The 16 story tower is labeled phase 1, and the 20 story tower phase 2?
Honestly having trouble conceptualizing the way that all interlocks together, but wow is that a lot of building. Seaboardâs going to be one dense neighborhood.
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I think just Building 1 and Building 2.
Updated the post with the long elevations stitched together
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Looking forward to when Capital Blvd coming in from the North is just a parking-deck canyon 
half-kidding but in all seriousness this is pretty substantial, and appears that the Train Station will be moved, as anticipated. Win/win all around.
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Love the density, hate the building.
Highlighted areas are the portion of the wood canopy to remain. Extremely disappointing â that canopy is an understated treasure, as expressed by renowned architect Frank Harmon:
Frank Harmon, a Raleigh writer, architect, and professor, is critical of the proposed demolition as well and agrees that Seaboard Station is architecturally and historically significant. âIn particular, I like the sheds,â Harmon says. âTheyâre remarkable. My students have studied them for many years, especially the way that the timbers are put together, the economical use of materials, and the thoughtfulness of integrating drainage from rain within the structure.â
But I donât see a way around it â the site is not deep enough for them to build a functional parking structure that is fronted by retail without demolishing most of the canopy.
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As I do my best to offer a positive comment about the design, I can at least say that the rear facing parking deck is at least opposite the CubeSmart and not the Cotton Mill.
Iâm VERY disappointed that Raleigh will be losing the long concourse canopy. The nod to it on each end is insulting. Itâs like âlook what used to be hereâ.
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Much like RUSbus, I think weâre getting about as solid of a compromise as we could reasonably expect. But thatâs just my opinion.
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Agreed.
Just generally seems to be lacking any character and placemaking features. The residential should be easy to fill but just hard to imagine successful retail with such a bland pedestrian experience. Not to mention the competition with all the other retail spaces in Seaboard.
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They could⌠ya know, build a smaller f**king deck? I really donât get why all these new buildings have to have parking decks that take up half the entire development. Parking minimums have been abolished, but there always seems to be twice as much parking built than needed. And letâs be real honest, when is the last time you saw any deck downtown completely full?
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It appears to me that the second of the two canopies is on CSX property and will be left in place, possibly leaving this as the final canopy configuration after this project is built:
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Well, this is a building people live in, so they need parking - the parking deck in the Elan would nearly fill up entirely some nights when I lived there. And retail tenants want to make sure their customers have an easy place to park.
I agree that visually theyâre super ugly, but itâs a tough tradeoff when we canât build NYC-style parking-free highrises.
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Thanks for catching that, you are right. lowers pitchfork
In that case, major, major missed opportunity for a more thoughtful site plan that engages this as an amenity. Imagine if they were able to open this up to retail. It seems like itâll be left over space as it is. Maybe since they donât own it, they wouldnât be able to much with it in the first place.
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They could⌠ya know, build a smaller f**king deck?
I donât think they can. Look at the site plan; itâs the minimum width of a double-helix layout. I donât think a single-bay is feasible.
I would suggest though that this is a situation where it makes much more sense to provide parking elsewhere or adjacent to these buildings â I wish that were a possibility. The loss and missed opportunity of not making the most of whatâs there is far too great.
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Goes to show you that the parking minimums werenât really a factor with larger devs. Itâll probably start with small-scale items where 5 or 10 spaces for a new retail shop in an old building isnât needed anymore. (maybe a factor over at Longleaf Swine?)
Great first step to remove them and once transit and density increase parking maximums can be put in place. Then the deck heights start to come down in new buildings like this.
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So we are just gonna ignore that the side with the canopy is going to be a massive parking deck face? No? I meanâŚletâs pray they screen it accordingly, but I doubt that. So, the angle most people will see (along Capitol Blvd.) will have that to look at. Sounds awful.
At least at the ground level, the north and south ends facing the canopy and tracks look like they will have active uses.
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Theyâre going to see it while driving by at 50mph. The impression coming into DTR is going to be âthereâs a building to my left.â Better that side than on the retail side, because there isnât room to fully wrap it on that lot.
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The density is exciting. But wish this entire projectâs retail was planned a little bit better and more cohesively. This could have been a Fenton like project. Anchored by some great retail options, a movie theater, and other entertainment. All while being a part of downtown.
Maybe I should reserve my judgements and see how it all turns out, see who fills in all the retail. But right now it seems like thereâs no room for any large anchor tenant. I just feel like this project could have been a âdestinationâ area for Raleigh. Maybe it does end up that way, but I just donât get the feel that it will.
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Look no further than this forum itself for reasons why. We have people who live downtown and within walking distance of restaurants they have chosen not to visit due to lack of parking.
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