Hillsborough Street - NCSU Area developments

[orulz]

The parking area is two levels, the lower level at ground level of Enterprise Street and the upper level at ground level of Maiden Lane. As you mention, retail and lobby on the ground floor, and guest amenities (fitness, pool, lounge/breakfast area) are on the second.

[Spatula]

The Bell Tower Hotel site plan is up on the city's website now.  Building height is 80 feet with 7 floors plus a round thing on the top.  (For reference, the bell tower is 115 feet tall.)  Also shows two retail spaces on the ground floor fronting Hillsborough St.  The elevation renderings definitely look unique so there's hope that this is an attractive project.  Seems to be a mix of brick, stucco, and metal panels plus some kind of art feature.  My only hope is just that it doesn't visually overpower the bell tower.

It's appalling that the Hotel is being built where a nice corner of shops already exists. Why not the surface parking lot next to the abandoned Darryl's? Why not add density where Hillsborough needs it? Oh yeah, because the fine administrators at state just love to hog that lot for themselves.

[orulz]

My degree of outrage over this rises to about the level of "Meh." With the exception of Sadlacks which was fixed up a few years ago, this was a pretty dumpy strip. It had a plasma center, a head shop, a convenience store, and a big fat row of parking out front. Schoolkids is also in the strip but I think they're moving somewhere else on Hillsborough Street. Sadlack's is supposedly moving downtown.

[Green_man]

My degree of outrage over this rises to about the level of "Meh." With the exception of Sadlacks which was fixed up a few years ago, this was a pretty dumpy strip. It had a plasma center, a head shop, a convenience store, and a big fat row of parking out front. Schoolkids is also in the strip but I think they're moving somewhere else on Hillsborough Street. Sadlack's is supposedly moving downtown.

 

My feelings exactly.  Meh.  But I do kinda wish the University was just as motivated to build the mixed-use parking deck in the North Hall lot that they have on their master plan.

 

On an separate note:  Mitchell Silver tweeted last night about an apartment building being unveiled in Manhattan that was built with 56 modular units stacked together to form a 7-story, 28-unit apartment building.  In my opinion, this concept would be a perfect fit for the lot to the East of Jimmy Johns with 4-5 stories, basic finishes, and market to students.

[orulz]

Raleigh has a provision in the zoning code that allows any building of 16 units or less to be built without off-street parking as of right. 2604 Hillsborough maxes that out and throws in ground level retail to boot. That exact concept should be duplicated in the lot you mention. I don't believe 2604 is modular construction, but if modular works, then fine. Honestly I would not mind if the blueprints were copied exactly in multiple places up and down Hillsborough Street. In fact, FMW already owns a couple of appropriately sized lots across the street from the Velvet Cloak Inn, and might be planning to do just that, depending on the success of 2604.

[Green_man]

Anybody know what brand of hotel they are considering across from the Bell Tower?

 

Judging from the 1st & 2nd floor plans and the elevations from their site plan submittal, it seems very similar to an Aloft.  I stayed at the Aloft in Asheville this weekend and it was almost identical: main lobby on 2nd floor with the outdoor patio for their "wxyz lounge", and their emphasis on hip artsy style.

 

If that's the case, its a huge get for Raleigh and about time.

[orulz]

So far, Word has been that it will be an Aloft.

[Jones_]

An Aloft would be great.  I do hope also the parking lots across from Velvet Cloak get developed to make Hillsbough Street a nice continuous strip of activity from downtown to the Wilmont or so...

[orulz]

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but the city has a website up for Phase 2 of the Hillsborough Street project along with a more specific (but still likely tentative) schedule. The first public meeting is supposed to happen this fall and the completion date set at Fall 2016.

 

Corridor Public Meeting Fall 2013

Design Public Meeting Winter 2014

Public Hearing Spring 2014

Right of Way Acquisition Fall 2014

Award Construction Contract Spring 2015

Project Completion Fall 2016

[Green_man]

Ummm... anybody know what this is:  "Element Hotel Ronald McDonald House" in the 'on the boards' section of JDavis Architects.  Doesn't really seem to fit the site plan for the Bell Tower hotel.

 

[OTSpazz]

This is not the bellower hotel. Its plans are already posted.  Is there much need for a Ronald McDonald House in Raleigh?

[Jones_]

Found this (all the way at the bottom) 

[Guest]

Found this (all the way at the bottom) 

Document is from February 2011.

[ctl]

It didn't help that for decades, the city turned a blind eye while NCSU sprawled over onto the south side of Western. If there were adequate tunnels and/or overpasses for pedestrians, buses, and service vehicles to move from one side of Western to the other, some of the congestion between Gorman and Avent Ferry could be have been avoided. This is a major planning fail that the city and NCSU must share the blame for.

 

 

I'm thrilled to see in this morning's N&O that a pedestrian underpass is being considered for Western at Avent Ferry. 

[Jones_]

This is a cool building and it's rehabilitation will help stem the loss of the semi-inudstrial prewar character of the area. 

http://www.northraleighnews.com/2013/09/20/3212897/raleighs-landmark-nehi-bottling.html

[orulz]

I too am glad to hear about this. That's a fantastic little building. It has always caught my eye and it has been sitting derelict for at least as long as I've been living here (2000.)

 

It seems they are hoping to attract another company in the Lulu or Citrix vein which would be awesome.

[Green_man]

TBJ article has a new rendering of the Aloft across from the Bell Tower... looks pretty sharp!  

 

Edited October 8, 2013 by Green_man

[Green_man]

I noticed a sign in the window at the old Hot Box Pizza building with a rendering of the building with an added second floor.  The poster also advertised a restaurant with rooftop seating and residential living.  And mentioned available Spring 2014. (!!)  I should've taken a picture of the flyer.  For what its worth, there appeared to be no work in progress.   Any insight?

 

I love these small infill projects!  Meanwhile, we wait for Kane to unveil his monolithic block of development.

[Jones_]

I saw that as well. Wondering how you get both a restaurant and residential up there...it's a small footprint...but should be interesting. Historical note, that building is still sitting on the foundation of a 1930's rooming house that occupied the site until about 1992 or so. It was a cool (to me) two-story porched building that reminded me of stuff in older coastal cities. Not pretty. But gritty character. An large house also stood behind it (where that park is now) that was covered in vines and growth but appeared to have been carved into apartments too also bulldozed in the early-mid nineties. 

[Jones_]

All the buildings from Friendly to Concord are gone now. As a preview to the traffic nightmare closing the street for the sewer connection at that spot will create, the final facade demo needed the street closed for about 30 minutes around noon. It was pretty terrible in every direction. Just an fyi to avoid the area when that work starts around christmas. 

[Green_man]

There's a zoning change request on the City's website for the buildings between the bowling alley and the Chinese & Korean restaurant building.  (The buildings in question have Two Guys, the Keg, and what used to be Melvins --- unless these have changed again recently.)

 

The zoning change would be to "Neighborhood Mixed Use" (NX)... which would allow for residential above retail at the street level!

 

Seems like a great idea to me!  Does anybody have any insight for the proposed project?

[RALNATIVE]

The cylindrical downtown hotel on Hillsborough St. is once again a Holiday Inn:

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/morning_call/2014/01/holiday-inn-brand-returns-to-downtown.html

[Green_man]

Another rezoning application popped up on the City's "Current Development Activity" site.  This time at 105 Friendly Drive.  The proposed project would have ground floor retail/office use with 4 floors of apartments above.  It doesn't appear that parking is included - and if residents feel the need to have a car they could lease spots from the mega deck from Valentine Commons.

 

I love these smaller-scale apartment buildings!  It gives the feel of organic growth instead of huge monolithic city-block-sized mega developments.  I also love the fact that it doesn't assume that everyone needs to have a car in these urban corridors.

[orulz]

Another rezoning application popped up on the City's "Current Development Activity" site.  This time at 105 Friendly Drive.  The proposed project would have ground floor retail/office use with 4 floors of apartments above.  It doesn't appear that parking is included - and if residents feel the need to have a car they could lease spots from the mega deck from Valentine Commons.

 

I love these smaller-scale apartment buildings!  It gives the feel of organic growth instead of huge monolithic city-block-sized mega developments.  I also love the fact that it doesn't assume that everyone needs to have a car in these urban corridors.

YES. Nice find. This project is enabled by the awesome provision in the UDO that excludes ground-floor retail plus the first 16 residential units in a building from off-street parking requirements, in pedestrian oriented districts. This is the same provision that allowed 2604 Hillsborough Street to be built, which is another awesome building, for all the reasons you mentioned PLUS the fact that it was practically built in the blink of an eye.

This is proof positive that off-street parking minimums are a huge and extremely onerous impediment to pedestrian friendly development.

[Jones_]

Another original home from the Stanhope neighborhood looks like it'll bite the dust...currently housing a florist. As a reminder this was a perfectly walkable mixed use area before it was purposely neglected by Val. Sorry but these old single family houses do more for me than any shiny, albeit properly built, new buildings, ever will.