The developments in this area are more about Dorothea Dix park than downtown. The park is a major investment and the city is encouraging development there as a way to activate the park. The developers are choosing this location to take advantage of the park. In the end this will be its own district with restaurants, retail, the farmers market, probably a small grocer and a massive park with tons of amenities. I believe it’s also on the BRT line. With the Lake Wheeler Road project this area with be very walk and bike friendly.
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I’d definitely walk from the Dix area to downtown if I lived at the Weld or nearby and there were safe sidewalks to use. I believe anyone capable of doing so would too, if and only if the sidewalks were safe and there were multiple 3rd places to stop by along the way. This seems to be the city’s overall goal for this area.
Just a side note, I walk that distance almost everyday in Boston because there are wide sidewalks, safe and countless businesses to window shop or go into.
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While I’d like to believe that your behavior would be reflective of others, my experience of owning in downtown proper suggests otherwise. While it’s easy for folks in my building to walk to the SH Publix, I often see my neighbors driving there, even when they are only getting a few things. I’ve even had my neighbors offer me a ride home when they saw me there. I have always declined as I promised myself that I would only walk the two blocks there.
My point is that while I am certainly not against this project at all, I don’t think its going to compel the sort of walkable development that we’d like to see in downtown proper.
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Years to go before those habits are formed out here. Lake Wheeler itself is only going to get messier before it gets better and that project will take 5 years in REAL Raleigh construx times…
(First pic ‘walking’ Lake Wheeler from Dix entry. Second pic at the Wheeler / Saunders junction)
While sidewalks exist on Saunders after the turn from Lake Wheeler, it’s still a trek before any third places pop up. (Third pic from the Rocky Branch crosswalk…)
Maybe the whole thing feels (better) integrated in a decade. Maybe…
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Looks great even on a cloudy day 
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Fwiw, the Target on Hillsborough has basically no parking. Yes it’s used primarily – though by no means exclusively --by students. But the point is there’s some precedent for a big box store that caters mostly to foot traffic in the greater downtown area.
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They have some parking, not basically no parking. Also, there are tens of thousands of students, professors and staff on a campus directly across the street.
Universities like NC State (main campus) behave like little urban oases, so it makes sense to have businesses in the walk-shed that don’t prioritize parking.
FWIW, I walk to that Target, as do I walk to The Village District, Five Points, Smoky Hollow, the YMCA, etc. That said, my behavior is the exception and not the rule by how few people I see walking those routes with purchases or gym bags in tow.
Also, I am not sure what the Target on Hillsborough has to do with the Weld?
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Nevermind, was trying to make the case that people can be trained to do errands on foot if the environment is conducive. But might have picked a bad example.
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I used to think that you could train folks, but now I’m not so sure. My building was built in advance of a walkable grocer and now that we have one, I don’t see my neighbors taking advantage of it by foot. Maybe they just need to move on and get replaced by someone who does want to walk to things?
I live in NW Raleigh and typically walk to run my errands nearby daily. It is almost a game to see what I can get to without my car. One time I went from a Thursday afternoon until Monday morning without getting a car (mine or others) at all. I’m sure @John will have me well beat, but for suburban N Raleigh, that was pretty good. However, I see my neighbors across the street getting into their cars to drive the 100 +/- feet to the communal mailboxes and drive back and I just roll my eyes. Bless Their Hearts
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That is pretty good! I applaud you. 
And, you are correct, I do have you beat. 
I once didn’t get in my car for so long that my interior mildewed from being closed up too long in the Summer.
From Lake Wheeler. Is it just me? This development is really up at the street front. That’s going to be more evident the higher it goes.
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Oh yeah
Up! Up! Up! We go…
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I love the DTR shots from this video series. Just realizing how none of the 5 main buildings in the foreground (including Capital Sq) were even here a year or two ago, and how big the 2 in the immediate foreground are going to be. Raleigh looks like a real city, even without zooming out to some of the others.
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Little too much optimism there pal. Tone it down.
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Holy hell these are going up fast! The (currently) taller one looks to be about halfway to topped out, but the “shorter” one looks to only be about a quarter of the way there 
that one is going to be HUGE!
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And let’s not forget they have filed an ASR for #3 and still have space for “future development” as well. I’m liking this project more and more.
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A 35-40 story structure, left of center would look so nice, balance things about a bit for the west end area. Maybe some day…Nash Square Apartments will arise.
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