Raleigh Downtown Living Advocates

Category: Glenwood South (Page 4 of 14)

Countdown to BIG BOOM on Glenwood South

April 16, 2015 /

Post by Donna Belt

Vincent Baressi, with art of Victor Knight III

For months now, the windows on the front corner space at 510 Glenwood  – once occupied by Red Room (then Krave and then Myst) – have been covered with paper.  Then several weeks ago, a sign with no words – just a row of cherry bombs appeared.  What IS this?  neighborhood residents have asked.  A club?  A video game hang out?

Vincent Barresi, the new restauranteur in this property would chuckle at this intrigue.  You might recognize him as the chef and proprietor, who for the past ten years has warmly greeted families at Vincent’s Italian Cuisine on Creedmoor Rd.  Or if you’ve been in Raleigh a really long time, you might recall his restaurant that thrived for fifteen years prior to that on Capital Blvd.

So what has inspired him to blast into Glenwood South?  It turns out that his story of reinvention matches the theme of many downtown residents, whether they’re downsizing empty nesters or 20 somethings seeking to create lives that feel connected, creative and vital.   With his sons Kevin and Dominic both leaving home and his lease running out in North Raleigh, Vincent asked himself what came next.  He felt proud of the traditional Italian comfort food that he had perfected and tweaked through the years, including dishes like braciole that few Italian chefs still take the time to prepare.  But this time in his life called for a new challenge, an original approach, and a fresh… well, BOOM! Continue reading

The Best Glenwood South (Parking) News You Never Knew

March 29, 2015 /

IMG_3173You may have done this – troll along looking for one of 70 coveted parking spaces along Glenwood Avenue that are free of charge after 5PM on weekdays, and all day/night on weekends.  If they’re full, you drive down side streets, hoping to squeeze into a space tucked beside one of the arrows indicating no parking adjacent to driveways and entrances.  It’s only as a last resort that you opt for the $5 – $7 prepay charge for the 800 or so spaces available at three local public parking decks.

Did you know that you have a lot more options than these?

The Glenwood South Neighborhood Collaborative is now creating a parking map that lists all the possibilities, so you can make an informed decision about where to leave your car.  You may be surprised…

For the convenience of parking steps from your destination in lots on Glenwood Avenue and West Street, check out the many private pay parking lots [list below] that are made available for public use after hours.

But there is also another option only slightly less convenient, that offers thousands of spaces available for FREE.

State Parking decks and lots are scattered throughout the Capital District, with a combined total of over 4,000 spaces that are free to to the public during evenings (after 5:00pm) and on weekends.

State Parking spaces are more convenient than you think.

If this seems too complicated, think again. State parking spaces are more convenient than you might think.  Yes, Capital Boulevard inhibits pedestrian access to Glenwood South from the northern most State parking decks, but these decks are adjacent to R-Line stops, so it’s an easy five minute bus ride.  If you don’t mind a short walk, it only takes ten minutes to get to Glenwood South from the State parking lots located just off Lane Street.

Click here for a map showing the location of the available State parking decks and lots.

Living in a condo that faces the top floor of the garage next to the Carolina Ale House, I can directly measure the increased business flooding into Glenwood South.  Up until now, I could leave my blinds open, since it was rare that the cars even filled the decks below our windows.  Now on weekends, I see cars circling to the top level and returning back down in search of a spot.  Seen as a gauge for how hopping things are for the dinner crowds and into the late night, filled parking places are great news for the neighborhood.  Now we can spread the news that there are a lot more spaces to fill.

Come on down!  The parking’s great!

____________________

Pay Parking decks and lots available after-hours:

  • 21 Glenwood Avenue / 42 spaces (b) (behind Salon 21)
  • 107 Glenwood Avenue / 17 spaces (a)
  • 9 Glenwood Avenue / 15 spaces (a)
  • 201 Glenwood Avenue / 14 spaces (available soon)
  • 507 W Peace Street / 10 spaces (b)
  • 215 Glenwood Avenue / 10 spaces (a)

Pay Parking decks and lots available all hours:

  • 510 Glenwood Avenue / 428 spaces *
  • Powerhouse Plaza / 248 spaces (behind Natty Greene’s)
  • 222 Glenwood Avenue / 140 spaces *
  • 501 N West Street / 88 spaces (a)
  • 301 Glenwood Avenue / 71 spaces (behind Hibernian)

* free at lunchtime for patrons of the restaurants located within each building 

(a) cash or pay-by-phone

(b) pay-by-phone only

 

LoMo Brings More than Vegetables to Glenwood South

March 13, 2015 /

LoMo copy

Post by Donna Belt

When my husband retired in the early 2000’s from a role that had moved us to London, we resolved to explore Europe by living in each setting of our choice for at least a month.  Our goal was to look past the buildings and history to feel the pulse of a place, how people related to each other, how they cooked, and looked after their families.  Often we felt like observers, trapped by our otherness, until market day would arrive.  Then we’d buy our eggs in a brown paper bag, carefully handed over with a smile from a local farm woman.  And we’d get to know the farm cheese produced for generations in that locale.  Neighbors who’d never spoken to us would pause with us in line to greet us and ask what had brought us there.

IMG_0794As we walked through the winter drizzle to Glenwood’s first Sunday afternoon LoMo stop and I saw neighbors hurrying up the street with their hoods pulled against the cold, it struck me that LoMo is our own version of the small European village market day.  It’s our window on what is growing in the countryside, and what locally ground nut butters taste like, and the magic of fish freshly pulled from the sea.  It’s seeing the same few people selling regional products – from home made soups, to fresh baked bread, to ready-assembled dinners – each week, and greeting neighbors we’ve never met.

IMG_0788When LoMo agreed to come to our neighborhood, I saw it as a convenience.  Great!  I’ll top off my produce for the week.  But now, I see it as so much more.  I’m supporting a responsible, sustainable way of growing and distributing food; I’m helping entrepreneurial young people who are connecting others who are creating a living doing what they love; and I’m appreciating a sense of neighborhood that is growing organically, simply from recognizing the same faces each week.

 

Come join us.  LoMo (Local Mobile) parks beside Dos Taquitos every Sunday afternoon between 4:30 and 6:00.  See you there, Neighbor.

Other LoMo Market stops in downtown Raleigh: [see map]

  • Citrix: West Street, Tuesdays 11:30am – 1:oopm
  • Seaboard Station: Halifax Street, Tuesdays 6:00pm – 7:30pm
  • St. Mary’s School: Hillsborough Street, Wednesdays 3:30pm – 5:00pm
  • The Boylan Saturday Market: Kinsey Street, Saturdays 10:30am – 1:00pm

In responding to Hatem’s approach to Amplified Outdoor Entertainment permitting, let’s expand the conversation.

February 1, 2015 /

Post by Donna Belt

(Donna is an Executive Board Member of the Glenwood South Neighborhood Collaborative and leads the neighborhood’s public art.)

200fayetteville1On the morning of January 26, headlines in the N&O – Downtown developer Hatem raises alarm as Raleigh weighs noisier Fayetteville Street – reignited a conversation that has been taking place in Raleigh over the past few years.  And now, it’s come to the forefront as City Councillors weigh Hatem’s argument against Outdoor Amplified Entertainment permits for bars and restaurants along Fayetteville Street.

 

First, I’d like to say that Hatem is right.  He does need to move to Oakwood, if he finds Fayetteville Street “unlivable”.  Families with young children are often happy for a lifestyle with controls in place that ensure quiet homogeneity.

As a prime developer of downtown properties, Greg Hatem has contributed a lot to our city.  But the argument he makes negating the approval of these permits is based on a self-limiting premise, that it’s EITHER happy residents with restrictions placed on late night businesses, OR miserable residents suffering with unlivable noise and mess.

Glenwood South – with 5 times more residents than the Fayetteville Street District and 75 businesses (many open late night) – has embraced moving the conversation from an assumption of Either-Or to Both-And.

BOTH late night businesses have Amplified Outdoor Entertainment permits, AND residents have a process in place for working with business owners and a City appointed noise ordinance officer until concerns are resolved.

BOTH late night businesses are encouraged, AND the vitality of daytime restaurants and shops is supported by the Glenwood South Neighborhood Collaborative, DLA, DRA and Shop Local Raleigh.

We believe that what is good for business is also good for residents, when both are working together for the empowerment of all.  And certainly happy residents make good customers.

We believe that Raleigh cannot develop the vitality that entices residents to move into the downtown if we continue to stay stuck in an Either-Or discussion.

We believe that downtown life is MORE engaging and alive because of diverse interests considering creative resolutions for solving the issues that inevitably arise with thousands of residents living in mixed use districts.

If you’re an Either-Or kind of person, then the suburbs will suit you fine.  But if you welcome the opportunity to create community around models that are inclusive, adaptable and innovative, then downtown life is a great choice.  That is, as long as  arguments like Hatem’s are seen for what they are: show stoppers, rather than invitations for the kind of collaboration that defines an alive, vital downtown.

Carolina Ale House: Glenwood South’s New Neighbor

January 4, 2015 /

By Donna Belt

3rd floor - interior

3rd floor – interior

Invitations are in hand for the neighbors of Glenwood South’s Carolina Ale House and anticipation is high for their Saturday, January 10 soft opening that will herald the immediate start of business to the public.  Together with its hundreds of beers on tap and all food made in house, the welcoming and innovative design of this multistoried eatery is sure to make it a regional destination.

As residents of 510 Glenwood, my husband Jim and I have been peering through the construction fence along our street for months. This morning we were rewarded not just with a gap allowing access to the wide, upgraded sidewalk; the owner, Lou Moshakos invited us in for a tour of his building from basement to rooftop.  We can say for sure that this place – from its novel wine-on-tap system to its massive electric windows (designed in Turkey) – is the masterpiece of a true visionary.  Lou Moshakos is constructing a space that will keep pace with an expanded version of Glenwood South that is now only in an early phase.

Lou Moshakos, right, with his wife Joy, center, and daughter Amber, left.

Lou Moshakos, right, with his wife Joy, center, and daughter Amber, left.

As we walked from level to level, we could envision with Mr. Moshakos the grand wall of the double storied first floor Mediterranean space (projected to open this summer) with its glass jellyfish design, and appreciate his concept for dividing the open, multilevel area into intimate settings suitable for wine tasting, small parties, and even the possibility of dinner theater or orchestra concerts.  Like a well designed home, this is a place that can continue to shift with his vision, adapting through the lowering of walls and windows  – and retraction of the roof – at the touch of buttons.

As neighbors to this establishment that is inches shy of touching our condo building, we were equally impressed with Mr. Moshakos’s designs for mitigating noise and disturbance to residents.  With a closed staircase sandwiched between the bar and 510, there is a natural barrier to music noise transmitted through vibration.  In addition to this, he has put all outside speakers on a separate system so that they can be adjusted according to feedback from neighbors.  Just as welcome to us, he has already dictated that the last call for dumping empty bottles in the trash behind our building will be 10 PM, rather than the 2:30 AM clatter that is routine with other bars.

Jim and I often tell people that we love Glenwood South because of its feeling of neighborhood.  We feel energized by the growth of new businesses that are forward thinking and yet collaborative in style, falling in easily with what is already here.  We welcome Lou Moshakos and his family, knowing that their presence will be a responsive and creative addition to both resident and business neighbors.

Photos taken  January 4th:

3rd floor interior

3rd floor interior

Bar area - 3rd floor

Bar area – 3rd floor

Rooftop view area

Rooftop lookout

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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