Category: Downtown Living (Page 1 of 11)

Groundbreaking for ‘The Saint’ Townhomes in Glenwood South

As an investor in Glenwood South since 1995 when he bought his first house on North Street, Souheil Al Awar has long been fascinated with the palette of warehouses, trees and bungalows that defines this unique neighborhood.  With vision broadened by his experiences moving from Beirut to Dubai, to Venezuela  (he now lives in Raleigh and Montreal) – and fine-tuned by his background at NCSU’s College of Design – it’s not surprising that Al Awar shoulders his appreciation for what has been with a vision for what might come next.

Enter The Saint.  Why, “The Saint”? It’s a nod to the address (between Lane and Jones) on St. Mary’s, a street he sees as one where people have traditionally been attracted by the many trees and beautiful homes.  But his focus is on a new generation of downtowners: people who have been living in small condos or apartments, who now want more space to raise growing families or perhaps have enough bedrooms for tucking in grandchildren. 

In keeping with Al Awar’s unique mixture of respect for the history of this area and a love for quality and forward looking style, the 17 four-story townhomes, (with elevators accessed from 2-car garages) will be constructed of glazed black bricks reminiscent of NC pottery and vertically placed cypress wood paneling, with oversized windows and master suites with 12 foot ceilings. Each of the nine floor plans ranging from the mid $900,000’s (2700 sq ft) to $1.7 million (4,200 sq ft) will also include roof top gardens.  In spite of the multi-floored designs, it was important to Al Awar not to exceed the height of the neighboring church.  It is his  desire to fit into the neighborhood, while providing a custom built alternative to the many apartments now being constructed in downtown. 

This dream has been a long time coming for Al Awar and the neighborhood.  He first started the permitting process for these townhomes back in 2013.  But the infrastructure is now in place and the first unit will be ready by late fall.  This owner of Clockwork offers us a perfect model for honoring both the past, while also exciting us about the next phase.  By presenting this new option in scale and quality, he leaps into a new concept for downtown living sure to make Raleigh a destination for families and professionals seeking spacious living in an urban setting.

Kane’s buying up more Glenwood South property, and sources say grocery store deal is close

John Kane has just bought another swath of land on the northeast side of Glenwood South.  The new property is located behind his proposed 12-story mixed use building at the corner of Peace and West Streets, previously owned by Gregg Sandreuter.  Gregg was the developer of the North at West condos, and had filed plans several years ago to build two apartment buildings on this site (West Apartments I & II).  Let’s hope Kane has plans for something bigger and better … downtown has enough 6 story apartment buildings.

And this Triangle Business Journal article says that Kane is “close to a deal with Public Super Markets” to become the anchor store for his property at the corner of Peace and West Streets.

The map below shows the location of Kane’s current property, and most recent purchase.

Downtown Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony is Feb 16th

Calling All Downtown Residents!

Curious to know what’s happening in your own backyard?  Want to get to know more of your neighbors?  How about the individuals, businesses, and organizations that drive so many decisions in the downtown area?  Would you like to support the recipient of a resident award?  Great.  We’ve got the perfect evening for you.

 Downtown Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony

Thursday, February 16 from 5:30 pm to 8 pm

Raleigh Convention Center

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) is holding its Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony on Feb 16th starting at 5:30pm, followed by an after-party from 8 pm to 9 pm.

Register here by Tuesday, February 7 and enter DLA17 in the promo code box for your resident discount. 

Here’s why you should attend:

  1. Meet new people.
  2. Network at the reception from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm.
  3. Enjoy a three-course dinner.
  4. Listen to a great presentation by urban planning expert Christopher Beynon. His topic of conversation? The importance of inclusivity.
  5. Celebrate the successes of downtown Raleigh with its biggest advocates.
  6. Meet all the members of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance staff.
  7. Get a great deal on tickets.  Residents receive a $20 discount using the code DLA17.
  8. Have fun.
  9. Support downtown and the champions whose contributions are making a significant impact on downtown.
  10. Support the resident award recipient.
  11. Socialize at the after-party from 8 pm to 9 pm.

 So tell your friends, get a group together, and come out for a great evening. We think you’ll be glad you did.

 For more information, click here or contact Ellen Chilton at ellenchilton@downtownraleigh.org.  We hope to see you there!

Downtown resident launches campaign on poverty and disability

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Alex McArthur

Alexandra McArthur is a resident of the Paramount condos in Glenwood South, Vice-chair of the National Disability Institute (NDI) Board of Directors, and Director, Young Adult Community Engagement at the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Alex is launching a grassroots campaign DISABLE POVERTY to generate awareness about and promote action for the issue of poverty and disability in America. An Interview with Alex, by Donna Belt Even meeting you briefly Alexandra, your energy and drive quickly challenge assumptions about the limitations of a person with a disability. Your work in social innovation and advocacy took you to the White House (as a 2014 White House Champion of Change for Disability & Employment), and most recently, you’ve adopted a position that entails travel around the US building a program for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Continue reading

Sidewalk Seating Ordinance Survey Results

222_sidewalk During the month of October, the DLA conducted a survey that tried to get an idea of how things are going with the new sidewalk seating ordinance. DLA members were asked a few questions about how the levels of noise have changed recently and how they felt about the new ordinance. The trial period for these new outdoor seating rules is almost over and we wanted to get the results over to the Raleigh City Council for consideration. Here are some key takeaways:

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