James B. - page 4

Brought to you by York Properties

Atlantic Lounge opening soon on North Person

Goodnight’s new restaurant moves forward

Kale Me Crazy now open in Cameron Village

Drive Shack moves forward

Model train at Union Station for the holidays

Seven-story parking deck coming to Crabtree

To be featured in the Development Beat, contact business@itbinsider.com.

Giving Tuesday: 

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a nice long weekend. Today is Giving Tuesday so we figured we’d share some opportunities to donate to a few great causes.

Donate to Heart’s Cry Children’s Ministry

Read about the Raleigh couple that moved to Panama to save orphans

Donate here for Giving Tuesday

Follow their story on Instagram here

Attend the 25th Annual Jingle Ball

Tickets for the 2018 Jingle Ball Presented by CPI Security are still available. The event is held at the Museum of Natural Sciences on December 5th at 6:30 pm and supports The Salvation Army of Wake County.

Go See “A Christmas Carol” and Support Hilltop Home

Help support the children of Hilltop Home by sponsoring the 44th anniversary of Ira David Wood III’s “A Christmas Carol” on December 5th, 2018 at Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. For questions about sponsorship or tickets, email Larry Lakins at larry.lakins@cushwake.com.

Atlantic Lounge Preps for Opening on North Person

The Atlantic Lounge, a unique speakeasy bar on North Person Street should open soon. Located below Crawford & Son, the lounge received an ABC Inspection permit last week.

Developed by Jason Howard and Dan Murphy, the pair behind the Cardinal Bar on N. West Street, the underground bar will only be accessible through a locked door on Pace Street. According to Howard and Murphy, approximately 500 keys will be given out to members selected from the surrounding neighborhood.

We reported on the locals only bar concept earlier this year. Permits indicate the lounge will have about 1,086 square feet of space, which will reportedly be enough to accommodate “a few dozen” patrons at any given time.

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Progress On Goodnight’s Boylan Heights Restaurant

Developer James Goodnight is making progress on transforming an old service station into a new restaurant in Boylan Heights. Two recent development cases indicate the new space could be opening sooner than later.

Earlier this month, the Board of Adjustment heard a case that allows for an exception to the number of required parking spaces, and last week, a new site plan review application was filed with the City.

It’s been more than a year since we last reported on Goodnight’s plans for the former home of Dusty’s Service Shop at 502 W. Lenoir. Goodnight purchased the property in 2014 and originally filed a site plan for the new restaurant back in November of 2016. That application called for reducing and remodeling the existing 5,084 square foot garage into a 4,583 square foot restaurant. The most recent application would keep the existing building at its current size and add another 1,000 square feet onto it.

Goodnight has since engaged the services of Maurer Architecture, and the more recent site plan application gives us an idea of what the new restaurant will look like. For all intents and purposes, the existing facade will remain much the same, and the addition looks like it will be on the right side of the building.

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Kale Me Crazy Now Open In Cameron Village

Kale Me Crazy is now open in the former home of Baskin-Robbins in Cameron Village.

According to their website, Kale Me Crazy is a super food cafe offering juices, smoothies, salads, and wraps in a sleek, upscale environment. The menu also includes poke bowls, acai bowls, coffee, tea, and avocado toast (obvi).

This is owner Jeff Hutto’s second Kale Me Crazy location, and the first location in Raleigh.

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Drive Shack, Baby Drive Shack

Drive Shack received permits last week for their three-story driving range with a “large bar and dining area.” The Topgolf competitor’s plans to open in Raleigh were announced exclusively here on the Development Beat back in May.

The new 63,885 SF, $8 million facility is being built by Ashland Construction and will be located on Corporate Center Drive in West Raleigh next to Interstate 40. Reddit user “tootskies” posted an interesting question on the Raleigh subreddit last week, asking “Tall white poles near Wade Ave? What are they?”

Those white poles are part of the driving range’s safety net system, designed to catch errant golf balls and prevent them from leaving the facility. The “poles/netting” permits were issued for the project in October 2018. Drive Shack’s website says the location should open by Spring 2019.

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New Train at Union Station for the Holidays

A new train is coming to Raleigh’s Union Station for the holiday season. The North Raleigh Model Railroad Club has brought the N-Scale Model Railroad Show to downtown Raleigh for all to enjoy.

The show kicked off last weekend and will continue on Saturdays and Sundays through December 30th from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. The show is located in the A200 Suite on the Mezzanine Level, a space that is managed by our good friends at York Properties. The show is free and open to the public.

Work Begins on Crabtree Terrace Parking Deck

Work is now underway on the 7-story parking deck set to accompany the new Crabtree Terrace development off Glenwood Avenue.

Located across from the Crabtree Valley Mall, Crabtree Terrace will offer 140,00 square feet of Class A office space, along with 38,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. A current list of tenants includes Longleaf Law Partners, the co-working company Spaces, and a high-end restaurant. Adjacent to the property will be a luxury hotel, restaurant, and roof-top bar.

Sitework plans for the building itself were issued earlier this year, and last week, permits valued at more than $15 million were issued to Brasfield & Gorrie for a “7-tier,” 204,201 square-foot parking deck.

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Mary Allison Marlowe has finally been recognized for her culinary skills after preparing a Thanksgiving dinner unlike any other. The James Beard Foundation presented Marlowe with the “Outstanding Thanksgiving Dinner (12 Seats and Under)” award on Thursday evening. • Marlowe’s award-winning meal featured the following dishes and wines: Country Ham Rolls Bacon and Scallion Cheese Biscuits Deviled Eggs Butter Whipped Mashed Potatoes Three Cheese Mac & Cheese Green Bean Casserole W/ Fried Onions 10 LB. Bone-In Smoked Turkey Breast Pecan Pie Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Pie Fritz Müller ‘Perlwine’ Müller-Thurgau Trocken 2017 (4 bottles) Franck Besson ‘Rose Granit’ Sparkling Rosé (4 bottles) Bodegas Chacra “Barda”- Pinot Noir 2017 (4 bottles) • Judges overlooked the fact that the entire meal was ordered from the Ladyfingers Thanksgiving Menu, and that all of the wine was selected by experts from Seaboard Wine. • “We know she bought the whole meal from Ladyfingers, and we don't care. We’re just tired of getting Facebook DMs, texts, and calls from her every year for the last sixteen years. We gave her this award so she'd leave us alone,” said an award representative, who asked not to be named. • After composing a lengthy caption for her Instagram post about how thankful she is for the award, Mary Allison Marlowe sat back to enjoy a bottle of rosé as she waited for the likes to roll in.

A post shared by ITB Insider (@itbinsider) on Nov 22, 2018 at 5:57pm PST

Brought to you by York Properties.

New Bojangles’ planned near Carter-Finley Stadium

Work begins on Calavera’s new location

Clark Avenue closure updates

Cameron Village Starbucks getting a new entrance

Papa Shogun coming soon to Seaboard

Nice Price Jr. coming to Oakwood

Buy an ITB pie from Share the Pie this Thanksgiving, and support the mission of building stronger families through access to employment and healthcare.  

Bojangles’ Coming Near Carter-Finley Stadium

Bojangles’ is opening a new location just a few football fields away from Carter-Finley Stadium.

According to exclusive site review plans that we obtained last week, Bojangles’ will be turning a vacant 1.6 acre parcel of land into the site of a 4,180 square foot Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits.

Located at 1541 Sunday Drive, the new restaurant is being developed by Tri-Arc Food Systems, one of the largest Bojangles’ franchises in the area. Tri-Arc owns and operates all ten of Raleigh’s existing Bojangles’ locations, as well as a number of locations in surrounding areas.

Could this be the location of next year’s Tasty Beverage New Belgium Bojangles’ Beer Dinner? We’ll keep a close eye on it.

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Calavera Begins Work On Tasty 8’s Space

Calavera has begun work on their new location in the former home of Tasty 8’s. Last week, permits were issued for $95,720 worth of renovations to the 1,220 square-foot space at 121 Fayetteville Street.

Calavera, owned by Raleigh restaurateur Ken Yowell (Oak City Meatball, Kaiju), closed its South Blount Street location in February. Fortunately, they found a home for their empanadas and tequila just a few blocks away.

The owner of Tasty 8’s, Dr. Brett Wells (the best dentist in Raleigh), had decided to close the restaurant to focus on his growing dental empire.

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You Serious Clark Avenue?

If you’re frustrated with the inability to easily access Cameron Village by using Clark Avenue, you are not alone.

View this post on Instagram

‪Same, @milljm9. It’s basically our Oregon Trail.‬

A post shared by ITB Insider (@itbinsider) on Oct 24, 2018 at 7:42am PDT

Raleigh residents will have to wait a few more weeks for construction on the stormwater culvert underneath Clark Ave. to be completed. The 70-year-old stormwater pipe will be replaced with two parallel 60-inch concrete pipes that are each about 85 feet long.

Clark Ave. will remain closed between W. Peace Street and the Clark Avenue/Bellwood Drive intersections until construction is finished in November.

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A Whole New Door

The Starbucks at Cameron Village is set to undergo a minor renovation. Permits were issued to Independence Construction Company last week for a “front door/entry change” project valued at $7,006.

Hopefully, they won’t have to close during the construction. We all remember what happened last time the Starbucks closed for 48 hours.

Residents Distraught Over Temporary Closure of Starbucks

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Papa Shogun Coming to Seaboard Station

Papa Shogun, an Italian/Japanese concept opening at Seaboard station, received ABC Inspection permits last week.

The existence of this new restaurant was first brought to our attention by Raleigh’s @triangleexplorer in June.

View this post on Instagram

Coming soon to the former Kimbap space in Raleigh's Seaboard Station. Papa Shogun: Italian & Japanese restaurant. #ComingSoon #Raleigh

A post shared by Triangle Explorer (@triangleexplorer) on Jun 26, 2018 at 5:34am PDT

ABC permits are usually obtained within a few weeks of a restaurant opening, so we expect this place should be open soon.

Nice Price Jr. Coming To Oakwood

Nice Price Jr. is coming to Oakwood. Located at 222 N. Bloodworth, the store will be a smaller version of Nice Price Books, which has been on Hillsborough Street for decades.

The News & Observer reported last week that the store’s main focus will be vinyl records, although there will also be books, cassettes, and a “baby bar.” We assume this is a bar that is smaller than a typical bar, and not a bar that caters only to babies.

Nice Price Jr. held their soft opening on Friday. They’ll have their beer bottle shop up and running for the grand opening.

Brought to you by York Properties.

Retail and Parking Development coming to Hillsborough Street

Updates on Tower II at One Glenwood

Old Rex Hospital back on the market, again

Baseball Stadium envisioned for State prison site

Muscle Maker Grill coming to McNeill Pointe

LGBT Center of Raleigh relocating to E Hargett Street

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Ways that you can contribute to the Hurricane Florence recovery:

North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

NC Hospital Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC

Habitat for Humanity

United Way

Volunteer for a 6 or 12 hour shift with the Red Cross

The Carolina Cavalry

Retail and Parking Deck Planned For Hillsborough Street

A parking deck with ground-floor retail is coming to Hillsborough Street as part of the new Block 83 development from Heritage Properties. The site at 701 and 709 Hillsborough was for years home to Allen’s Automotive and Rosenberry Rooms.

Heritage, the developers of the nearby One Glenwood, filed site review plans for a project they’re calling “Block 83 Parking Deck.” The 267,333 square-foot structure will stand nearly 90′ tall and provide 693 parking spots. Four retail spaces totaling 8,472 square feet will be located on the ground-floor.

A closer look at the renderings reveals where the four retail spaces are planned, as well as the existence of a “Trash Room.” Seems like the developers thought of everything on this one.

This will be the fourth structure Heritage builds as part of the Block 83 project. While the name might sound like something out of a dystopian sci-fi novel, it’s apparently part of an overall rebranding meant to pay tribute to the number assigned to this group of properties back when the city was divided into blocks in the days of yore.

To be fair, naming the development Block 83 is more creative than the standard “Let’s just use the address as the name of the building” formula used by so many recent projects.

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One Glenwood Tower II

Heritage Properties released new renderings of Tower II, another phase of the One Glenwood/Block 83 development on Hillsborough Street.

Tower II will be a 10-story, 275,000 square-foot office building with two separate one-story retail buildings comprising a total of 4,850 square feet.

The new renderings show off a courtyard that can be used for concerts/events, as well as a coffee shop inside of a shipping container, because that’s cool and edgy.

The property is currently occupied by a few buildings, including Dram & Draught.  Construction on Tower II is set to begin in the second quarter of 2019.

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Old Rex For Sale Again

A request for proposals issued by the North Carolina State Property Office last month seems to indicate that the Old Rex Hospital site may once again be on the market.

The RFP seeks to find a new office space for state employees who are currently housed on the Old Rex site at 700 Wade Avenue. The State is seeking a 10-year lease for about 100,000 square feet of office space and 500 parking spots. The lease would begin on or about May 1, 2019.

Situated at the intersection of Wade Avenue and St. Mary’s Street, the Old Rex campus was specifically singled out in the City’s Wade-Oberlin Area Plan, where it was described as the only site on Wade Avenue where new retail uses should be allowed.

When redevelopment plans were announced in 2016, the City said it hoped to limit that retail use — no one wants to see a Brier Creek style development here — to about five percent of the total square footage.

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Field of Dreams

Oak City Baseball, a “grassroots organization with the goal of bringing Major League Baseball to Raleigh” recently unveiled a concept for a new baseball stadium at the Central Prison site along Western Boulevard.

The plan is quite extensive and very detailed — it describes everything from proposed bus routes and bridge extensions to an elevated greenway to the location of home plate.

The idea, per Oak City Baseball, is to create a stadium like Wrigley Field or Fenway Park that is “nestled within the existing city fabric” and would mesh into the existing neighborhood. The 17-part Twitter thread can be viewed in its entirety here.

Full disclosure, we did not investigate whether @OakCityBaseball has the funds to make the baseball stadium a reality. They did, however, provide more information on their mission:

Love it! 🙌🏼

And, to be clear, we’re just the MLB-to-Raleigh idea factory, sowing seeds to see who would be on board, fan-wise. If any newly-minted powerball billionaires would be so inclined, you know where to reach us! #oakcitybaseball https://t.co/QuLnVZTpqT

— Oak City Baseball (@OakCityBaseball) October 23, 2018

It’s hard to say how much a project like this would cost. Including land acquisition, we’d estimate anywhere from $1 million to north of $1 billion. However, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for Field of Dreams photoshops. We considered going with the headline “Field of Pipe Dreams” because the chances of this happening are quite low, but we didn’t want to crush the spirit of a good idea. After all, the one constant through all the years, Raleigh, is baseball.

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McNeill Pointe Muscles

A new fast-casual health food franchise will soon be muscling its way into a space at McNeill Pointe in Raleigh’s burgeoning SoJo area (South of Trader Joe’s).

Permits were issued last week for the fit-out of an 1,800 square-foot space for the Muscle Maker Grill at 2330 Bale Street. The chain — which we wrongly assumed was a seafood restaurant specializing in mussels — actually focuses on healthy menu items and meal plans that help improve their customers’ physiques.

The food actually sounds better than you might imagine; they offer flatbread pizzas, Cajun chicken pasta, turkey burgers and more. There are about 50 locations of the chain nationwide.

LGBT Center of Raleigh Set for Relocation

The LGBT Center of Raleigh will soon be relocating from its present location at 324 S. Harrington to a new 2,249 square-foot space at 119 E. Hargett Street.

The organization behind the center was incorporated in 2008, and says that its mission is to “strengthen individual and community development through social and educational activities; to facilitate the incubation of supportive services and groups; and to identify needs and advocate for resources benefiting the diverse population of lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual people, their friends and supporters within and beyond central North Carolina.”

As the center’s new home on E Hargett is owned by Empire Properties, the $141,470 project is being handled by the company’s construction subsidiary Empire Hard Hat.

Thrilling ‘Making micITBit’ Docuseries Announced

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Week of October 15, 2018

Development planned for South Saunders

WakeMed medical office coming to Cameron Village

Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Community Appearance Tonight at Union Station

Hotel planned next to Nash Square

Tower 4 under construction in North Hills

Crabtree Terrace progress

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Ways that you can contribute to the Hurricane Florence recovery:

North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

NC Hospital Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC

Habitat for Humanity

United Way

Volunteer for a 6 or 12 hour shift with the Red Cross

The Carolina Cavalry

S. Saunders Planned For South Saunders

A new mixed-use development, including a hotel, residential units, restaurants, retail, and office space could be coming to South Saunders, near the edge of Dix Park. Five Horizons, who recently completed the 10Arros project on New Bern Ave, submitted a rezoning application for a new project named S. Saunders.

The development would be located on a 9.15 acre property bounded by South Saunders Street, South Dawson/McDowell Street and Rocky Branch Creek.

The property would be a mix of industrial warehouse conversions and new buildings ranging from 12 to 20 stories that would feature retail, high-density residential, and a public event space.

According to the rezoning application, “The Southern Gateway Corridor Study, led by the Raleigh Urban Design Center, highlights the site as a prime opportunity to create a ‘maker’/tech start-up district.”

The plans note that the site will be oriented to maximize walkability for pedestrians. The development “incorporates the greenway and creek into the overall design to promote natural resources protection, as well as pedestrian access to the creek and greenway.”

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WakeMed Plans Medical Office Building in Cameron Village

WakeMed announced plans to redevelop the property at 505 Oberlin Road into a medical office building. The building is currently home to the Cameron Village Post Office, which has been ranked the #1 most trauma-inducing passport office in Raleigh.

WakeMed Physician Practices offices will anchor the building, bringing health and wellness services to Cameron Village. Services will include primary care, urgent care, and other outpatient offerings.

“WakeMed is an exciting addition to the Cameron Village neighborhood,” added George York, president and CEO of York Properties, Inc. “We strive to make the Village a truly complete community serving all our residents and customers.”

The facility is slated to open in mid-2020.

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Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Community Appearance To Be Held At Union Station

The Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Community Appearance will be held tonight at Raleigh’s Union Station. According to their website, these awards recognize “outstanding new contributions to the character, environment and appearance of the City of Raleigh.”

More than 200 Sir Walter Raleigh Awards have been given to developers, designers, building owners, community groups, civic clubs, churches, and citizens over the last 30+ years. The awards are given out by the Raleigh Appearance Commission.

A reception with refreshments will be held at 5:30 pm, followed by the presentation of awards at 6:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public. As of right now, we are still unsure if ITB Insider has even been nominated. Fingers crossed!

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Plans Filed For Hotel Next To Nash Square

A nine-story hotel and restaurant could soon be coming across from Nash Square. The Raymond Management Company, a developer based out of Wisconsin, filed plans with the City for what is currently being called The Nash Square Hotel.

According to the plans, the 196,337 square-foot building would stand 112′ tall, offer 190 hotel rooms, and a restaurant on one of the hotel’s upper floors.

The project would be developed at the intersection of West Martin and South Dawson across six separate parcels of land, which are home to a total of 11,940 square feet of existing buildings. The most well-known of these is the Nash Square Building at 227 West Martin. Built in 1970, the two-story brick office building will be torn down.

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Tower 4 Underway At North Hills

Construction of Tower 4 is now underway in the Park District of North Hills. Designed by Duda|Paine Architects, the 20-story building will front Six Forks Road with 11 floors of Class A office space atop 8 levels of integrated parking and ground-level lobby.

According to an exclusive press release, the 328,600 square feet of office space will have access to a conference center and terrace-level amenities, in addition to street-level restaurants. Adjacent will be a 570,000-square-foot 32-story residential tower. The building will have 10 levels of boutique hotel rooms and 22 levels of luxury apartments.

Tower 4 will open in summer 2020.

Foundation Work Underway for Crabtree Terrace

The construction of Crabtree Valley’s newest mixed-use development has hit is latest milestone with the issuance last week of a set of foundation permits to Brasfield & Gorrie.

Located across from Crabtree Valley Mall, Crabtree Terrace will offer 140,00 square feet of class A office space, along with 38,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. It’s expected to be completed by summer of 2019.

Brought to you by York Properties.

Week of October 8, 2018

Plans for Kane’s Warehouse District development

Junction West opens in Warehouse District

Smokey Hollow Updates

Firenza Pizza coming to SoJo

New Drive-Thru for Chick-fil-A on Lake Boone

North Hills Chipotle opening soon

Aldi on Wake Forest to undergo significant renovations

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Ways that you can contribute to the Hurricane Florence recovery:

North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

NC Hospital Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC

Habitat for Humanity

United Way

Volunteer for a 6 or 12 hour shift with the Red Cross

The Carolina Cavalry

Kane’s Cabarrus Plans

Kane Realty is set to expand its growing footprint near downtown’s Warehouse District. Rezoning plans were recently filed to redevelop a 6 acre parcel of land along West Cabarrus Street between Dupont Circle and S. West Street into another mixed-use complex.

Plans for the site include up to 500 residential units, 350,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of commercial/retail space. The ground-level retail entrances will mostly be located along West Cabarrus, and a minimum 2/3 of that first-story facade will be made up of windows. One of its more unique features is a plan to install a rooftop garden on the property’s parking deck.

The rezoning documents also included notes from a recent neighborhood meeting held for the project. 36 different issues were discussed between the developers and the 42 neighborhood attendees, including traffic concerns, architectural styles, community benefits, and the prohibition of bars/lounges.

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Junction West Opens

Junction West, a new bar and event space, recently opened next to Raleigh’s Union Station. Located at 310 S West St., Junction West is the creation of Rob and Gabie Frantz. The couple told the TBJ that they plan to focus on local and North Carolina craft beer, along with wine and spirits.

In addition to the bar and event space, there is an outdoor area.

View this post on Instagram

Grab a drink, play some corn hole, watch the sun set.

A post shared by Junction West (@junctionwestnc) on Oct 4, 2018 at 5:32am PDT

Junction West will be open 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm Monday through Thursday, 1:00 pm – 12:00 am Friday and Saturday , and 1:00 pm – 10:00 pm on Sunday.

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Smokey Hollow Updates

We’ve covered this project a lot recently, but a presentation with new details was recently given at a Glenwood South neighborhood meeting. For context, here’s the area of Peace Street being developed.

The main takeaways from the presentation are that the retail, the coveted Publix, and the residential units are expected to all be finished by 2Q of 2020.

Here are some exclusive screenshots we obtained.

Phase I – Peace Raleigh Apartments will have 417 residential units and 50,000 square feet of retail, including the Publix.

Phase II – A 9 story 225,000 square foot office building will be built at 413 North Harrington Street.

An additional mixed-use building, Smokey Hollow, will consist of 280 residential units and 40,000 square feet of retail.

Not much was mentioned about Phase 3, but we assume there will be a connection into the downtown canal that is being constructed on Capital Boulevard. Here’s a link to the full presentation.

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Firenza Pizza coming to SoJo

A new build-your-own pizza shop is coming to McNeill Pointe, in the newly named SoJo district of Raleigh. For those who don’t follow @WNFIV closely on Instagram, SoJo is the area located south of Trader Joe’s and near the only car dealership in that area, Thompson Buick GMC Cadillac (#hiMark).

Firenza Pizza, a chain where customers get to pick out every last detail of their pizza before it’s cooked, currently has two locations in North Carolina – both of them in Charlotte.

Permits valued at $176,297 for the renovation of a 2,600 square-foot space on the ground floor of 2320 Bale Street were issued last week to Triangle Enterprises. The company’s website lists the Raleigh location as “Coming Soon” with no indication of how soon “soon” is. We’d wager the restaurant should be open by early next year.

Chick-fil-A Drive Thru

The Chick-fil-A on Lake Boone Trail is planning to upgrade one of the most crucial elements of their business: the drive-thru.

Permits valued at just over $100,000 were issued last week to R & L Builders & Sons for the installation of two new drive-thru canopies. We imagine these will look like the lovely canopies that were recently added to the drive-thru at the Cameron Village Chick-fil-A.

North Hills Chipotle Opening Soon

The new North Hills Chipotle that we first reported on about five months ago will soon be opening its doors to the public. The Chipotle will be located in the Lassiter District between the Panera Bread and the Verizon store that some old guy drove his car through last month.

ABC inspection permits were issued for the new Chipotle at 4421 Six Forks Road last week. It will be Raleigh’s sixth location of the popular chain.

Aldi Shamed Into Renovating Wake Forest Location

Facing fierce competition from the nearby Lidl, the Aldi on Wake Forest Road has decided to make some improvements, likely in an attempt to win back some customers who may have strayed to their chief competitor.

On October 4, permits with a listed value of $1,056,394 for the “interior remodel and expand parapet section” of the Aldi at 4031 Wake Forest Road were issued to National Contractors, LLC.

In November 2017, Lidl opened its first Raleigh location less than half a mile up Wake Forest Road. It’s hard not to draw a straight line between that and Aldi’s current million dollar renovation project.

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Week of October 1, 2018

Wilson’s Eatery opening soon at Dock 1053

Outdoor office space at Union Station

Plans to redevelop Capital Plaza Hotel

Tavern/Restaurant to replace Devolve Moto on Glenwood South

Crabtree Valley Mall food court to become food hall

Updates on Downtown Wayfinding Kiosks

Trinity Road pedestrian tunnel opens

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Ways that you can contribute to the Hurricane Florence recovery:

North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

NC Hospital Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC

Habitat for Humanity

United Way

Volunteer for a 6 or 12 hour shift with the Red Cross

The Carolina Cavalry

Wilson’s Eatery Coming Soon to Dock 1053

Wilson’s Eatery, a restaurant named after Wilson the dog, will open Monday, October 8th at Dock 1053. Our investigative journalism broke the news about this restaurant back in May. We kept a close eye on the story by following Wilson’s on Instagram and can confirm that they recently shared their menu:

Starters
Chips and Dip (V/GF) $5/8, Pork Nachos $11, Charcuterie Plate $14, Pimento Cheese & Pork Cracklins $7, Lettuce Wraps (GF) $10

Salads
Chopped Salad $10, Market Salad (V/GF) $11

Sides
Broccoli Salad (GF) $3, Beer Cheese Mac (V) $4, Belgian Fries (V) $3, The Dock Slaw (V) $3

Sandwiches
Cha Cha’s BLT – glazed pork belly, lettuce, tomato & Duke’s mayo on sourdough

Grilled Pimento Cheese (V) – house-made pimento cheese with Ashe Co. cheddar & poblano on sourdough

Ell Bell’s Double Cheeseburger – two smashed patties, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, house pickles & Duke’s mayo on brioche

Veggie Burger (V) – falafel, tzatziki, lettuce, tomato & house pickles on brioche

Southern Fried – crispy chicken thigh, pimento cheese, lettuce & house pickles on brioche

Carnitas Torta – braised pork, ham, avocado, black bean spread, cabbage, American cheese, tomato, house pickles & Duke’s mayo on brioche

Flatbreads
Neopolitan (V) – tomato, mozzarella & basil

Old School – tomato, mozzarella, sausage, pepperoni, peppers & red onion

Veggie (V) – white sauce, mushroom, spinach, red onion & tomato

Steak & Arugula – white sauce, flank steak, arugula, blue cheese & chimichurri

Pork & Pimento Cheese (GF) – pimento cheese, braised pork, pickled red onion, charred cabbage & house-made BBQ sauce

Desserts
Cookies

Wilson Bars – decadent house-made bars with toasted rice cereal, peanut butter, butterscotch & chocolate. We assume the idea for these came from Wilson the dog, who was recently featured on DogsofITB:

View this post on Instagram

THE Wilson of Wilson's Eatery, the new restaurant coming across from Lynnwood @wilsonseatery

A post shared by Dogs of ITB (@dogsofitb) on Sep 20, 2018 at 4:29am PDT

We got a sneak preview of the menu at the soft opening.

View this post on Instagram

Enjoyed the preview of @wilsonseatery. Wilson the dog confirmed that they’ll open Monday (10/8).

A post shared by ITB Insider (@itbinsider) on Oct 4, 2018 at 6:01pm PDT

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Outdoor Offices At Union Station

Starting this week, you can work outside at Raleigh’s Union Station. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance, Alfred Williams & Company, and a number of coworking spaces have leveraged synergies to turn Union Station Plaza into Raleigh’s hottest new outdoor office. This space has something for everyone; WiFi, solar-powered shade umbrellas, white boards, tables, benches, a conference table, and more amenities to make sure you and your colleagues can actualize cutting-edge relationships as you begin to close out Q4.

We are launching Raleigh's first #OutdoorOffice by partnering with @AWC_Office, @HQRaleigh, @IndustriousHQ, @nestraleigh, @spacesworks, and other #DowntownRaleigh stakeholders. Come #WorkAtUnion at Raleigh Union Station between October 1 – 12. Learn more: https://t.co/df0GaabLpz pic.twitter.com/mSk4aAAya0

— Downtown Raleigh Alliance (@DowntownRaleigh) September 20, 2018

Located at 510 W Martin Street, guests can stop by and work, reserve the 6-12 person conference table in hour long blocks, or attend special events after 5:00 pm. The outdoor office will be open until Friday, October 12th. There is no dress code that we’re aware of, but we assume the standard Patagonia startup vest is acceptable.

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Plans for Capital Plaza

The site of the Capital Plaza hotel has seen a number of incarnations over the years, including a Holiday Inn, a Doubletree, and the Hotel Europa. Despite its chic surroundings (two pawn shops within walking distance) and its Eastern Bloc-esque design, the final concept lasted less than a year. The massive five-story concrete structure has sat vacant since 2005, causing it to become a hot spot for urban exploration.

A plan to transform the old hotel into a Radisson was announced in late 2015, but never happened. Last week, a new developer gave a presentation at the Brentwood Community Center on their plans for redeveloping the 8-acre parcel of land.

LIV (a developer, not the nightclub in Miami) would like to demolish the old hotel and replace it with 312 apartments and 24 townhomes. The units would combine to house 500 residents. The residences would not have any affordability limits, and would range in price from $900-$1,800/month.

At the meeting, Andrew Murray of LIV said they would not need to completely rezone the land in order to move their project forward, but noted they would need to revise the conditional uses that prohibit any sort of multifamily outside of senior living.

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No Mo’ Moto

A new tavern-style bar and music venue is coming to Glenwood South. The venue will replace Devolve Moto and Vickers & Ruth Plumbing at 304 and 306 Glenwood Ave, the Triangle Business Journal reported last week.

After opening as a bar/cafe/retail shop in 2015, Devolve Moto closed the retail portion of its business in October 2017, and closed the cafe/bar earlier this year.

The space will be filled by a joint effort between Dan Lovenheim (the owner of Cornerstone Tavern, Alchemy, and Capital City Tavern) and Matt Kenner (the owner of Milk Bar, Southern Charred, and Dogwood Bar and Eatery).

From Food Court to Food Hall

CVM Holdings, the owner of Crabtree Valley Mall, apparently wants to break into the food hall space. What better place to start than with their existing food court?

Travis Bailey, creator of Raleighite.com and the first person to bring video streaming to Raleigh, notified us via Twitter about a sign at the mall’s food court.

Saw this at lunch @WNFIV @trianglexplorer that Crabtree Mall is remodeling their food court. pic.twitter.com/eKYEUNkYEU

— Travis Bailey (@Sigmandis) September 25, 2018

Initially, we had assumed Crabtree was going to try and compete with the food truck space.

A few weeks ago I wrote the headline “Crabtree Food Court Launches Food Trucks To Compete With DTR Food Halls” but never posted it. I guess life imitates memes far more than memes imitate life. https://t.co/RKeUDAuv1G

— ITB Insider™ (@ITBInsider) September 25, 2018

We had our technicians enhance the renderings and it looks like the remodel will include new tables, paintings of crops and greenery, couches, a fireplace, and more.

Making Your Way Downtown

Update: City Council was expected to authorize a plan to install interactive kiosks throughout downtown Raleigh on Tuesday. Some members raised objections about the kiosks producing too much light, among other things. We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but it doesn’t look good right now.

Came down to Union Station to see the IKE wayfinding kiosk and it’s already gone. Now I don’t know how to get home. If anything happens to me, tell my family I loved them. pic.twitter.com/f6k9Hmr0pu

— William Needham Finley IV (@WNFIV) October 3, 2018

The kiosks are designed to “assist with pedestrian wayfinding and public service announcements/communication.” We first broke the news about these over a year ago.

Downtown Raleigh expert Bill King recently posted an example of the kiosks.

And check out a demo of the interactive wayfinding kiosks, which direct users to retail, restaurants, transit, attractions in downtown. pic.twitter.com/9Y14Fc3SFs

— Bill King (@kingbill24) October 1, 2018

The kiosks would include advertisements. But in a day and age where you’re forced to watch video ads while pumping gas, this was to be expected. Due to limitations on advertising in the public right of way, the type of ads displayed will be more restricted and likely in the vein of government-sponsored campaigns.

It appears that our idea of having ITBlake the intern serve as a virtual assistant will need to be put on hold until we can figure out how to run a government-sponsored campaign.

Trinity Tunnel Opens

NC State fans were finally able to enjoy the new pedestrian tunnel under Trinity Road last weekend. The tunnel allows pedestrians to walk safely and quickly from their cars to the stadium.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation, which oversaw the $4 million+ project, announced last week that the tunnel would be open in time for Saturday’s game. The press release noted that “in addition to providing a safe crossing for fans attending events at the football stadium and PNC Arena, it will also provide safety for attendees to the State Fair in October, when thousands of vehicles are parked on the stadium side of Trinity Road.”

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Week of September 24, 2018

Smokey Hollow Updates

Andrews-Duncan House will be a home

Hillsborough Pointe files site plans

Sam Jones BBQ coming to downtown Raleigh?

Apex Outfitters opens downtown

U.S. Attorneys moving into downtown Raleigh

Shoppes at Battle Bridge in Southeast Raleigh expanding

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Ways that you can contribute to the Hurricane Florence recovery:

North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

NC Hospital Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC

Habitat for Humanity

United Way

Volunteer for a 6 or 12 hour shift with the Red Cross

The Carolina Cavalry

Here are a few tips on donating:

Why cash is better than donations

How to avoid charity scams.

We’ll keep you updated on additional ways to help as things progress.

Smokey Hollow Phase II

Kane Realty and Williams Realty & Building Co. recently picked up roughly an acre of land along North West Street, paving the way for Phase II of their Smokey Hollow development.

County records indicate the developers paid about $4.52 million for three parcels of land on August 31. The costliest of the three was a .66 acre piece of land at 506 North West that had been serving as a 96-space surface parking lot.

Phase One, which will include 400 apartments, ground floor retail, and a Publix grocery store, is currently under construction. Phase Two will include office space and additional retail. A third phase is planned as well.

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Andrews-Duncan House Will Be A Home

Good news from Goodnight Raleigh. Last week, Ian F.G. Dunn wrote a fascinating and in-depth article about the historic Andrews-Duncan house, which the State of North Carolina recently found a buyer for.

According to the article, the buyer plans to live in the seven bedroom, six bathroom mansion located at 407 North Blount Street. The 10,000+ square foot home was completed in 1873 and commissioned by Colonel Alexander Boyd Andrews, a “construction magnate, railroad executive and capitalist”.

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The Pointe Planned For Hillsborough Street

Sadly, the iconic The Point bar in Five Points is not opening a second location on Hillsborough Street. Hillsborough Pointe is actually the name of Blue Sky Development’s planned apartment building at the intersection of Hillsborough Street and Bagwell Avenue.

The project would be four stories tall, 29,555 square feet, and would include ground-floor retail. Plans show a total of 29 residential units — 12 one-bedrooms and 17 two-bedrooms.

The site is currently home to J & J Auto, which would have to be torn down before work starts on Hillsborough Pointe.

Blue Sky Development recently built the Friendly Apartments just off Hillsborough, and more recently announced plans for the University Park Condos, an 88-unit building near the Arby’s.

Keeping Up with The Joneses

EatRaleigh reported some news last week that we hope turns out to be true: Sam Jones of Sam Jones BBQ and Skylight Inn might be opening a restaurant in downtown Raleigh.

There is currently one location for Skylight Inn — in Ayden, NC – and one for Sam Jones BBQ, in Winterville, NC. Several other users on social media seemed to confirm the rumor of the downtown Raleigh shop, but until we hear something official we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed.

🐷🐷Rumor has it that Sam Jones of Sam Jones BBQ and Skylight Inn is opening a place in DT Raleigh. 🐷🐷

— eatRaleigh (@eatRaleigh) September 17, 2018

Downtown Raleigh’s Apex

Apex Outfitters and Board Co. has officially opened in downtown Raleigh. The outdoor retailer had announced its plans to move into the former home of DECO at 19 W Hargett Street earlier this year.

Not surprisingly, Apex currently has a location in … Apex, NC. Their wares include everything from skateboards to waterproof jackets, although we imagine the store’s winterwear will be more popular than its longboards over the next few months.

Law & Order: Wells Fargo Capital Center

Downtown Raleigh’s white-collar criminals beware: the U.S. Attorney’s Office will soon be moving into the Wells Fargo Capital Center, an upgrade that can only mean they want to be located closer to Miller Law Group after Stacy Miller’s historic Fyre Festival victory.

Permits issued last week indicate the U.S. Attorney’s Office will move from the Terry Sanford Federal Building on New Bern Avenue into three stories of the Wells Fargo Building at 150 Fayetteville Street. McDonald York will be handling the build out of the space.

Southeast Shopping

The Shoppes at Battle Bridge in Southeast Raleigh will soon be expanding, as site review plans were filed showing plans for three new out-parcel buildings.

These include a 4,000 sq ft retail building, a 1,835 sq ft restaurant, and a 1,800 sq ft vehicle repair shop. They’ll be built at the intersection of Rocky Quarry and Battle Bridge Roads.

The shopping center at present has a total of 62,000 square feet of space and is anchored by a Food Lion. County records indicate it was built in 2007 and expanded in 2011.

Brought to you by York Properties.

Week of September 17, 2018

Hurricane Florence recovery efforts

Ridgewood Shopping Center sold

Lola’s Beach Bar opens in Five Points

City Hall Civic Campus updates

Land by Crabtree sold for more apartments (probably)

Noir adding another patio

Chavis Park awarded redevelopment grant

Contact wnfiv@itbinsider.com with news or to be featured in the Development Beat.

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Hurricane Florence Recovery Efforts

Before we begin, we’d like to highlight some ways that you can contribute to the Hurricane Florence recovery. Raleigh was spared from a horrible storm, thanks to Bonner’s masterful control of the Raleigh Weather Dome™®. As you’ve seen in the news, many other areas were devastated.

There have been tons of great efforts already, from local businesses to individuals who are willing to drop what they’re doing and take supplies to areas that need it the most. This list of organizations below is by no means comprehensive. City Council Representative Nicole Stewart has done a great job on Twitter (@Nicole4Raleigh) of keeping the public informed of ways to help. Here are a few:

North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

NC Hospital Foundation Disaster Relief Fund

Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC – donations will be collected Thursday from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Carter-Finley Stadium (inside Gate A) and at the food bank distribution facility at 1924 Capital Blvd.

Habitat for Humanity

United Way

Volunteer for a 6 or 12 hour shift with the Red Cross

The Carolina Cavalry

Here are a few tips on donating:

Why cash is better than donations

How to avoid charity scams. Do your homework first by checking out a charity.

• Visit www.give.org to see if national charities meet the standards set by the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, and www.charitywatch.org for ratings of charities by the American Institute of Philanthropy.  Other good sources of information are www.guidestar.org and www.charitynavigator.org .
• Find out whether or not charities are licensed.  Many charities that solicit in our state are required by law to register with the N.C. Secretary of State. You can call that office toll free at (888) 830‑4989 or check out a charity or fundraiser on its website.

We’ll keep you updated on additional ways to help as things progress.

Ridgewood Shopping Center Sold

Regency Centers, a real estate investment trust based in Jacksonville, Florida, purchased the Ridgewood Shopping Center last week. The 95,000+ square foot property was sold for $46 million, leaving many residents speculating on what is to come.

A two-story Whole Foods? A Snooker’s expansion that takes over the entire shopping center? The return of Tripp’s muffins? Unfortunately, plans for the property have not been announced.

Regency also owns Cameron Village and a number of other shopping centers in the area, so we’re confident that Ridgewood is in good hands. We assume Regency became aware of the property after reading @WNFIV’s article Dads Won’t Stop Fly Fishing In Orvis Parking Lot.

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Lola’s Beach Bar Opens in Five Points

Lola’s Beach Bar in Five Points is now open. The @TriangleExplorer brought this to our attention on Sunday.

According to their FB page Lola's Beach Bar in Five Points opened today. (📸 by @lolasbeachbar) Cc: @WNFIV pic.twitter.com/rYTfuqVx7Y

— TriangleExplorer (@trianglexplorer) September 16, 2018

Located a few doors down from NOFO and Third Place Coffee Shop on Glenwood Avenue, the bar stated on Twitter that they were open, but with a limited menu.

We opened today🎉 .. limited menu because no deliveries but amazing cocktails and lots of fun!

— lolasbeachbar (@lolasbeachbar) September 17, 2018

This is sure to be a big hit with Five Points parents, who have been at home with their children for 5 straight days.

City Hall Civic Campus Updates

The master plan for the City’s new downtown Civic Campus is now complete, and both City Councilors and members of the public have a chance to review it. The 60 page plan is available here.

Before we get into the details, let us not forget that the City has already knighted us to lead a panel on La Croix water fountains for this new development.

I consider this a win for everyone. I'll circle the wagons and come up with a flavor matrix that's representative of all citizens and have a presentation ready for the next council meeting. @RaleighGov https://t.co/m0GIiRdcBy

— ITB Insider™ (@ITBInsider) February 22, 2018

Here are a few of the highlights of the three phase project:

• Phase I
  • Build a 20-story, 420,00 square foot East Tower of the new City Hall
  • Demolition of the vacant police headquarters
  • Enables the City to fully consolidate its fragmented downtown workforce
  • The land and new building will be owned and maintained by the City
  • Phase I is on track for completion by 2023 and has a projected cost of $190 Million (funded through a combination of lease savings, asset sales, and debt capacity)

• Phase II
  • Develop the 20-story, 180,000 square foot West Tower
  • The West Tower will provide additional departmental offices and conference facilities for staff and additional public facing functions

• Phase III
  • Replace the existing municipal parking deck with mixed-use private development and new parking facilities

The master plan will be voted on in today’s City Council meeting. As many predicted, we do not have that report on La Croix ready at this time, but we are working hard on it.

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Land Across From Crabtree Valley Mall Sold

Land across the street from Crabtree Valley Mall was recently sold for $9.5 million. Kotarides Developers purchased the 11 acre property, which is currently home to an apartment community. Developers have attempted to redevelop the land a few different times over the last ten years. There was even talk of a pedestrian bridge over Glenwood, which sounds like a great idea until you say it out loud. Go ahead, say it out loud. Yeah, you wouldn’t set foot on that thing either.

The latest developer, based in Virginia, hasn’t said what they plan to do with the land. Since this property is located too far from Hillsborough Street, we can take “luxury student housing apartment complex with six golf simulators and a bitcoin mining cave” off the table. We’re betting it will be redeveloped into an apartment building/complex with some sort of retail or office space.

Noir Adding Second Patio

The owners of Noir Bar & Lounge recently filed site review plans to build a second patio behind the bar. The plans for this fenced-in, 1,460 square-foot patio would actually reduce the amount of impervious surface, although not by much. The fence will be eight feet of “solid wood” that will enclose the entire rear of the property.

The existing Noir patio usually serves as a performance area for digital musicians, often known as “DJs,” who use “samples” of songs to take their audience on a journey through various musical genres. We were unable to confirm if this second patio was simply for an additional DJ, or if it was some new type of vape club. We will not be investigating further.

Chavis Park Redevelopment

Today, the City Council will hear a report on a $747,600 grant issued to Chavis Park from the National Park Service Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The grant will be matched by the City using funds from the 2014 Parks Bond, for a total of $1,495,200. The money will go toward implementing a master plan that will transform the park in a number of ways, including a new water feature (perhaps tied into the downtown canal?), an improved playground, and a new community center.

The total cost of the project stands at around $14 million, and construction on phase one is expected to start late this year or in early 2019.

Brought to you by York Properties.

Week of September 10, 2018

Vita Vite Opens North Hills Location

Council Approves Olde Towne Rezoning

Triangle Glides Moving Out of City Market

Peace of Pizza Art

More Apartments Planned for Hillsborough

Update on Dix Park Master Plan

Apartment complex planned off NC-54

Contact wnfiv@itbinsider.com with news or to be featured in the Development Beat.

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Vita Vite Opens North Hills Location

Vita Vite has opened its second location. The popular wine bar and art gallery, which began with a downtown location nearly three years ago, opened a new location in the North Hills Park Central district over the weekend. @WNFIV got a tour of the space last month and obtained these exclusive images.

The new location offers a wine bar complemented by craft beers, and small plates. The 6,000 square foot space has a mezzanine level with outdoor seating and bars on both levels.

They’ll also display a collection of southern art along with goods from local artisans and vendors.

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A Grande Olde Rezoning

A 600-acre parcel of land in Southeast Raleigh was rezoned by the City Council last week. In February, PNC Bank announced plans to rezone and redevelop the land near the intersection of Rock Quarry Road and New Hope Road into single-family housing, restaurants, retail, and a grocery store.

The site was originally set to be developed by Greystone Development as a golf-course community known as Olde Towne. Greystone had begun clearing the land but abandoned the project. The property had a land-use restriction that required any future development be accompanied by a golf course.

City Council approved rezoning case Z-7-18, which removed the golf course condition, reduced the number of homes that would be built, and set requirements for a 25-acre park and greenway space. PNC will now begin looking for a company to develop the land.

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Gliding Out of City Market

Triangle Glides, the tour company known for its “electric Trikke” tours, has moved from their home in City Market. Thanks to Ashton Smith’s #1 rated e-mail newsletter Raleigh, over-easy., for bringing this to our attention.

Triangle Glides will be located in a space adjacent to the new Union Station, which is managed by our good friends at York Properties. (John Koonce (johnkoonce@yorkproperties.com — 919-645-2765) is handing the retail leasing and Brian Wallace (brianwallace@yorkproperties.com — 919-645-2773) is handling the office leasing.)

Not a bad idea to have something like this right next to a train station, and judging by the company’s online booking calendar, this relocation has hardly impacted their business.

A Peace of Pizza Art

Triangle Explorer discovered the greatest art installation ever last week. The City of Raleigh unveiled “Pizza Time” at the corner of Peace Street and Salisbury Street. After some investigative reporting we learned that this was the creation of Broughton faculty member Graymon Ward.

View this post on Instagram

‪Just when you thought this pizza art couldn’t get any better. #skocaps #skopizza‬ @bhscaps @raleigh_arts @raleighgov @downtownraleigh @artspacenc

A post shared by ITB Insider (@itbinsider) on Sep 5, 2018 at 12:08pm PDT

“Pizza Time” is part of the first Raleigh ArtBeats, a series of 16 semi-permanent sidewalk paintings. The City of Raleigh Transportation Department, the Office of Raleigh Arts, Artspace, and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance are behind the project. They’ll debut a new public art installation each month until August 2019.

We’re thrilled to see that the City is focusing on pizza art instead of another Light + Time tower, which has yet to produce a single rainbow. We even made this rendering of a full pizza at the Hillsborough Street roundabout in case the artists need any ideas.

More Hillsborough Street Apartments

More apartments are planned for Hillsborough Street. Shockingly, they aren’t located on what we’re now calling “Luxury Student Apartment Row” (the area between The Velvet Cloak Inn (RIP) and the last new roundabout on Hillsborough Street).

Known only as “5700 Hillsborough Street” the new complex will be made up of two, three-story residential buildings comprising 176 total units, as well as a variety of parking options.

Given the unit breakdown — 20 one-bedrooms, 53 two-bedrooms, 27 three-bedrooms, and 76 four-bedroom+ units — we imagine this is going to be student housing.

5700 Hillsborough is being developed by CA Ventures — the same firm working on an apartment complex a few miles down the road at the site of East Village.

It’s All Part of the Dix Park Master Plan

City staffers last week presented Council with a update on the status of the Dix Park Master Plan. Here are the highlights:

• The Dreamville Festival was going to be held this weekend, but was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence
• The Department of Health & Human Services will begin transferring ownership of several buildings over the coming months, including All Faiths Chapel, 3 stone houses, the House of Many Porches (which sounds like something out of Harry Potter), Benner House, and Richardson Circle
• While the City will make basic safety and security improvements, the Dix Park Conservancy will likely handle any more significant renovations
• The park has had more than 3 million impressions on social media
• 15,000 visitors attended SunFest – oddly they did not mention @WNFIV’s highlight video about Club Sunflowerz
• The master plan phase is expected to wrap up at the end of March 2019
• All the necessary DNA samples have been acquired from Dr. Wu. They arrived in a mysterious package addressed to a “Gonner Baylord” with no return address.

District 54

A new apartment complex is being planned off NC-54 near I-40. Known as the District at 54, the 245-unit development will include four five-story residential buildings and a 200+ space parking deck on a six-acre lot, according to site review plans filed with the City. There will be 129 one-bedroom units and 116 two-bedrooms.

District at 54 is being developed by the Kaplan Companies, a large real estate development firm headquartered in Houston, Texas. This would be the company’s first foray into the Raleigh market, although they do have an office here.

We don’t know much else about the complex at this point, although if we had to wager, we’d say construction will start some time in the Spring of 2019.

How To Prepare For Hurricane Florence Without Leaving Your House

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Week of August 27, 2018

Boylan Heights mansion could become boutique inn

Guasaca coming to Hillsborough Street

Dogwood Country Club opens in downtown Raleigh

Urban Outfitters opens in Warehouse District

Kale Me Crazy coming to Cameron Village

Condos planned for Hillsborough Street

Gigi’s Pizza opens in former home of zpizza

Melting Pot set for renovations

Contact wnfiv@itbinsider.com with news or to be featured in the Development Beat.

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Montfort Hall Owners Planning Boutique Inn

Updated as of Wednesday 8/29/18 2:30 pm.

A boutique inn could be coming to a pre-Civil War era home in Boylan Heights. Jeff and Sarah Shepherd and Keith Shepherd and his wife Natalia Luckyanova purchased the historic Montfort Hall property in June. The new owners hope to transform the roughy 6,000 square foot mansion from its current state resembling the home of Miss Havisham into a 6-10 room boutique inn and event space.

Located at 308 South Boylan Street, the home was built in 1858 and will require extensive renovations and a rezoning before it can become a boutique inn.

The owners met with Boylan Heights neighbors last week, a prerequisite to filing a rezoning application. The News & Observer reported that some neighbors expressed concern that, upon rezoning, future owners could build something industrial on the property.

The new owners offered to place a variety of conditions in the rezoning application that would ensure the property could only be used as an inn, even if it were sold in the future. Overall, there was overwhelming excitement and support of the project, even from those who had concerns. According to the attorney for the new owners, there was actual applause at the end of the meeting, which he said has literally never happened before.

County records show the new owners purchased the home in June for $1.1 million. An Instagram account (@montfort.hall) and website www.montforthall.com have been set up so people can follow along with the project. Jeff and Sarah Shepherd are driving the vision and day to day management, and Sarah will run the business once the inn is operational. The owners hope to be open by January 2020.

UPDATE: Here are some pretty amazing pictures from one of our insider photojournalists. We can’t wait to see the renovations once the Ghostbusters get through with it.

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Guasaca Coming to Hillsborough Street

Guasaca will soon open its newest Raleigh location on the ground floor of the Target at 2512 Hillsborough Street (RIP The Alley). Fit-out permits for the space were recently filed, which means they should be open in the next few months.

The restaurant, known for their delicious arepas, has operated out of its flagship Lake Boone Trail location for about five years. No word on if they’ll add any Twisted Freezes to the menu to compete with the Taco Bell Cantina down the street.

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Dogwood Days of Summer

Downtown Raleigh’s very first “urban country club” held its grand opening celebration this past Saturday. Dogwood Country Club isn’t your typical country club. It’s actually a retail store, golf training facility, and simulation outlet located at 301 W Cabarrus Street.

Members of Dogwood will receive priority booking on the simulation machines, unlimited practice time, discounts, a free birthday lesson, and more.

A Truly Urban Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters held its grand opening celebration this past Friday at The Dillon, downtown’s newest mixed-use development.

Urban Outfitters bills itself as “a lifestyle retailer dedicated to inspiring customers through a unique combination of product, creativity and cultural understanding.”

August Construction Solutions, a local firm best known for its role in redeveloping North West Street, handled the construction.

Kale Me Crazy Coming to Cameron Village

It looks like the national “Super-food” cafe chain Kale Me Crazy will soon be open in the former home of Baskin-Robbins in Cameron Village.

The restaurant, which also offers “juices, smoothies, salads, and wraps in a sleek, upscale environment,” says it wants to support its customers’ “healthy lifestyle[s] through the use of fresh, organic, and raw foods.”

Condos Coming to Hillsborough Street

Blue Sky Development filed site plans last week for the University Park Condos, an 88-unit, 5-story, two-building condominium project at 3411 Hillsborough (near the Arby’s). Blue Sky recently built the Friendly Apartments just off Hillsborough Street and is planning another apartment complex at 2812 Hillsborough.

Currently home to the shuttered Friendly Gas Station, the site would include the two condo buildings, covered basement parking, surface-level parking and about 7,000 square feet of amenity space.

The 88 units would be broken into 59 one-bedrooms, 28 two-bedrooms, and 6 three-bedrooms. Blue Sky still described the project as an apartment complex on their website, which appears to have been the initial plan for the space. The recently filed site review plan leaves little doubt that this will, in fact, be a condominium. The main selling point, we imagine, will be views of Hillsborough Street’s iconic Arby’s, whose sign at night sometimes reads “Roast Sand Delicious.” Mmm-mmm.

Pizza Replaces Pizza on Fayetteville Street

Just three months after the closing of zpizza at 421 Fayetteville Street, Gigi’s Pizza has opened in its place.

In addition to New York Style pizza, the eatery also offers an array of classic Italian dishes, including strombolis, calzones, chicken parmigiana, and Garfield’s favorite, lasagna.

Considering the quick turn around from the closure of zpizza to the opening of Gigi’s Pizza, we weren’t surprised to learn that Gigi’s has kept in place the 20-tap self serve draft system.

Melting Into a New Space

The Melting Pot on Wake Forest Road could soon be subject to a significant expansion, according to a site review plan filed earlier this month.

The plans note that the existing 4,852 square foot restaurant would expand into the vacant 1,136 square foot space in the rear of the building, which had previously been home to an Enterprise Rent-a-Car.

The site plans don’t hint at what use may be made of the space. We’re hoping it’s something like a Guinness Book of World Records sized fondue pot.

The Best Back to School Rosé

Brought to you by York Properties.

Week of August 20, 2018

Lola’s Beach Bar set to open soon in Five Points

Morgan Street Food Hall opens

Foundation work begins on The Standard

City to finalize agreement on new Triangle Racquet Sports Facility

Tapworks opens on Glenwood

Council To Award Renovation Contract for Kiwanis Park

Contact wnfiv@itbinsider.com with news or to be featured in the Development Beat.

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Beach Bar Opening Soon at Five Points

Five Points has long been home to some of Raleigh’s most popular night life spots. Icons such as Churchill’s and The Point will soon be joined by Raleigh’s first “gritty surf/tiki bar” in the form of Lola’s Beach Bar.

We first reported on plans for the new bar/eatery back in September 2017. This was followed up in May of 2018 with some top-notch investigative reporting by William N. Finley IV, who discovered that Lola’s would be serving beer, margaritas, cocktails, street tacos, burritos, nachos, and more.

Then we uncovered a bombshell….an ABC Inspection permit was recently issued for the space, usually the final piece of the bar-opening puzzle.

Lola’s Beach Bar has already set up a slick website, and has a presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. As of this writing, none of these revealed an exact opening date.

Although we had originally heard the bar/restaurant would be opening in July, the end of August or early September seems like the perfect time for a bar that will bring back fond memories of summer revelries and help Raleigh’s bar-going crowd ease back in to the fall and winter months.

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Morgan Street Food Hall Opens

Morgan Street Food Hall has opened its doors in the former Jillian’s space at 411 W. Morgan St. The newest food baby from Niall Hanley, who also brought you Hibernian Restaurant & Pub and Raleigh Beer Garden, is unlike anything we’ve seen in Raleigh. Imagine if food trucks could operate indoors, or if the Crabtree Valley Mall food court consisted of food that was edible.

Designed by New City Design Group, the food hall contains nearly two dozen vendors, an outdoor patio, and more. Here’s a list of the vendors that William Needham Finley IV exclusively obtained from the gift bag he received while visiting in July.

The Arbor – bar

Auntie Betty’s – cocktail bar

Bella’s Wood Fired Pizza and Tapas – pizza

Boba Brew Bubble Tea and Smoothies – self-explanatory

Carroll’s Kitchen – a nonprofit social enterprise restaurant dedicated to ending homelessness for women in Raleigh, NC. Go support them.

Cocoa Forte – they dip things in chocolate. More restaurants should follow their lead.

Cousin’s Maine Lobster – it was on Shark Tank, they serve lobster. Have not verified if they are actually cousins.

Cow Bar Burger & Fries – self-explanatory and delicious

Curry in a Hurry – Indian cuisine

Hook & Cleaver – they have the meats

Iyla’s Southern Kitchen – Southern food, it was good

Makus Empanadas – Argentinian, empanadas

MKG Kitchen – Vietnamese cuisine

Morgan Street Java and Creperie – crepes and espresso

Oak City Fish and Chips – fish and chips, in Raleigh, hence the name

Raleigh Raw – another location for the raw juice and smoothie shop from Sherif Fouad and Leslie Woods

Raleigh Rolls – this is actually Thai ice cream that’s rolled with toppings

Sassool – Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisine

The Bowls – East Asian cuisine, rice bowls, egg rolls, etc.

The Broth – Ramen and Japanese cuisine

Wicked Taco – tacos

Hours:

Sunday – Wednesday: 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Thursday – Sunday: 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.

The space will also house retail tenants, including The Soaperie, Five Points Baking Co., Hail Mary Mix, Mike D’s BBQ, and more to come.

So congrats to Niall and everyone who worked hard to bring this to downtown Raleigh. After driving by on Monday, we can already tell this is going to be a huge success.

View this post on Instagram

Got to check out Morgan Street Food Hall. I’ve got a hunch this place will be pretty popular. #sources Opens in August. @morganstreetfoodhall

A post shared by William Needham Finley IV (@wnfiv) on Jul 11, 2018 at 4:04am PDT

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A Standard Foundation

It’s been just over three months since Landmark Properties began tearing down the former home of the North Carolina Equipment Company at 3101 Hillsborough Street. Last week, permits were issued to Landmark’s construction arm for foundation work for The Standard, a new five-story, 232-unit student apartment complex that will include a parking deck and ground-floor retail.

Perhaps the most crucial of the numerous conditions required in the rezoning case for the development was a promise to attempt to preserve the iconic tractor sign that once sat on top of the building.

“The tractor sign will be placed on the Hillsborough Street frontage and lighted,” the rezoning case noted to everyone’s delight.

Not to take all the credit for this, but ITBlake the intern’s efforts to save the historic sign were covered in The News & Observer.

The N&O Praises Intern For Saving Iconic Sign

Raleigh Racquet

In January of this year, City Council was presented with a plan that would turn 48 acres of City owned land off  Mount Herman Road into the $25 million, 50+ court Raleigh Racquet Sports and Health Center. (Note: We originally wrote that this was on Mount Herman Church Road. A commenter informed us that Mount Herman Church Road is in Durham. We apologize for not knowing much about these roads, as we’ve never actually driven on them.)

Today, Council is expected to authorize a lease with Triangle Racquet Sports that will allow the project to move forward. Staff highlighted a number of benefits that will come with the agreement, including annual revenue to the City of about $275,000 and an economic impact of $3.5 million.

Although the entire cost of building the facility will be covered by Triangle Racquet Sports, the City will get 50 percent of the court reservation fees and 20 percent of any third-party leasing fees. Triangle Racquet Sports is requesting a one dollar per annum 50-year lease for the property.

In addition to the tennis courts, the facility will include a public park with amenities such as playground, walking trails, community picnic shelter, and public restrooms.

Tapworks Open on Glenwood South

Just over three months after construction began on the self-serve beer shop Tapworks on the ground floor of 222 Glenwood, the store has opened its doors to a thirsty public.

A grand opening celebration for the 50-tap shop is scheduled for Thursday, August 30, where beers from Blueprint, Highland Brewing Company, CrankArm and more will be served alongside a unique array of appetizers and light entrees, such as the North Carolina-themed First in Flight, which features three duck bacon + sweet corn wontons alongside three duck wings. If this and other dishes are half as good as they sound, we imagine Tapworks will become known just as much for its food as it is for its wide array of beverage options.

Council Set to Award Contract for Kiwanis Park

Kiwanis Park, located at 2525 Noble Road, will soon be subject to a massive renovation project, following an expected contract award to Poythress Commercial Contractors at today’s City Council meeting.

Due to recurring floodplain issues, it was decided that a mere renovation of the existing community center was impractical. The project will include the demolition of the existing Kiwanis Park buildings, construction of a new 3,140 square foot community center, new multi-age playground and athletic court, installation of a pre-engineered picnic shelter, and parking lot improvements.

The construction award for this project was delayed slightly due to an error with the original bid form, which meant that the initial round of bids were all rejected. Of the four new bids received June 18, Poythress was low by about $200,000.

In addition to the above-mentioned renovations, two add-alternates were selected as part of Poythress’ bid package, including playground site preparation and a new basketball court.

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