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I don't know the Triangle well, but I'm just going to put out that Durham might be the only thing to siphon off downtown growth. North Hills isn't a big deal, and by that, I mean I don't think it's growth will take away from downtown. Ballantyne & SouthPark never got in the way of Uptown.
Nashville has the tourism industry, but Austin and Nashville aren't too heavy on the office towers like Charlotte is (and mostly office towers has fueled the CLT skyline boom even the current boom now versus mostly residential for Austin/Nashville) so I don't see why Raleigh couldn't follow the Austin model given RTP.
Very heavily skewed towards residential
Ehh North Hills already is competeting with downtown. Which dont get me wrong, i like North Hills. Its great for Raleigh. I just had my wifes family from Orlando stay in the Hyatt in North Hills this weekend and they loved the area. But it does compete. Bank of America moved out of its downtown space to the new tower in North Hills. First Citizens bank is now rumored to be considering building a new 40 story tower in North Hills instead of downtown. Allscripts chose the 12 story tower in NH instead of downtown. Etc etc etc. Not that it necessarily "hurts" downtown, but still you get the point. At times it will get development that would have otherwise be on Fayetteville st.
Durham will compete simply because it will always be the smaller cheaper city only 25 minutes away. But thats fine too, Durham deserves everything it gets and is growing nicely.
But i agree, any big explosion in skyline for Raleigh will pretty much be guaranteed as residential and mixed use. Im just happy to see a lot of great low/mid rise density filling in right now. The height will come soon enough. Raleighs at the size for national recognition now.
Durham is a question mark to me. I could see it having a high rise boom eclipsing Greensboro by an indisputable amount. Not being a Greensboro hater, but I just think Durham is going to fly way past GSO. Not only in skyline, but in stature as the 3rd largest city in NC.
I agree with that as well. Not hating on Gboro either, i hope that a lot of its proposed projects do happen, but it will just be a matter of time that Durham over takes Gboro in skyline and significance to North Carolina. May take a long while to catch Winston in skyline, but i would argue its street level feel once all this current construction is completed will have an strong argument for 3rd best in the state.
The rumor is that First Citizens will demo their tower in North Hills for redevelopment. Someone mentioned that it will be somewhere between 30 to 40 stories tall. Just a rumor but if Kane is involved it will probably be big. North Hills desperately needs a pedestrian bridge as well now that it will be jammed pack with senior citizens.
I really hope what you're reporting turns out to be true. First Citizens' current building would look decent as a tower, but its design doesn't work as well with the current building's height imo. Plus, more towers. Always a good thing.
There's a lot of potential space taken up by the current building's parking lot, so if everything works out, this would definitely be huge. There is also a lot of room across Lassiter Mill where the round First Citizens' building is that could be redeveloped further down the line. I can actually almost envision North Hills becoming a bit of a mini-Buckhead, although due to its proximity to downtown Raleigh and the existing residential neighborhoods, it won't ever be on the same level.
What you are seeing is downtown Raleigh does not have a freeway like NH. Most large cities have a freeway downtown, too get people to their jobs. I-40 helps downtown Raleigh but downtown has no direst entrance to a freeway other than US 1 North and it is not a true style interstate highway. A downtown freeway can be good or a bad thing if not plan correctly.
Some people in Charlotte, do not like I-277 around uptown Charlotte, but with out it, uptown traffic would be bad trying to get US-74, NC-16 and NC 49 around uptown.
What you are seeing is downtown Raleigh does not have a freeway like NH. Most large cities have a freeway downtown, too get people to their jobs. I-40 helps downtown Raleigh but downtown has no direst entrance to a freeway other than US 1 North and it is not a true style interstate highway. A downtown freeway can be good or a bad thing if not plan correctly.
Some people in Charlotte, do not like I-277 around uptown Charlotte, but with out it, uptown traffic would be bad trying to get US-74, NC-16 and NC 49 around uptown.
I40 is only 1.2 miles south of current edge of Downtown Raleigh with four entrances to downtown: Lake Wheeler, McDowell St, Hammond Dr, and Rock Quarry Rd. But with the Southern Gateway Project it will spread Downtown Raleigh all the way down to I40 and past it according to the city's website.
But North, West, and to an extent East directions are a bit lacking.
I'm calling for Raleigh be the next city skyline to totally transform in 10-15 years.
I am thrilled also with every project that starts to make Raleigh look like the sophisticated city it's always been.
But I disagree that Raleigh-ites will catch "big-city fever" and suddenly do an about-face and be discontent with the small-town feel and scale that is cherished today.
As a much as I love all of the tall buildings and big-city elements, I don't think Raleigh should eschew the qualities that have put it on the national stage as 94's Best Place to Live in America and rising respect and momentum ever since.
The risk is losing the instantly-recognizable skyline and understated-ness, that pleasantly surprises in person.
I remember s friend at UNC whose parents had just visited the Triangle for the first time coming from Florida.
And that was in 1990!
He said they "Were Floored" at how nice everything was in all aspects & way more sophisticated than they were expecting.
I predict that the area will continue with the smaller, human scale adopted so far, and that's the way it should be in my opinion.
"To Be, Rather than to Seem" the state's motto exuding from the state's capital city...
[quote=CLT1985;51518041]What you are seeing is downtown Raleigh does not have a freeway like NH. Most large cities have a freeway downtown, too get people to their jobs. I-40 helps downtown Raleigh but downtown has no direst entrance to a freeway other than US 1 North and it is not a true style interstate highway. A downtown freeway can be good or a bad thing if not plan correctly.
Some people in Charlotte, do not like I-277 around uptown Charlotte, but with out it, uptown traffic would be bad trying to get US-74, NC-16 and NC 49 around uptown.[/QUOTE
Freeways are being dismantled & town down in downtowns all across America and increasingly thought of as the worst decision they could have ever made.
I don't necessarily agree. I think they are very useful and co-exist in harmony.
Atlanta's downtown connector and East-West I-20 are blamed for all of the city's woes, with I don't completely agree with...
One project to cap part of GA400 in Buckhead is moving forward, and much of I-75/ I-85's downtown section is being planned.
Raleigh's decision to say "No Thanks" to I-95 being routed right through town is...
universally lauded as the best decision they ever made, protecting Raleigh from the grime, crime, drug trafficking, tractor-trailers, and general seediness that historically came with interstates.
Having a downtown the size of Mayberry would still be a price worth paying if Raleigh were asked again today for permission to let I-95 come through town.
Part of me would want the increased visibility that I-95 service would bring,
but all of the associated bad elements might pose too much risk to the qualities making the area great now.
I'm calling for Raleigh be the next city skyline to totally transform in 10-15 years.
I dont think there will be transformative changes in Raleigh's downtown skyline from now in the next 10 years, but just steady changes...
If someone is looking for relative transformative changes in a downtown skyline in NC, look over to the East in Greenville to a city of just less than 100K. Obviously to a lesser height level, but ECU is in the middle of updating its campus tower facades downtown, A downtown Hilton (with rooftop bar) is going to be built (downtown's first, but not last), the tobacco warehouse district is being revitalized and at least 4 new large student housing complexes downtown, one as many as 8-10 stories are being added to the existing base. ECU is building a huge new student center and has plans for two large downtown buildings.
Relatively speaking (in terms of tax base and size of its downtown), Greenville is seeing as dramatic or more than any other city. One catalyst is the 10th St connector project which is connecting the Health Science campus to the main campus. There are as many as 7 cranes on going in downtown Greenville right now, which has a relatively small footprint...although its really being extended to 10th St, and will move toward 14th St down the road. ECU's millenial campus, supported in part by SAS is also part of the renovation effort.
For context, downtown Greenville was a collection of one or two story buildings, which is being transformed to 5-8 story, with some having significant grade differences (like Wilmington). Two local bars are even adding rooftop projects to overlook the downtown.
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