Until we fill up all this vacant land we currently have sitting around downtown, I don’t think this is necessary. Tho I could see this being a possibility in 15-20 years.
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My thoughts exactly. And IF/when these complexes are redeveloped, I would hope at the very least that the Boylan Apartments are preserved and remain for a good while - that building basically takes up it’s entire lot, so it’s dense enough as is. And then for Cameron Court, it’s a really neat set up so I’d hate to see it go, but that complex in particular certain could make a little more use of its space. Perhaps some of the buildings within can be repurposed/reused as part of any redevelopment.
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Yes, as I said, there are so many places that should go first. Empty lots, gas stations, strip malls, nondescript 1-2 story office buildings. Central Prison for crying out loud.
But imagine a future 25 or 50 years from now where that’s all been redeveloped and this part of Raleigh is full of mid and high rise buildings. Is it a given that Every sngle building, tree, grassy lawn, and pathway from all these complexes must remain forever? I say, no. Something like the Glen Lennox redevelopment that preserves and rehabs enough of it to keep the memory alive, but still makes room for thousands more residents, jobs, and retail destinations, in this extremely prime location a stones’ throw from Union Station, downtown, NC State, and Dix - seems like a reasonable end result.
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I’ll admit I’m biased as I recently lived at Cameron Court and grew quite fond of them, and usually I would be in favor of furthering the density of Raleigh, but I’d argue that both Cameron Court and the Boylan Apartments be preserved in their entirety.
In this future where they are surrounded by mid and high rises, the green space becomes a feature, not a liability. And ideally, the space would be enjoyed not only by those that live in those apartments but also those that live in the surrounding neighborhood.
As John was saying, apartments like these would never be replicated, and if redeveloped at that location, would almost certainly be made up of cheaper materials and devoid of the character that the existing buildings possess, furthering their need for preservation based on merit alone.
Losing these spaces would be a real loss for Raleigh, and in my dream world they would be maintained. That being said, the realist in me tends to agrees with you, and the property will most likely succumb to market forces in the coming decades.
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Uninformed opinion here, but I don’t know the various neighborhood names… The old cool houses that mostly are in fine shape should stay. The 2 story brick apartments from 80 years ago need to go. They bring down the area, seem incongruous with everything else, and sit on property that could fit way more dense uses. I don’t share the love of some for red brick buildings, and these are an eyesore to me.
Again, not trying to change minds or offend. Just sharing my one-person’s opinion.
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Old K&W Cafeteria corner is being rezoned to allow for a 7-story hotel.
“The portion of the property to be rezoned is located at the intersection of Woodburn Rd
and Smallwood Dr. The property is currently zoned Commercial Mixed Use with a 5-story height
limit and an Urban Limited frontage (CX-5-UL), and the proposed zoning is Commercial Mixed Use with a 7-story height limit and an Urban Limited frontage (CX-7-UL). The purpose of the rezoning is to permit a hotel of up to 7 stories.”
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HELL YES!!! it’s about time!
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I agree. They could use a face lift though. It’s been awhile since I was in them but they used to be pretty bare bones.
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I will have to get some pictures at some point, but just wanted to share that the apartment/townhome development on Grant Ave (Solis Cameron Hills - Terwilliger Pappas) has begun building up - currently just the concrete stairwells, but after what seems like a year of site prep, it’s on the rise.
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Somehow I had completely overlooked this one. Good to see more density in this area. With stuff like this and the Country Club Homes redevelopment, there seems to be more potential for density heading up the Oberlin Road corridor than I had previously realized. This is the sort of thing that it’s going to take to move the needle away from edge sprawl towards infill.
I recall that there was a backlash against redeveloping CCH on affordability grounds. But the only reason that losing CCH feels like such a blow for affordability is that zoning laws in place from the 1960s until recently prevented new multifamily from getting built around here. So once these larger complexes from the 50s and before redevelop, there’s very little left nearby to become the new, 70 year old, cheapest housing around. Basically, we all know this here, but it’s a problem created by zoning. And it stands to reason that the best way to solve it will be to zone (or, more appropriately, un-zone) our way out of it by expanding the area that can redevelop for multifamily uses.
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I also don’t have pictures but this condo building looks to be topped out now
I can get pictures of this one too!
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Speaking of the Country Club Homes - construction fencing is now wrapped around the entire property, so site-prep is likely underway
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A hotel at that location is great news. I really hope the site plan allows it to front the street to enhance the walkable environment of the District (i.e. not fronted by a surface parking lot).
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I gotta imagine that’s the plan; if they need to build a parking deck as part of it, it can easily be hidden away from the street too
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That’s what the -UL frontage is supposed to achieve, although one might presume that even a -UG or-SH frontage might be appropriate in the Village. Maybe this is considered to be on the periphery of the district, and that’s why.
Barnes & Noble opens tomorrow at 10am with a book signing from Delia Owens:
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article253896698.html#storylink=topdigest_latest
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TBJ hinting at a hotel request for ‘the village’. I’m guessing this is where K&W sits.
On another note, some sort of construction has started where the old Mcdonalds stood…my fear is they are simply building another crappy fast-food “new building” like Peace Street & next to Shaw. just what we need in CV…a drive thru.
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A chase bank is going where McDonald’s was. About the same level of excitement…maybe less.
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