White Rabbit Finally Moving Into The Hue

We stated back in March that White Rabbit books was moving into The Hue condo building at the corner of Dawson and Hargett Streets. That didn’t pan out at the time and White Rabbit hopped around Martin Street for the past year. First, they moved into the space with Stuff Consignment and then back into their old space next door. But now, it looks like White Rabbit is indeed moving into The Hue and will open soon.

This will be the first retail tenant in the condo building. Rumors flew around a year ago about other tenants to be moving in, none of which survived the gossip phase. Let’s hope White Rabbit is a catalyst for the other empty spaces. It is another sad loss for West Martin Street which has seen Joe’s Place (closed in January 2009), Stuff Consignment (closed in September ‘09) and White Rabbit all close shop on the street within the past year. On a positive note, there are three awesome retail spots open now!

RaleighRob01/06 08:31 AM

While this is good in that it puts them closer to other “Gayborhood” businesses like Legends & CC and so forth, the downside is that some idiot at the city decided that the right lane in front of the Hue should be “No Parking”. Not exactly helpful for a new building trying to get retail established. Hopefully minds will be changed on that end in order to help this business thrive.

Lab101/06 09:10 AM

It seems that when folks take photos of the skyline from the Boylan Bridge nowadays, they avoid getting this building in the picture. I wonder why that is.

CF01/06 09:32 AM

Does anyone know why the residential portion of the Hue is still completely empty? I know the market is bad, but at least a few of these have sold.

Champ7701/06 10:01 AM

With regards to the residential component, from the experiences I’ve had showing clients the Hue, is that the financing is almost impossible. FHA wants at least 60-70% of the units sold or under contract and that ain’t happening. So unless you come to the table with a big chunk to put down(not a bad idea by the way), you won’t be able to get a loan. Last I heard is that they were looking to turn part of the units into rentals for the Cambell kids. I guess it might slow the bleeding for the developer but not something that will likely encourage 30-40 somethings to buy there in the future. It changes everyday though so I may be way off.

RaleighRob01/06 03:00 PM

Yeah, if they had made the whole thing apartments (like 712 Tucker) instead of for-sale condo, it’d probably be about full by now. Oy.

Tony Woodard01/06 03:05 PM

Someone in the Dawson building next door told me that they didn’t pass code. I found it hard to believe, but it would explain why they are all still empty.

JRD01/06 04:24 PM

My guess is that all the condos will stay empty even longer with the new tenant. I know that area is associated with the LGBT community, but I wouldnt want that in my building. Now the developer will have to appeal to a larger gay base. Thats just my opinion, I apologize if that was offensive for some.
There is no parking there because it is on the main south bound artery that goes through downtown. Not exactly a nice tranquil retail street.

CF01/06 05:01 PM

You gon’ catch the gay.

Tony Woodard01/06 05:21 PM

With a dirty bookstore across the street at which you can get a $10 blowjob in anytime of day or night, I would think that an actual bookstore - gay or straight - would be a major improvement.

Micah01/06 07:00 PM

Way to be a retard, JRD. If a store that sells rainbow stickers and dance music CD’s keeps you away from the condos, well, the other tenants in the building will probably appreciate your absence from their daily lives. On a mostly unrelated note, I know nothing of White Rabbit’s circumstances for this move, but their old building was certainly a lot more charming than this ugly place.

Ashe01/06 08:08 PM

I’ve thought for a while now that it might have been good marketing to try and court more of the gay community to buy condos in The Hue. It would be cool for Raleigh to start creating its own version of the Castro District.

JRD01/06 08:08 PM

Retard, Micah? Really? I just expressed my opinion. The new digs though, I must agree are pretty ugly. I wish the old building and more buildings on that street could be filled with “straight friendly” businesses. Hah! (Dont take it personally)

Micah01/06 08:57 PM

CC’s has been there for like 25 years (or more?), Legends for 16 or 17, Our Place for nearly the same…All operating years before nearly anything else. All of these businesses, while catering mainly to LGBT crowds, are “straight friendly.” If you want to count up the other businesses in that four-ish block area that don’t cater mainly to the LGBT crowd, then you will find that the “straight” places FAR outnumber the “gay” places.

JRD01/07 07:53 AM

It was a joke.

CF01/07 07:57 AM

I did see an ad in yesterday’s Independent that said something about a “February move in” for the Hue condos. So, maybe we’ll start to see a little life there next month.

RaleighRob01/07 08:23 AM

These comments are sometimes hilarious.
C’mon…99% of Wake County is a “Straight Person’s Paradise”. The LGBT community concentrates some businesses in one little area of downtown, and somebody just has to get all drama queen in here. Good lord.

Micah makes a terrific point…many of these LGBT-based businesses have been supporting downtown LONG before it became a trendy thing to do. Years before Flying Saucer or Buckhead Saloon…years before “Glenwood South” was even a word…these businesses were there. Kudos to them for keeping on.

gd01/07 08:25 AM

A friend of mine who is a realtor who focuses on the downtown area told me that the hue situation was messy. I wanted to look at them since I was considering buying one, but he told me to rethink that.

Arthur!01/07 08:31 AM

Ditto, gd. Plus they look like dorms! Small.

Rtown Chuck01/07 09:29 AM

The Hue situation is VERY messy. We’ve attempted to get some solid information from them numerous times and instead get a very transparent run-around each time. It could be a great starter condo product for downtown and first time buyers but they’ve dropped the ball so far. I hope it gets worked out.

mashy01/07 11:22 AM

We toured the Hue before buying our downtown home and I felt like I was touring college housing. This was emphasized by a mascot character in their lobby handing out info to young people. The units were terrible as well. They had the same kitchens, baths, and unit sizes as a college apartment like university house off Tryon road. We came downtown to find beautiful places with character and this place is just an eye sore.

Betsy01/07 12:58 PM

Oh, my god, the gays, nobody wants to be around ‘em, and wherever they go in a city, that whole district ends up being really uncool and not marketable at all. (paraphrasing JRD)

Miss K.C.01/07 02:43 PM

Champ77 is about right, based on my experience, except even WITH a large downpayment (I put something like 35 percent down) and an excellent credit score, you can not necessarily get financed for a government-backed condo loan if the complex is not more than half sold, and there was talk of raising that to 70 percent. If a condo developer has not pre-arranged a financing deal with a lender, it’s pretty much not going to happen (unless things have changed since the summer).

JRD01/07 04:09 PM

Hey Betsy, sorry if I gave that impression. I can see how what Ive written did that. I think it could work both ways. Maybe people wont move in there b/c it has a gay store and is in the gay district. Maybe people will b/c it has a gay store and is in the gay district. Who knows? But from what everyne else is saying, they wont b/c they are small and dorm like and too expensive.

arthurb301/11 11:01 AM

giggle.

No HUE for YUE01/17 02:58 PM

This place is never going to open. It’s been vacant since last summer and has FORECLOSURE written all over it, just like with bloomsbury up the street.

It’s a hip cool building and it looks NOTHING like college dorms, but with the recent price increase (WHAT?) and lack of information noones ever going to move into it.

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Jedidiah Tuesday, January 05, 2010