I know that it seems like the parking deck isn’t actually facing The Cotton Mill, and I don’t know which side of the building the Mayor lives on, but it would’ve been hilarious to me if she was against this development because of the view impacts from her building. We’ll see hehe!
EDIT: With that said, I feel like I’ve heard the Mayor talk about this development on council before with excitement, so I think this will go through with the usual rezoning vote makeup (maybe with some extra conditions added on).
Would probably require completely removing the train tracks for something identical to Atlanta, but maybe the potential for even a scaled version if the tracks are left.
If it was still a working train station that wasn’t fit for use, by all means, but for a city of its size (and growing!) Raleigh is really short on historic architecture, and a charming little former train station that can be integrated into a multi-use development is a big loss compared to the same building even in Louisville or Richmond.
Besides, destroying Seaboard Station to build up the Seaboard Station neighborhood just feels wrong.
I’ll be perfectly honest, I’m going to miss Logan’s. Visiting to wander around and occasionally buy things has been part of my nice weather downtown activities routine for many years. But they sold their property to make money and move. I’m not happy about it, but it was their decision, and I can accept that.
I don’t really care about the old train station building on its own. Keep it or demolish it, whatever works. I’ve already written off the Seaboard Station I liked, with Tyler’s and 18 Seaboard and Phydeaux. Currently it’s all being demolished, and all we’re getting is another apartment building. If this new phase with Logan’s will ultimately make this area its own complete district, I guess I’m all for it at this point.
I really hope they choose incorporate the old train station. I am in favor of the development, but it would be a real shame to lose that piece of history.
I sometimes shop at Logan’s and it is obviously their right to close the shop and sell the property, but IMO Raleigh needs to safeguard the limited historical assets it has, while continuing to grow and densify.
Tunbridge has great plans incorporating old buildings for the Creamery. Hopefully they come up with something good here.
100% in agreement, here. Whenever I visit Durham, I realize how much of its charm is actually directly influenced by how much of their old buildings have been saved/restored/renovated/and reused. It actually feels a lot more like a “Brooklyn” or Chicago than a small, sleepy Southern town. Raleigh has lost a ton of this charm thus far, and with the impending demolition of the old Goodnights building, Berkely Cafe, the original Amtrak station, and now possibly this - it’s only getting worse.
I kinda get the same feeling about Charlotte. They have torn down so many of their historic structures it is very sterile IMO. I hate to see Raleigh follow in their example in this regard. (Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE downtown Charlotte, it is just lacking that historic feeling you get in cities like Pittsburgh or Richmond for example.)
The “bones” of this station (minus clock tower) still exists on S Dawson St. beside the Fire Station. I believe it is owned by the city and chopped up into offices. Probably not salvageable. Who would decide to tear off clock tower and rehab to offices? That was progress 50 years ago.
The postcards show the streetcar passing at the front door of the train station. Raleigh had it figured out, then the automobile caught on, as seen by the Model Ts in front. Good bye streetcars.
I’m sure there are plenty of people that genuinely want to keep the old building, and that’s fine. I don’t really see much to it, it’s really just a brick box, but I kinda get that if you don’t want to become Charlotte Jr.
What’s harder for me to square is that this is a small building tucked away literally in the corner of a very, very expensive part of town. I’ve never shopped there so I’ve seen it maybe 2 times. Preventing a property from being developed to benefit a small number of statistically wealthy people that don’t own it is not a good outcome.
It’s impossible to distinguish someone with a legitimate concern about architectural preservation from one of the pull-the-ladder-up types that wants to keep renters out of their neighborhood. As we’ve seen, the NIMBY crowd will adopt whatever language gets them results. So I’m more than a little skeptical
They should’ve stuck with the original design and kept the building as a relic of the past. It could’ve easily been a museum about the old streetcar system.
I feel that Raleigh needs to keep structures that can tie the city with the past if there’s historical significance. I believe the station could do that. It’s not so much the architectural value but the many milestones of Raleigh’s history that has occurred there. Let the new development proceed, but don’t lose the charm that station has. “Pave paradise and put up a parking lot.” Joanne Mitchell is right, you know.
I’m sad to see Logan’s leave the building, but I’ll be even sadder to see the building itself go. It’s not a neoclassical palace, no, but it’s a significant part of Raleigh’s quickly-fading history and it would be a shame to lose it. Surely there’s a way to incorporate it into the redevelopment.
