Development Beat: Renovation Roundup

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O'Malley's Irish Pub & Restaurant

Brought to you by Rufty-Peedin Design Build

Friday, June 24, 2016

The popular North Raleigh restaurant O’Malley’s, which features pub-style food, live music and karaoke, is set to undergo some minor interior renovations.

Loyal patrons of this Irish enclave need not worry about missing their weekly fix of local, live music: judging by their calendar, there are music acts lined up throughout the entire month, including a performance from the Brent Stimmel Band tonight, June 24 & a band called Skin Tight tomorrow night, June 25.

The work will be done by a contractor listed on the permits as Christomos J. Candes for $86,000.

O'Malley's Irish Pub & Restaurant

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O’Malley’s Irish Pub & Restaurant

The only other job to receive renovation permits last week that really caught my eye was a $160,000 fit-out at Lassiter at North Hills for a company called Pink Ceiling. Although the name makes it sound like a boutique retailer — appropriate for North Hills — the permits indicated the work was for an office space.

So what’s Pink Ceiling? Thankfully, I was able to find a press release from April. Here’s the summary:

Former CEO of Sprout Pharmaceuticals responsible for breaking through with the first FDA-approved drug for women’s sexual desire has formed new company, The Pink Ceiling, to propel other breakthroughs for women.

Considering the goal of that summary was to make “journalists” like me read the entire release (and depending on the outlet, just reprint it in full), I’d say it did an excellent job. How could you not be curious what kind of breakthroughs this woman wanted to make next? So credit where it’s due: it looks like Sunshine Sachs out of New York was behind the release.

Also, not to digress even further, but the proper “AP Style” term is actually “news release” instead of “press release,” which I don’t like. It’s almost as if the term “news release” adds too much legitimacy to it, I don’t know. AP Style is stupid.

The release itself was filled mostly with buzzword-chatter (sorry Sunshine Sachs) but it looks like The Pink Ceiling is a company that will partner with other companies to help them bring their products or services to market.

In fact, their first announced partnership is with none other than Undercover Colors, a Raleigh-based startup founded by students from NC State that gained national attention when it announced plans to develop “a wearable nail technology to detect date rape drugs in spiked drinks, providing a powerful tool at the fingertips of women.”

OK, so that closer there puts Sunshine Sachs back in my good graces. Powerful tool at the fingertips of women, very clever. Almost makes up for their earlier description of Pink Ceiling as a “unique all-women team formed to work alongside mission-driven companies with novel solutions for challenges affecting women.”

That aside, it’s pretty great to see an investment firm like this choose to headquarter itself in Raleigh, and doubly great that it’s first partnership is with a company formed by students at Raleigh’s very own NC State University.

Lassiter at North Hills

Kane Realty

Lassiter at North Hills

So like I said, beyond O’Malley’s and the Pink Ceiling there weren’t really any recent renovations worth getting into, but instead of cutting today’s column mercifully short, I figured I’d drag things out a bit with a quick look at two future renovation jobs the City of Raleigh has out for bid.

First up we’ve got work at the Raleigh Police Equestrian Barn, for which bids are due July 14. Contractors wishing to submit bids will have to show up for the mandatory pre-bid conference the week before. Phillips Architecture did the design work.

Raleigh's Mounted Police Unit in Moore Square

Karen Tam

Raleigh’s Mounted Police Unit in Moore Square

The other project is a little bigger: a renovation/repair project at Raleigh Fire Station No. 2. The plans drawn up by Davis Kane Architects call for the “complete demolition and renovation of approximately 6,384 square feet located within an existing fire station.”

Everything from new exterior paint to new fire sprinklers and fire alarms will be included with the upgrade, which will also see the electrical, telecom and mechanical systems updated and upgraded.

Bids for that one aren’t due until July 19, although the pre-bid, which is non-mandatory, will be held next Tuesday, June 28. Should be a good time.