News in Raleigh

NC Realtors are viciously fighting proposed taxes on home purchases. Spending millions on lobbyists because they are worried about the effects on their business.  What they don’t tell us as residents is that by avoiding this tax they are passing the bill on to property taxes.  The result is that long time residents end up paying for newcomers streets, schools and other local services. It’s disgusting - and it allows developers and realtors to sell new homes but not give back to the greater community.

STOP The NC Home Ticks is a robust blog all about this subject.  What’s most interesting is the level at which the special interests in the new homes market are mucking with our government, from planting numerous lobbyists in our capital to delivering talking points to Brad Crone.

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Raleigh Little Theatre will present late this summer, the Tony Award winning musical “Urinetown”.

As many of you may know, NC State has a great independent radio station, WKNC, that runs 24 hours a day at 88.1 on you FM dial, just to the left from WUNC, our local NPR station.  Just recently, WKNC launched a new snazzy front page to their website.  When you click on link, the previous website seems to still be present, but if the new front page is any indication, a completely new website is in store for the near future.  WKNC is not NC State’s first radio station, but it has been around since 1966 playing lots of great independent music and features lots of in studio performances by a variety of local bands in the triangle. 

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This morning, the News and Observer’s Jack Hagel reported that Gregg Sandreuter of Cary (hold your boos and hisses) and Cherokee Investment Partners have pitched the idea of a 38-story business/hotel/residential in downtown Raleigh. What makes this note worthy is the that the proposed building will be designed based on the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, rating system.

The stie of two tower project known as the Edison is tentatively planned for the block cornered by Wilmington, Blount, Martin and Davie Streets. You may have noticed a big pile of rubble there from recent demolision work. The block is currently owned by Progress Energy and in order to begin construction a deal will have to be reached purchasing the 3.6 acre plot. Hagel reports that some businesses will remain on that block, including Raleigh staple Clyde Cooper’s Barbeque.

Construction of the new towers would begin in 2009 if approved by the city.

Other notable projects of Sandreuter include the Dawson on Morgan (home to over 50 condos in the heart of downtown as well as the Borough) and West (in Glenwood South’s entertainment district). 

Getting to and through downtown Raleigh is a nightmare, whether you live in the city or not.  Even seasoned veterans are baffled by one way streets and informative signs on Raleigh’s I-440 Beltline.

And it is not exactly inviting.  Right now the gateways into downtown Raleigh look something like THIS.

Cue Corbin Design, hired by the city to design a new wayfinding system for downtown.  Their portfolio includes Atlanta, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Milwaukee; it is no surprise that they were chosen by the city following an invitation to interview.  The majority of the information design for our new system is extremely well thought out and clearly stated.  (Downtown findability will be accentuated if DOT takes Corbin’s recommendations for signs along the beltline—suggestions that are outside of the original scope of work.)

The aesthetics of the project, however, are questionable…[MORE]