RALNATIVE

I couldn't have said it better myself. RDU can spend over 200 million to build a very beautiful parking garage, completely raze and rebuild the newest terminal, but has no vision for the outdated Terminal A/B. What's wrong with this picture?

As most real estate moguls in big markets know, it's all about location, location, location. It's also an important factor for BIG companies looking to move their high-paying jobs to an area.

DPK...Raleigh has plenty of affordable places to shop, and a lack of high end retail, compared to other top 50 US cities. We have a hugh influx of people who are looking for places with names like "Galleria" to shop. The trend for that particular area is to go more upscale. Just look at what the Soleil Center will offer. I'm sure that people buying million dollar condos in a highrise tower would prefer to have more options than just shopping at the expanded Belks at Crabtree Valley Mall. Raleigh in general needs to get away for the mentality that everything in the city must be "affordable" or else it doesn't belong. That sort of thinking limits a city from reaching its full potential.

Unfortunately, I think that this will help to further fragment Raleigh (i.e. Downtown vs. North Raleigh). We all know that Crabtree, Downtown, NE Raleigh, and NW Raleigh are the centers of focus for the city in terms of new development, so why create additional intercity rivalry by having two Towne Centers? In my opinion it's a branding issue that will lead to some level of confusion and also competitiveness. Instead of the internal competition, Raleigh as a whole, should compete with cities like Austin or Nashville, which are approximately the same size and also up-and-coming cities.

Why not add one more to the enhance the suburban fabric of the city?

Why on earth would the developer change the name of this project from Galleria to Crabtree Towne Center? Don't we already have a Triangle Towne Center in Raleigh?

I will gladly leave you guys to your perceived utopia.

For the record, Raleigh did not lure RBC...RBC chose to move their headquaters to Raleigh because they wanted their executive management in a more urban environment with more convenient access to good education, great resturants, a good airport, etc. Those reasons for moving have been well publicized and it did not take much luring on Raleigh's part. There may also be other reasons why they chose to move that we may not be aware of, but typically banks are extremely strategic in there decisions for relocating their headquaters and it usually involves being closer to the most lucrative action. Also, to insinuate that Raleigh aspires to be like Charlotte, that's ludicrous. Raleigh has no desire to join the NASCAR crowd. Yes, they have big banks, but in terms of culture, sophistication, and a national reputation as a quality city...they are lacking. That is not what Raleigh aspires to...just visit and see for yourself.

and The South will rise again...

You are missing the point! Maybe you just have a hard time comprehending things. I do use comments posted on this blog to point out some examples, but the bigger picture is that the Triad and it's leadership are banking on attaining the same levels of success that we see in Charlotte and Raleigh by trying to follow in their footsteps (by having biotech, by creating similar developments, etc.). It is fine to strive to bring more upscale things to an area, but as anyone knows, you must have a large enough demographic that will support it. That is why you are not seeing Triad developers rushing to build or high-end retailers lining up in the Triad like they are in other areas. These are groups that know much, much more about an area's viability than you or I, and they make their decisions based on facts, not trends they see happening down the road. I'm not saying that the Triad doesn't deserve these things and will eventually get them, but based on what I have been reading, a flawed rationale exists for having these things. What works for Charlotte and Raleigh will not neccesarily work for other cities, and that is the thing to keep in mind! Bizjournals Article

I'm not saying that the cities of Greensboro or W-S are trying to keep up with Raleigh or Charlotte, but if you pay careful attention to the posts, they definitely give that impression. I have actually seen articles in bizjournals that specifically mentions "snagging companies from the more conjested Triangle or Charlotte" or striving to replicate RTP's success in biotech. This is not the kind of competition that NC needs. In terms of the Aloft hotel, bot charlotte and the Triangle announced plans around the same time that they were planning to build one of these hotels. January was the earliest that Starwood would even approve the applications, so it's ridiculous to think that the Triangle may be trying to copy Charlotte. There are areas where Raleigh exceeds Charlotte, and there are areas where Charlotte exceeds Raleigh, but all-in-all both cities are trying to establish their own identities and stay up-to-date with modern urban amenities.

Aren't these all in Raleigh and Charlotte already???

The point that he was trying to make about the Triad's future was that history may repeat itself. That was the reason for his making that inference. What i'm saying is that there is no guarantee that the cycles will continue to be valid given that there are so many global factors that affect the economies of most major US cities today.

Why would I think that there is a case of "keeping up with the Joneses"? This is just a sample...

The high rankings started in the mid 90's, so I would not call that recent. I tell you what, re-read your posts 5 years from now, and let's see who is the one who was clueless!

It seems that you guys are all longing for days gone by...reminds me of my great grandparents and their obsession with the Civil War. I agree that economies can be cyclical, but unfortunately that was more true in the past than it is today. We are moving more and more towards a global economy with other countries such as India and China beginning to reap some of the same rewards that the US has enjoyed for so long. Do you honestly think that situations such as this will not influence the cyclical nature of heavy industrial cities like Pittsburgh and St. Louis and their economies?

First of all, I never made any direct comparison's between Raleigh and the Triad...you did, which ALWAYS seems to be the case with Triadians. My statements had nothing to do with my personal perception of Raleigh, but now that you brought it up...Raleigh has been topping the rankings for years, this is not something that all of a sudden happened recently. The point that i'm trying to make is that the Triad would be better off taking clues from successful metros, in terms of how to grow organically and attract more people and big business, and not devote so much time on trying to "keep up with the Joneses," which is OBVIOUS to anyone who isn't "clueless" and keeps up with the local happenings in the Triad.

So what's the status on Terminal B? Are there plans to ever change it? That Terminal is an eye sore and is functionally outdated.

It's great to see the locals have so much faith in and show support for their community, but you guys are the only ones that I have heard make these arguments. Unfortunately the arguments are somewhat juvenile in nature. If the Traid was such an "economic engine" in the past, Charlotte and the Triangle would have NEVER left it so far behind in the dust. What you see is a lack of long-term planning by leaders who had no vision. I'm not saying that the Triad's economy can't improve and prosperity increase, but it will take alot of work and cooperation. It's also gonna have to be something that the PEOPLE of the Triad want badly enough to work and make it happen.

Your message is a bit contradictory. First you indicate that the Triad is primarily responsible for the Triangle and Charlotte metros being what they are today; however, you go on to state "Triad Leaders are focusing on the Triad's strengths to become a leader and not a follower." If the Triad were trully the state leader in the past, they would still be leaders today and would not need to focus on becoming leaders. The best thing that the Triad can do, and even Charlotte for that matter, is to focus on long-term sustainability of jobs, and not simply focus on recruiting headquaters and fly-by-night operations. A company can choose to move its headquaters at any time for the simplest of reasons, and then where would that leave the Triad? Just think what would have happened to the city of Charlotte if US Airways would have merged with Delta and pulled its Charlotte hub in favor of the Atlanta hub...

You've hit the nail on the head Justin6882...this is publicity that any city could not put a price on. It gives Raleigh a certain level or notoriety and popularity throughout the nation that it would not be able to acheive otherwise. Believe it or not, many people take these types of lists into consideration when choosing where to live. By attracting more well-read and educated people (like the people who actually read Forbes or Money) to the area, we inevitably improve the overall quality of life for everyone who lives here.

Once again, the Triangle has taken a top spot on an influential ranking. Does anyone (other than myself) think that these types of rankings actually influences people's decision to move to this area and has a positive impact on the region's national profile? http://press.hotwire.com/index.php?s=press...es&item=156

I agree with you DanRNC---there definitely is this competiveness going on here. I have read several articles in bizjournals that lead me to this conclusion. I even read a statement in one article where one leader was saying that the Traid could potentially monopolize on the name similarities between "Triangle" and "Triad." He indicated that people outside of NC aren't aware of the differences between the names, so they should capitalize on that fact. How sad? If the best that the Triad can do is try and emulate Charlotte and the Triangle, it will NEVER find success in any of its plans. Any bright person knows this.