2009: The Tale of Two City Streets: Fayetteville & Hillsborough

December, 16, 2009 , by Jedidiah

Fayetteville and Hillsborough Streets have two things in common. Both streets start, or end, at the North Carolina Capitol Building and both now have a Jimmy John’s sandwich shop. This is where the comparisons stop.

Hillsborough St started 2009 as a street in need of a makeover. Businesses have had very little luck staying open over the years, pedestrians and bikers both fear the traffic along the corridor and there is little that connects NC State to Downtown Raleigh.

Plans for roundabouts were studied and re-studied for the past few years and finally a decision was made to revamp the street. (more info on the redesign) The 10 year plan would pay off.

The future looked bright for the street, surely a Renaissance was in its near future. Sadly, as the construction trucks settled in, so did reality. The construction is projected to to be complete in September 2010 which means that one of both sidewalks will be closed throughout the Spring classes, even if they are ahead of schedule.

Businesses and the DOT are forced to add signage to maintain that the flanking businesses are still open. Various stores have closed and others have shifted hours to accommodate for the construction . Even the projected Hillsborough Street Renaissance festival was plagued by both construction and rain, ending in little success. The street is a complete mess and will continue to be for months to a year.

The vacuousness continues down Hillsborough Street towards downtown as well. From Glenwood South to the Capitol Building, a handful of business have left their storefronts on both sides of the street in the past year or two and multiple construction projects have been put on hold. Luckily, the deal for Campbell Law School didn’t fall through and at least one block of the street sees a decent amount of activity daily.

It was an uphill battle of a year for Hillsborough Street but for Fayetteville Street, 2009 was exactly the opposite. SPARKcon moved from Moore Square to Fayetteville Street this year, adding a full weekend of art, music, fashion and film to the street. The festival was a huge success and will return again next year to the same spot.

Downtown Raleigh’s main street reached its pinnacle in October, adding a new City Plaza that allows traffic to flow from the Capitol Building to the Progress Energy Center for Performing Arts. Raleigh Wide Open 4 / Cherry Bounce Festival celebrated the opening of this plaza with music, vendors and lots of Raleigh residents crowding the street looking at the new sculptures, shops and marveling that finally its citizens had a vibrant downtown again. Surrounded by lots of newly open restaurants, bars and a few retail spots, Fayetteville Street is now the number one choice for festivals and events in the downtown area.

Fayettteville Street could use a bit more density. There are a handful of open spots in the RBC Tower and other adjacent buildings that could use some retail to make the downtown more diverse in options to spend money. We can only hope that will happen in 2010, but for 2009, Fayetteville Street was finished and its new openness will allow for much more flexibility for future events on and around the street.

The future looks bright for both Hillsborough and Fayetteville Streets and the fact that the two meet at the North Carolina Capitol Building could be a sign that 2010 will be the year that the two streets work together and become one grand parade and/or parade route. I could see Raleigh Wide Open 5 starting at City Plaza and stretching to NC State. That would be what I would definitely define as WIDE OPEN. Or maybe just have RWO 5 down on Hillsborough Street, come September (or if they finish sooner). Then we could have the true Hillsborough Street Renaissance fest. Come October, City Plaza and the Progress Energy Center will essentially be linked to the NC State Fairgrounds, which adds another dimensions to the whole tale.

The options are endless for the future of these two streets and their importance to the downtown area will be solidified in 2010. Hopefullly, all of the businesses on Hillsborough Street won’t go under during the construction period and the Summer in Raleigh can be a time to start making plans for RWO6. Moore Square? Wait, that’s 2012. We’ll find something soon enough to celebrate in 2011. At this point next year, we’ll look back and have a large piece of our history back.

Architecture , Other posts by Jedidiah.