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jlblaes

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Posts posted by jlblaes

  1. Something I noticed the other day at the airport is that there's an extra, unused tunnel under one of the taxiways, to the right of the main tunnel going into Terminal A. See it here.

    I wonder what this tunnel is for... future terminal expansion? Bike path to the airport? (yeah, right.) People mover? Busway? Your guess is as good as mine.

    How about service equipment ?

    JB

  2. Virgin Airlines is looking at possibly expanding service to RDU.

    Story

    Actually it is Virgin America, is the startup airline backed by Virgin Atlantic Airlines founder and billionaire Richard Branson. The airline's application to provide service in the United States lists RDU as one of nearly 40 markets the carrier "would potentially be interested in serving."

    We've been on these lists before, the article mentions JetBlue as a recent example, so don't join the Branson fan club yet.

    JB

  3. Any more news on Crabtree? When is Lord and Taylor leaving?

    I think a nice addition would be Dillard's; the closest one is at the Cary mall and Triangle Town Center. The area could certainly use one after the North Hills location closing.

    If Crabtree replaces the Lord and Taylor spot with a Dillards then they will be very disapointed. They need something to distinguish themsleves like a Blomingdales (long shot), H&M (more resaonable possibility) or some other uniquity.

    JB

  4. This article not only mentions RBC plans for an announcement today, but primarily discusses Duke Realty's interest in development on site 1. Duke's original plans for RBC was to be a 340,000 sq. ft. building and now would like to decrease the amount of office space in lieu of residential. With the Craig-Davis group waiting in the wings, it brings up a very debatable topic on the RFP process. Should Duke be able to slide in and possibly get the bid?

    http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/374768.html

    Personally, I would like to see Duke look at another downtown site and agree with Meeker on this one. Duke should have come on board from the beginning of the process.

    Those guys are late to the party. I'm sure they wouldn't let me change the terms of a lease with them midway through, why should Raleigh allow them to jump in this late. Allowing them to jump in would send a bad signal to others and might discourage others from submitting proposals to RFD's in the future.

    JB

  5. One word sums it all up.  Housing (or the lack there-of).  For Centennial to work, it needs to get moving on the residential element.

    <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

    I am a big supporter of Centennial Campus but it must be taken for what it is. Residential would help but it is never going to be a large component of the campus. Who would like there ?

    Students do not have the cash to support many small business that you would want in a corporate park. There will be a dining hall and a gym eventually opened by the university but the amout of private retail/commercial will never get that large.

    Not many white collar professionals are not going to want to live in that enviroment and invest cash for a condo. Why live there ? It isn't very convienent to many places outside work. The housing option that is there would kill a normal person in a manner of months (4 level property - that's a lot of stairs to go up and down.

    JB

  6. Its parking ratios and uses drive it inexorably towards the typical "Generica" office park.  Everybody there drives down the strip to Bojangles and Wendy's for lunch, and drives back- nothing to eat on campus. 

    It's not an accident there are no people in the pictures you've taken- unfortunately, it's by design for them to be in their cars.

    <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

    Those statements are a little off. As an employee who works in Research III, the building in which the Centennial Campus development office resides, I know that the campus development/planning group is actively recruiting restaurants and retail to the campus. The Venture Place was expected to be one location with restaurants, a dry cleaners, office supply retail, etc but there has been lots of trouble trying to get those folks to sign on.

    Think about it, there is a developing campus with a wide variety of people on it which is a bit isolated from nearby neighborhoods. If I wanted to open a dry cleaners or Quiznos I wouldn't invest my money there yet. The campus hasn't reached a critical mass to support these types of investments.

    Just because we wish that there was a mixed use center developed and fully leased (I do so I could walk over for lunch) doesn't mean that it should be built now or that it would be successful.

    JB

  7. Not disclosing my source, I heard plans of Crabtree redeveloping the parking lot outside of Belk, making it a "restaurant mecca."  I heard Ruth Chris mentioned as one potential tenant and a 2-story Barnes & Noble.  Plans are in the works to redevelop all the way to the Exxon at the corner of Blue Ridge and Crabtree.  They are going to level it all and with the development planned and started around Crabtree, I have a feeling good things are in store for this part of town.

    <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

    ...redevelop all the way to the Exxon at the corner of Blue Ridge and Crabtree.

    I drive by there every day and I ntoiced that the Exxon is now a shell station. Anybody else notice this ?

    JB

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