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Raleigh Convention Center

Justin6882

By Justin6882
in The NC Triangle

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  • 4 weeks later...

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Jones_ City

Jones_

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There is a lot of paving going on now...both blocks of Lenoir, parts of McDowell and Cabarrus. Also along McDowell an interesting cobblestone pattern is being added to the sidewalks. The architects evidently did listen to public input and try not to let any one side of the center be dead though I remember someone saying they felt the Lenoir side was too dead. Well, for such a big building of this type, its not going to be all shops around the edges...I think it turned out ok on the street level all things considered.

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  • 4 weeks later...
paletexan Whistle-Stop

paletexan

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OMG.. That is so sweet looking!!! All that's missing is a W-Raleigh AND a decent night club...

Is it just me, or is that is a brilliant and fitting element to the building, and much more creative than expected out of a downtown Raleigh project.

Does anyone have a night shot of it?

Are there any large video screens planned outside that highlights current or future conventions?

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ChiefJoJo Town

ChiefJoJo

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The RCC is nice, but that area needs a revamp quickly. It is surrounded on all sides by either parking decks, surface parking, a crappy hotel facade, and a dirt pile. I know the Sir Walter Chevrolet site (dirt pile) will be converted to an outdoor amphitheater, but it still won't be an active use, all but a few nights a year. One day, the Enterprise rental car lot will hopefully be redeveloped on the Cabarrus frontage, and that will at least take care of part of one side.

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Jones_ City

Jones_

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It really is crapped out around there. It occurred to me that future development west of the shimmer wall will need to consider whether or not they are blocking the view...or maybe providing an exclusive view ala the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. I know the City is in control of the amphitheater lot so that helps head off future problems with viewing it, but I could see a good marketer of condos or offices touting "views of the shimmer wall" at the expense of other's views.

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ncwebguy Burg

ncwebguy

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There have been night clubs in the Warehouse building just out of frame, to the north of the dirt lot/amplitheater. Not sure if there will ever be one with the bad history of the fomer coca-cola bottling plant. Ess and Deep South are not too far, though not sure if they count as "decent".

East of the old Button South/Warehouse/Gemini space, air rights for the land above the entrace to connect to the Wake County parking deck were kept by the property owner, so I could see a W or a similar hotel built there, once the credit crisis settles down. Replacing the Enterprise store (on the left edge of the picture) is a no brainer, but may have brownfield/contamination issues since it looks like a former gas station.

The Beauty Supply store on Cabarrus (behind where the picture was taken from) would be another good condo/hotel space, though the train tracks behind it make for a funky shaped lot. But train tracks haven't stopped Glenwood South from becoming a nice little district.

Does anyone know if the Sheraton/BB&T parking deck's Cabarrus Street frontage could be converted into retail spaces? I think it follows the slope of the street, but if it was reconfigured, that would soften the "hard edge" in that corridor. Sam and Wally's in the ground floor of Two Hannover (BB&T) is an ok deli, but only open for breakfast and lunch.

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  • 2 weeks later...
RaleighRob Burg

RaleighRob

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Well after visiting the center this weekend, I have to say I'm overall impressed. (And I'm not just talking about the shimmer wall.) The main convention floor is pretty huge but what really was the "awe" factor was the upstairs ballroom. Wow, what a fancy place that was. Definitely impressed with that...and the lobbies of the center were great too.

It's amazing how recessing the building partially below ground really makes it look bigger on the inside than on the outside...almost like a Tardis. (OK, I'm geeking here.)

My only thumbs down would be the restrooms on the bottom floor...small & not enough toilets. :P

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miamiblue Whistle-Stop

miamiblue

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Well after visiting the center this weekend, I have to say I'm overall impressed. (And I'm not just talking about the shimmer wall.) The main convention floor is pretty huge but what really was the "awe" factor was the upstairs ballroom. Wow, what a fancy place that was. Definitely impressed with that...and the lobbies of the center were great too.

It's amazing how recessing the building partially below ground really makes it look bigger on the inside than on the outside...almost like a Tardis. (OK, I'm geeking here.)

My only thumbs down would be the restrooms on the bottom floor...small & not enough toilets. :P

While I also was impressed overall, I was actually kind of underwhelmed by the size of the main convention hall. Maybe it was the layout of the International Festival + the Worldwide Expo creating an illusion, but for some reason I thought it was going to be bigger.

I also thought the ballroom was very nice, but a friend of mine (who loves to dance) pointed out that she thought it strange that the whole room was carpeted. I am assuming they have some sort of temporary flooring that they would put down for certain events that include dancing (it is a ballroom, afterall).

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orulz City

orulz

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I also thought the ballroom was very nice, but a friend of mine (who loves to dance) pointed out that she thought it strange that the whole room was carpeted. I am assuming they have some sort of temporary flooring that they would put down for certain events that include dancing (it is a ballroom, afterall).

Pretty much every convention center I've been to uses a temporary dancing floor. It allows for greater flexibility with the space rather than having a permanent floor set up somewhere.

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ChiefJoJo Town

ChiefJoJo

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I think on the whole the RCC is a really nice building. The decision to bury the exhibit hall was well worth the ~$10M pricetag, as any sense of pedestrian scale would have been destroyed with massive blank, vertical walls on every side. As it is, the designers did an admirable job with such a monster. I especially like the large angular windows, that we're told are energy efficient by allowing more natural light (LEED). We've all lamented it's ugly surrounds with parking decks, surface lots, and the ugly hotel all around, but there's not much we can do about it now. Maybe the Lafayette will get going by next year and sites 2/3 and the Enterprise lot will be redeveloped sooner rather than later.

FYI, if you didn't get an opportunity to go inside here are some convention center images.

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Jones_ City

Jones_

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While I also was impressed overall, I was actually kind of underwhelmed by the size of the main convention hall. Maybe it was the layout of the International Festival + the Worldwide Expo creating an illusion, but for some reason I thought it was going to be bigger.

I also thought the ballroom was very nice, but a friend of mine (who loves to dance) pointed out that she thought it strange that the whole room was carpeted. I am assuming they have some sort of temporary flooring that they would put down for certain events that include dancing (it is a ballroom, afterall).

Nowadays a ballroom is less about the dancing and more about the eating. Most big conventions have a big dinner either on their opening night or closing night (or both!).

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