street.
You have a brewery/taco spot, a bakery, a bar, an ice cream shop, a clothing/gift shop, and a wine store. What can go in there that doesn’t compete?
I think that is one of the holdups. I think the other is that they aren’t financially hurting, so sitting on it and collecting parking dues (which allows more people to come enjoy their places across the street) is just fine by them for now.
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I dunno, a sushi restaurant? A trampoline park? Lol
Also, I’m supposed to have been paying to park in that lot? Oops!
A sushi restaurant would actually kill in that spot now that you mention it.
But yeah I think they have a parking sign up now where they want you to pay.
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Honestly, I don’t think anything would necessarily “compete” with these spots, only complement them and increase visitors/foot traffic. Maybe not so much another brewery, that I could understand not wanting another one of, but more retail options - even slightly similar to what’s already in Person St Plaza- would only increase interest in this area from shoppers and out-of-town visitors, IMO.
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They should let Raleigh Rescue Mission open a thrift store in that location. It sounds silly but rich people love them some thrift-store shopping, and it would absolutely fit into the vibe there. Raleigh Rescue had to close their N Capital location last year (probs covid-related, but not sure).
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There we go! A thrift shop/curated vintage goods shop in this area would KILL! And not really compete with any of the other offerings around there (Unlikely Professionals has a small vintage section, but it’s def not their main draw)
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Looks like they’re marketing it as office space, which doesn’t feel like the best use for that location: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/800-N-Person-St-Raleigh-NC/21695672/
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Uhhhh yeah, absolutely not the best use, agreed. I really hope they wise up and market it for redevelopment; residential/retail mixed use is really the only thing that makes sense, here.
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Shout out to TrunkShow which is kinda on Person St. Not quite in the district, but not too far out of it.
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