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Midtown Raleigh


avery

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Honestly, who the hell cares? Its the same lame brained idea as changing the name from "downtown" to "uptown" that other cities have pulled.

Ehh...it adds some marketability to the area. Downtown is a given. This area is a little less defined

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I don't have a problem with it, but I don't see that Five Points is in a "midtown" like the article says.

To me, that's an area that's Outside the Beltline, inside 540, what used to be called North Raleigh but is now more geographically central. In my mind an area that sits just outside the beltline, and includes both North Hills and Crabtree and swings up to the midrise towers at US 1 is Midtown.

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I don't have a problem with it, but I don't see that Five Points is in a "midtown" like the article says.

To me, that's an area that's Outside the Beltline, inside 540, what used to be called North Raleigh but is now more geographically central. In my mind an area that sits just outside the beltline, and includes both North Hills and Crabtree and swings up to the midrise towers at US 1 is Midtown.

I thought the North Hills-Crabtree area was still considered North Raleigh.

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I thought the North Hills-Crabtree area was still considered North Raleigh.

I don't know that it isn't still called that, but there's so much of the city north of it now that it seems like midtown to me. The geographic center of Raleigh has been migrating north for some time.

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They also mentioned Wade as being a part of midtown. I can see that. The area on Wade near the Daniels Rd. intersection is pretty nice looking. There are a several interesting buildings in that area, the housing elements don't look disposable(like the ones in the shiny new plastic subdivisions do), and Cameron Village since the remodel looks very nice and a little less like a gigantic strip mall than it did with the blue awnings. When looking at a map though, the area that is described in the N&O article is substantially bigger than downtown. There needs to be a lot more urban style development in those areas to really be considered a downtownish style atmosphere.

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They also mentioned Wade as being a part of midtown. I can see that. The area on Wade near the Daniels Rd. intersection is pretty nice looking. There are a several interesting buildings in that area, the housing elements don't look disposable(like the ones in the shiny new plastic subdivisions do), and Cameron Village since the remodel looks very nice and a little less like a gigantic strip mall than it did with the blue awnings. When looking at a map though, the area that is described in the N&O article is substantially bigger than downtown. There needs to be a lot more urban style development in those areas to really be considered a downtownish style atmosphere.

I have to respectfully disagree. Cameron Village is basically downtown, and Wade Avenue and its neighborhoods are all too ITB to qualify as part of any "midtown" in my mind. They are essentially third or fourth tier urban subdivisions.

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for me, Crabtree and North Hills along with the Highwoods "skyline" and towards Wade Avenue are sort of an uptown rather than midtown. I see Cameron Village, Five Points, Western Blvd., and even extending towards Glenwood South as the true midtown, in between uptown and downtown.

Question, how will all of the planned office space at North Hills East and new developments at Crabtree affect downtown hopes of regaining hold of the office market?

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I have to respectfully disagree. Cameron Village is basically downtown, and Wade Avenue and its neighborhoods are all too ITB to qualify as part of any "midtown" in my mind. They are essentially third or fourth tier urban subdivisions.

I see your point. So, now that the Chamber of Commerce has defined midtown, I wonder what areas will be considered uptown? Maybe the area between Falls and 401N?

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God I hope we don't get an "uptown" because then everyone will be thinking Raleigh is trying to be like, or borrowing the term, from Charlotte. We don't need an "uptown" area. Just say downtown, north, south, east, or west for whatever area of town you are describing and that's accurate enough....although not as exciting for marketing or a resident's self esteem I suppose.....

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I think the idea of Raleigh having a midtown at this point is pretty funny. Yeah, don't get me wrong I think that in 10-15 years some area might emerge as a midtown, but at this point our CBD is just starting to become a destination. Lets get our main street before we start worrying about other regions. Its kind of funny with everyone trying to throw names of regions around to imitate NYC. OK in Atlanta, midtown makes sense. Charlotte is probably in a tween time where a midtown is probably present or soon to emerge. In Raleigh we are still a good 10-15 years away.

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Perhaps Raleigh will end up with a doughnut-shaped 'midtown': everything within a half-mile of the beltline. :rofl:

But in all seriousness, some folks in outer North Raleigh (above, say, Millbrook) consider anything inside the beltline to be 'dowtown'. The same is true for folks in the 'burbs like Apex or Knightdale, too. Some of these folks may never have so much as a reason to step (drive) inside I-440.

I don't agree with the assessment that anything ITB is 'downtown' - I think it's much smaller than that. I equate Downtown with the Central Business District, ie, a single contiguous area. Neither Cameron Village, NC State, nor Five Points qualifies; there's too much distance and too much low-density development between them and the CBD. I don't consider Boylan Heights, Mordecai, or Oakwood to be downtown, either: once again, not CBD.

Midtown? I don't think we have one, yet. But North Hills makes sense in at least one way: it's fairly close to the geographic center of Raleigh.

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I don't agree with the assessment that anything ITB is 'downtown' - I think it's much smaller than that. I equate Downtown with the Central Business District, ie, a single contiguous area. Neither Cameron Village, NC State, nor Five Points qualifies; there's too much distance and too much low-density development between them and the CBD. I don't consider Boylan Heights, Mordecai, or Oakwood to be downtown, either: once again, not CBD.

I don't disagree with you, but don't see these as Midtown either. I think Cameron Park/Village, Boylan Heights, Oakwood, etc. residents wouldn't describe themselves as living in "Midotwn," and I suspect if given the choice between downtown, midtown, suburbs or exurbs, they'd say they live in downtown Raleigh.

I think Five Points is a moniker all to itself; not far enough out to be a midtown, and admittedly too far outside of Downtown to qualify for that title, too.

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I don't disagree with you, but don't see these as Midtown either. I think Cameron Park/Village, Boylan Heights, Oakwood, etc. residents wouldn't describe themselves as living in "Midotwn," and I suspect if given the choice between downtown, midtown, suburbs or exurbs, they'd say they live in downtown Raleigh.

I think Five Points is a moniker all to itself; not far enough out to be a midtown, and admittedly too far outside of Downtown to qualify for that title, too.

Collectively, Cameron Village, Mordecai, Oakwood, Hayes Barton, Five Points, Glenwood-Brooklyn and Boylan Heights will always be known as "inside the beltine." This serves as enough distinction. I think individually, they will always be seperate areas and not known as "midtown" or anything else.

To be honest with you, I like referring to North Hills and Crabtree Valley by name and prefer it to midtown.

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Just wanted to share how I refer to various neighborhoods...18 years of guiding people around this city...

-Downtown = Area within Peace, (would be North St. but it hardly exists anymore) East, West and South.

-Oakwood, Boylan Heights, Glenwood South, Glenwood/Brooklyn, Southpark = Edge of Downtown

-Everything without a downtown connotation or a North Raleigh connotation retains its neighborhood label; North Hills, Cameron Park, Five Points, Crabtree, Etc.

-Everything north of but not adjacent to 440 is North Raleigh...same for South, East and West Raleigh.

Alot of what you call an area is just personal preference, but I do get a laugh from people that think 5-points is downtown. It is also hilarious when some people make going downtown sound like heading out on a safari...the real jungle to me has always been outside 440...

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It is also hilarious when some people make going downtown sound like heading out on a safari...the real jungle to me has always been outside 440...
Amen. Especially to those of us without a car. No, wait, I'm the only schmuck here who doesn't have a car :)

Anyway, Raleigh OTB is inconvenient on public transit, and on a bicycle North Raleigh can be downright terrifying. If not for Atlantic Avenue, I would call it just plain impossible. This is entirely the fault of the thoroughfare/cul-de-sac paradigm that permeated the area from the 1960s on.

ITB, aka "older Raleigh" is a pleasure to navigate on a bicycle. Public transit routes are dense and convenient, but the frequency leaves much to be desired. The buses run on 50-60 minute headways for most of the day, when they really should be running every 15 or 20 minutes instead.

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If we look at the closest big "midtown", Atlanta's, we see that it is a continuation of downtown. There really isn't a defining border between the two. For this reason, I consider the Glenwood South area as a "midtown" equivalent.

One point to remember is that the center of the city limits, last time I checked, is roughly at Glenwood and St. Mary's St ("Confusion Corner"). So the term "North Raleigh" for Crabtree and North Hills doesn't really work for me. They are just as close to Confusion Corner as downtown is. To me Millbrook Road is the first thing that I consider "North Raleigh".

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I would say that there's a very distinct border between downtown and Midtown Atlanta: the interstate. Everything south/west of I-75/85 is downtown, and everything north/east is midtown.

Maybe that's not how natives percieve it, but that's how it seems to me.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I don't disagree with you, but don't see these as Midtown either. I think Cameron Park/Village, Boylan Heights, Oakwood, etc. residents wouldn't describe themselves as living in "Midotwn," and I suspect if given the choice between downtown, midtown, suburbs or exurbs, they'd say they live in downtown Raleigh.

I think Five Points is a moniker all to itself; not far enough out to be a midtown, and admittedly too far outside of Downtown to qualify for that title, too.

you people will prob. hate me for dragging up all these old topics, but I just discovered this board, so forgive me... I live in a no-mans land, off whitaker mill but closer to the wake forest road end... essentially, I say I live near 5 points, close to downtown. I am 5 min drive to north hills, 5 min drive to the central business district, and a mile from the rialto. It would be great to have an identity for this area, because my friends think i try to sound yuppy by saying i live in 5 points, but to me it is just an easy point of reference. And, as far as the midtown moniker goes, I don't think it is ridiculous at all... it is simply a geopgraphic region to help people identify where they are at, as the article implies. It is not raleigh trying to be New York.

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Just wanted to share how I refer to various neighborhoods...18 years of guiding people around this city...

-Downtown = Area within Peace, (would be North St. but it hardly exists anymore) East, West and South.

-Oakwood, Boylan Heights, Glenwood South, Glenwood/Brooklyn, Southpark = Edge of Downtown

-Everything without a downtown connotation or a North Raleigh connotation retains its neighborhood label; North Hills, Cameron Park, Five Points, Crabtree, Etc.

-Everything north of but not adjacent to 440 is North Raleigh...same for South, East and West Raleigh.

Alot of what you call an area is just personal preference, but I do get a laugh from people that think 5-points is downtown. It is also hilarious when some people make going downtown sound like heading out on a safari...the real jungle to me has always been outside 440...

coming from a CT transplant who grew up in extreme north raleigh and went to school in wake forest, I'll tell you, the people out there absolutely do consider anything inside the beltline to be 'downtown'. They are used to driving 20 minutes to get groceries and don't consider this leaving their neighborhood, so once you are inside the beltline and the real downtown is less than ten minutes from 5 points, you can see their logic sort of...

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