Category: Shopping / Retail Services (Page 1 of 5)

Google Fiber Retail Space Opens at Noon Today (Feb 1st)

Your neighbors at Google Fiber are excited to swing open their doors to Triangle residents at their brand new Raleigh Fiber Space, here on Glenwood South in the historic 518 West Jones building. They hope you’ll come by to take Google Fiber’s superfast Gigabit Internet and TV for a spin. The space will be open starting today and will be open Monday through Saturday, 10am to 7pm.

The opening coincides with Google Fiber opening sign-ups for residents and businesses in the North Hills, midtown area of Raleigh.

The Fiber Space is designed to serve as both a place to experience Google Fiber and a place for our community to gather. They plan to have lots of events and even invite nonprofit and community groups to reserve the space for meetings and gatherings. You can find out more here.

Finally, they hope you’ll stop in on Wednesday, February 1, from noon to 8 p.m. for a community open house and again this Friday, February 3 for First Friday. In celebration of Raleigh’s local artist community and to kick off Black History Month, they are unveiling the latest addition to Raleigh’s mural scene, created by Victor Knight, III, as well as some of his other works. Providing beats for the evening will be local legend, 9th Wonder.

Meet Tony Gurley, Owner of the new Pharmacy Market

The wait is over.  On September 2, Pharmacy Market will be swinging open its doors to a 7 day a week full service pharmacy, groceries and produce, freshly made sandwiches, household staples and  beauty items, as well as a range of beer and wine.  Twenty parking places will be available off North Street, free for 30 minutes, and you can have a seat on the covered sidewalk terrace to watch people go by as you wait for your prescription to be filled. 

TonyGurley copyFor Tony Gurley, a long time pharmacist in Raleigh, who bought land for his Blue Ridge Pharmacy across from REX Hospital from Joe Myer of Blue Ridge Realty back in 1985, the opportunity to move into Glenwood South was too good to pass up.  As a Wake County Commissioner and having worked a year in the governor’s budget office, Tony had his ear to the ground.  And he heard again and again of the need for amenities for downtown residents who want to walk to pick up what they need at the end of a busy day. 

A pharmacy AND a market?  Tony’s inspiration was the European model, where workers drop by a location near their neighborhood transit stop to purchase what’s needed for supper, and in the process can also get the odd paper good, beauty product or prescription.  He also thinks of the Walgreens at Times Square. For Glenwood South, this officially turns us into the urban style neighborhood that many of us have long awaited.

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City Market at 100 years: celebrating a bright future

You’re invited to come celebrate City Market’s 100th birthday! 

celebration

Join the Centennial Celebration this Friday!

There will be live music, southern food and guest appearances from the pioneers of City Market.

  • Great lineup of bands with music by local favorites: Love Canon, Jack the Radio, and Chit Nasty Band
  • Street performers and a special appearance from the Paper Hand Puppet Parade
  • Taste the newly released City Market Centennial Ale, in partnership with Triangle Brewing Company.
  • Southern Food cooked live and served by “Big Ed” himself

Southern menu including Slow Smoked Pulled / Chopped Barbecue, BBQ Chicken, Southern Potato Salad, Creamy N Tangy Cole Slaw, and Three Cheese Mac will be cooked live and served by Big Ed Watkins of Big Ed’s Barbecue and Paul Reams of award winning Smoked Out n Fried Pit BBQ. 

What’s In Store for the Future

City Market, like the other areas of Raleigh, looks ahead to a brighter future as the downtown revitalization spreads to the Moore Square neighborhood.

skyhouseWave of new residents

320 units – Skyhouse Apartments

224 units – Lincoln Apartments

239 units – Edison Apartments

With three large residential buildings now under construction, the  unprecedented influx of residents will have a profound impact on the entire neighborhood.  With parking so often cited as a concern, having more residents within walking distance will provide a natural bump in business.  Cameron Village merchants project a 10-15% bump in business from their current resident wave, and City Market  should also expect to see their new residents become regular customers.

 

A renovated park and bus station 

park

Click to enlarge

There are also plans underway to address the challenges associated with the adjacent Moore Square Park and bus station, which have threatened perceptions about safety in the area.  With the agreement by the City Council last year to fund a major redesign of the park, this landscape is set for a face lift.  The new design promises to accommodate a wider range of uses with tiered lawns and a granite plaza.

And the Moore Square Transit Station is getting an upgrade, with construction expected to start this spring.  Plans include wider boarding platforms, a security and ticketing office, new restrooms, plus more open, friendlier spaces.

So Come on Down!

City Market is the Grande Dame of Downtown.  She is well worth celebrating.  Come be a part of her 101st chapter that promises to be rosier than ever.

Residents Drive and Shape Downtown Development

AleHouseConstuction

Carolina Ale House under construction in Glenwood South

Many downtown residents have taken great interest in Raleigh’s current long range planning process, but all it takes is a walk down any street to see that growth and development are already booming.  Everywhere I look there’s new construction going on, from skyscrapers emerging out of parking lots to small up-fits. These are clear signs that a downtown resurgence is underway.

As with the last upturn, the flurry of activity is being led by a surge of new residents.  Only this time the supply of new homes is geared for apartment renters rather than condo owners, a less risky financial commitment for both the investor and renter.

As a long time resident, I’ve witnessed frantic buyers snapping up new condos when demand was on the upswing back in 2005-2007, and just a few years later I watched the wave of auctions as building owners unloaded properties when demand cratered.  After 5-6 quiet years, demand has now come back and I feel vitality and excitement in the air.  For instance, I overhear at Harris Teeter and local coffee shops people talking about the new restaurants and businesses that now border Cameron Village.  The reluctance over increased traffic that dominated chat just a year ago, has seemingly drifted into a shared optimism.

I live in Glenwood South, so the revitalization going on in my neighborhood is particularly gratifying.  Already home to six large condo/apt buildings, it seems that there is an announcement about another new building breaking ground every few months.

Since 425 Devon started leasing a few months ago, and the crane for the Link Apartments was just put in place, preparations are now underway for the ground breaking of The Gramercy Apartments on North Street.

And what always happens when new residents arrive? Restaurants and shops begin to open.

The list of recent openings and new construction in Glenwood South is pretty amazing.

Recent openings

North Street Beer Station

Honor Raleigh Men’s Boutique

Aroma Hookah Bar (formerly Runway Couture)

Stags Head

Eden lounge (formerly Oryx)

Aiko Bar & Lounge

Shucker’s Oyster Bar & Grill

Under construction

Storm Clouds Brewery

Carolina Ale House

Beer Garden

Taverna Agora (Next to 2nd Empire)

Big Boom

Just announced

Pho Pho Noodle Kitchen

State of Beer (Across from 2nd Empire)

2014 is a great time to live in Raleigh, and it’s just going to get better from here.  What I particularly like is the consciousness of downtown residents who are in place to help shape development as it comes.  The city has involved residents in the long range planning, and continues to respond to feedback so that Raleigh can strike a balance of green space, transportation and services to maximize the quality of life for all.

So come on down.  Living space is available, small businesses booming with unique offerings, neighbors are friendly, and it’s just a fun, alive place where you can live and work.

Downtown Raleigh is Booming! Check out the latest stats.

2ndQTRblogpost

Business is good and it’s getting even better.

You may be one of the thousands of visitors to Raleigh who drop in for downtown events or an occasional trip to the Farmers Market.  Each time you come, you notice new businesses, restaurants and shops.  Residents have been streaming to downtown, counting on just this shift as more and more people invest in downtown Raleigh’s vital, urban lifestyle.  The DRA has gathered these statistics that verify just what we’re seeing in each of our downtown districts.

Where we are today: 166 restaurants, cafes, and bars within the BID*. 

There’s been a net gain of over 150 new street-level businesses added within the BID* in the last 5 years.

  • 2014 expected to reach highest ever net street-level additions
  • Office occupancy at a new high of 92.6%, best in the city

More and more residents 

Where we are today: 15,000 residents live within a one mile radius of downtown. 

3,000 more residents will soon be living within the BID*, based on units under construction or planned.  This represents a 20% increase.

  • 8 residential projects under construction, adding another 1,109 units or approximately 2,000 more residents
  • Another 1,000 residents will be added, counting the planned projects

Nearly $700 million being invested

  • $375 million under construction, 2.2 million square feet
  • $314 million planned, 1.6 million square feet

 

Want to know more? Read the DRA’s full 2nd quarter report

* The Business Improvement District also commonly referred to as the Central Business District, encompasses the five downtown districts of Glenwood South, Capital District, Warehouse District, Moore Square and Fayetteville Street.

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