Friday, February 27, 2015
Since we’ve already touched on the (relatively) big-ticket permits issued last week, let’s go ahead and take a gander at some permits on the other end of the scale.
CB Richard Ellis
This warehouse property on discovery drive will be getting some new shelving
The smallest commercial renovation was for a warehouse property on Discovery Drive, and was described as “Shelving Only — Advance Auto.” Lionberger Construction was listed as the contractor, with the work valued at $100.
Every other permit issued was valued at or over $5,000, starting with a renovation of Molly’s Wax Shop on North Person Street by Tri City Maintenance and Repair that will cost exactly $5,000.
As always, there were a couple of medical renovation jobs — three at Wake Med, including a physician’s office building and a medical office building. What the difference between the two is is unknown to this reporter. DPR Construction will be handling the work, which comes to a total of $38,500.
Wake County
The Physician’s Office Building at WakeMed.
There wasn’t much else permitted last week, although East Coast Metal did receive a $36,376 permit in the “Metals, Minerals, Petrols & Prods” category. No, we don’t know what Prods are. Petrol though, that’s just the British word for gas. As in, “I’m going to petrol up my caravan and cruise for fit women.”
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Although we’d like to do theme weeks here on the Development Beat, the stars rarely align well enough to provide us with the right material to do something like, say, mall week, where there’s a new parking garage and a bunch of interior renovations at Triangle Town Center and Crabtree.
However, last week’s dearth of permits does leave us with a theme, of sorts, for this week- namely, a lack of any large projects.
While the biggest renovation job, at ABB Corporate Research Center, was discussed yesterday, there were five other projects that cleared the not-so-high hurdle of $200,000.
Wake County
Comunidad Cristiana Hosanna
These included a $202,000 renovation to Triangle Family Dentist on Falls of Neuse Road, a $250,000 renovation at Raleigh Community Vet Hospital on Dresser Court, a $250,000 renovation for the Comunidad Cristiana Hosanna, a spanish-speaking congregation, a $356,200 renovation for an office park at 3737 Glenwood Avenue and a $360,000 renovation for Moma Lawyers at 107 Fayetteville Street.
Which goes to show, even in a slow week, there’s plenty of work to be found for local contractors, a sure sign that the economy is on the upswing.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
In a week severely lacking in new building and demolition permits, it should come as no surprise that the largest renovation permit issued between February 16th and February 20th came in at under a million dollars.
James Borden / Raleigh Public Record
The ABB Corporate Research Center at NC State
The project is not actually a renovation, but rather, the interior completion of portions of the ABB Corporate Center at NC State.
It’s actually one we’ve written about before, and just as they were back in August, J.D. Beam is the contractor handling the project, which received three separate permits on February 16 that totaled $857,115.
ABB is a company that focuses its research on things like energy efficiency and smart grids, so it makes sense they’d want to be near a major university. Must be a great place for internships. Too bad this reporter wasted his college summers doing stupid things like selling knives for a multilevel marketing company. If you’re unfamiliar with multilevel marketing, the below illustration may help.
Thirty, Unemployed, Educated Hispanic
Multilevel Marketing
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
We said yesterday this was going to be a slow week, and unfortunately that holds true even for Teardown Tuesday. Just as a small carwash was the only nonresidential new building permitted last week, a duplex was the only non single-family project permitted for demolition.
That duplex sits on St. Mary’s Street, about a mile north of the Glenwood South district, where there’s been a significant number of demolitions recently in order to make way for new multifamily housing.
Wake County
This duplex is being demolished
Although no plans have been announced for what will be built on the property in its stead, the building itself is somewhat noteworthy for the simple fact that it was originally built in 1934. The 2,968 two-story, two-family structure will be torn down by Cecil Holcomb Demolition for $18,000. A house that old may contain hazardous building materials such as asbestos, which may account for part of the cost.
It may be possible that the current owner, who purchased the property in 1997 for $390,000, is looking to sell or develop the land for other purposes. Or maybe he’s just tired of dealing with the maintenance on a house that was built before the second World War.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Welcome back to another slow week on the Development Beat. Last week’s icy weather likely had some impact on the lack of permits issued. There was only one nonresidential new building permitted, and just a handful of town homes and single-families.
James Borden / Raleigh Public Record
The empty lot where an Enterprise Auto Dealership will soon be joined by a carwash and detail building.
So what was that one lucky project, you’re probably not asking? A new carwash! At the new Enterprise Auto Sales at 5800 Glenwood Avenue. Metcon will be building the 920 square-foot structure at a cost of $12,000.
Although the permit for the carwash was likely issued with minimal hassle, getting the dealership approved meant facing strong neighborhood opposition. An attorney who represented some of those neighbors said of the project “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.”
An attorney for the developer countered that the dealership would be more of a “small boutique; Not one of these large used car lots with the dancing blowup guy.”
Although Mayor McFarlane voiced her opposition to the dealership, the project was approved by city council in April of 2014 and received permits in October.
James Borden / Raleigh Public Record
The empty lot where an Enterprise Auto Dealership will soon be joined by a carwash and detail building.
