some paving trucks rolled in today

5/27/2010 6:37:35 PM

Everything across from Cup a Joe and to the right of Cantina got demolished over the weekend.

6/2/2010 2:48:18 PM

Quote :

"You want a nasty traffic circle look no further than Dupont Circle in DC. 4 lanes, medians, 9 input/output streets, all scary."

i drive, ride a bike, run & walk through dupont fairly regularly at all different times of day. im not sure what's so difficult about it? esp considering it has the advantage of having connecticut run UNDER it, which would be fantastic if hillsborough was wide enough to accomplish that plus having side street lanes shooting off, turning it into a major thoroughfare to downtown. but i guess that's what wade ave's curvy ass is supposed to b

6/2/2010 3:02:51 PM

^^ any idea what they're putting in there?

[Edited on June 2, 2010 at 3:03 PM. Reason : .]

6/2/2010 3:03:04 PM

I've been away from State for a while now. Does Cantina = Farmhouse?

6/2/2010 3:03:41 PM

^ yep

^^ no clue, I didn't even know it was being demoed until I saw it on sunday

6/2/2010 3:13:53 PM

it MIGHT be val valentine's giant building project

i'll try and do some research

6/2/2010 3:49:00 PM

Maybe it will be a Top of the Hill to go with the Time Out.

6/2/2010 3:57:10 PM

Quote :

"Everything across from Cup a Joe and to the right of Cantina got demolished over the weekend."

The building immediately across from Cup a Joe was pretty attrocious-looking. Glad to see it go. I guess PB's is gone? And did Capitol Comics get demolished too? It was in the little white buidling next to PB's.



[Edited on June 2, 2010 at 4:13 PM. Reason : And what about the NC equipment company with the tractor up top. Gone too?]

6/2/2010 4:11:11 PM

Courtland Apartments LLC

6/2/2010 4:15:54 PM

Somebody else drive past and do some recon.

I didn't actually catalogue what was gone, I was thinking more WTF?! when I drove past.

6/2/2010 4:21:09 PM

PBs and all that is still there so is farmhouse

it was just that shitty little white house looking thing between farmhouse and Comics that got taken down.

it looks better there now if you ask me.

6/2/2010 4:27:19 PM

here's some info i found

Quote :

" Stanhope Village: A New Urbanist, transit-oriented, mixed-use development on the west side of N.C. State University, on Hillsborough Street. According to developer, Val Valentine, prep work on the 7-acre site began five years ago. MARKO NOTE: site i found this on had a copyright date of 2005 in the footer and was last updated in 2007. Underground fuel storage and machine repair work done there left the location in need of a $1 million cleansing. Stanhope Village will include 520 residential units, 45000sf of resturant, retail & office space, and a 900-spot parking deck in the areas around Friendly Drive and Concord Street, near North Carolina State University. The projected cost is $50-$80 million."

here's an N&O article about it from january 2010
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/01/12/279806/near-campus-apartment-plan-revives.html

i'll try and find more at some point

feel free anybody and pitch in

6/2/2010 4:33:19 PM

Quote :

"it was just that shitty little white house looking thing between farmhouse and Comics "

Ahh, that was a shitty house. I used to park in the lot behind there. Wouldn't be surprised if some crackheads came spewing out when it got demolished.

Still, wish they'd demolish more. That building PB's is in is a joke.

6/2/2010 4:37:32 PM

from page 5 of: http://www.designcollective.net/News%20&%20Media/5.%20Newsletter/2008%20-%20Volume%20I.pdf

6/2/2010 4:50:54 PM

Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that a couple of years ago.

6/2/2010 6:19:24 PM

Quote :

"revised the project in an attempt to gain the support of city planners and nearby residents - some of whom still oppose it. "

I swear some people oppose shit just for the sake of opposing it.

6/2/2010 8:14:09 PM

what i saw get torn down yesterday was the building that said LOOK OUT! across the top, where blue flame and gumby's cess-pizza used to be. PBs was still up and in use as was capital comics. i had actually bought a shirt in LOOK OUT! in like 1997. i am old.

(this building = gone : http://is.gd/cAj3y)

it was pretty funny actually, i was walking into cup-a-joe just as they demolished the last wall, and there were like 10 people watching and clapping, cars drove past and honked their horn, and then the backhoe driver got out of the cab and took a bow

[Edited on June 2, 2010 at 8:20 PM. Reason : -]

6/2/2010 8:15:20 PM

[Edited on June 2, 2010 at 8:20 PM. Reason : nvm]

6/2/2010 8:19:28 PM

I made two posts on page 15 of this thread about Stanhope Village with several links. Text copied below:

6/2/2010 9:28:09 PM

anyone know how it will interact with the land touching the tracks? it's been so long that i've been in that area, that it's fuzzy for me to remember what exactly it's like

a way to get from the baseball field to hillsborough street (without having to go through some fence or some junk) would be pretty neat... like a bridge or a tunnel or something...

then again, i'm sure the university wouldn't want an uncontrolled pathway going through there because it would be an escape route for the boogeyman

6/2/2010 9:55:50 PM

I drove past there last Friday and saw that the yellow house was gone, I was wondering if that was going to be the first of many. As bad shape as those buildings were in and considering the help needed there, probably a good thing *if* there is a plan for replacement, which this revised Stanhope plan may have. I noticed last year they knocked down 5 or 6 houses at the end of Stanhope street back by the tracks, perhaps as part of the same plan going in motion. Hopefully there's something though--unless the building is a hazard to public safety somehow, I'm never in favor of teardowns for "development potential" or somesuch. Vacant lots do not beautify a damn thing, and if you want to sell some land to a developer but there are buildings in the way, make it worth the developer's while to responsibly demolish/recycle rather than doing it beforehand and then having the deal fall through.
[/soapbox]

Anyone know if PB's and Capitol Comics have been given walking papers of any kind? While both are certainly viable businesses, their respective buildings aren't in the best of condition. At one time, everything between the corner of Friendly and the Fincastle apartments (across from Reader's corner) were scheduled to come down, but that's obviously changed with Lulu.com's very nice renovation of Carolina Equipment (aka the Yellow Bulldozer building), Time Out moving into the old Milano's space, etc.

For those of you not in Raleigh, the Yellow Bulldozer and its building are safe and sound. Lulu.com left the bulldozer sign atop the building when they renovated and even gave it a fresh coat of paint, though the area below the bulldozer is now solid blue rather than "Carolina Equipment Co" lettering.

6/2/2010 10:12:33 PM

it infuriated me when they painted over the sign

they didn't even do a good job of it

just sort of "white-out"ed it

but whatever... their building, their decisions

6/2/2010 10:18:56 PM

and how they faux brick painted the const. co. lettering on the street side of the building. LAME. just leave it.

6/3/2010 3:40:16 AM

Quote :

"though the area below the bulldozer is now solid blue rather than "Carolina Equipment Co" lettering."

Ugh, YES! That annoys the hell out of me. Firstly because, yeah they painted over the original lettering. Secondly, if you're going to paint over it of all the colors to choose they chose a horrible light blue. Why not a black? Do construction equipment colors. Orange/yellow/black go well together for a reason.

6/3/2010 7:23:23 AM

I have no idea why they chose blue either--it looks odd. They bothered go go back and put the correct detail lines on the bulldozer, why not either a)leave the lettering or b)make it solid yellow or solid black?

Excusing that odd choice and the faux-brick repaint the lettering on the building's face was given, though, they did do a nice job. I kind of like the curvy entrance addition-thing they added, and I like that they didn't put it right next to the street so that its effect is softened.

6/4/2010 11:30:21 AM

Sorry if this has already been posted (I looked at the February page and couldn't find anything) but evidently Frazier's closed after Valentine's day...too bad, 11 years in Raleigh and I never managed to eat there. Owners plan to put something more affordable (and therefore more appropriate to the area) in the space. Also, Porter's may add a rooftop patio? That sounds pretty cool...even though it would be two flights up.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/02/09/328672/changes-coming-to-food-scene.html

6/4/2010 4:30:00 PM

i never liked fraziers, the seating arrangement just wasn't private or intimate enough for the price/attempted atmosphere of the restaurant. if i'm taking someone to a nice dinner i don't want to feel like i'm sitting in a diner.

6/4/2010 4:33:08 PM

Frazier's was one of my favorite restaurants in Raleigh. I was sad to see it close.

6/4/2010 5:17:58 PM

I'm having a hard time picturing where Frazier's was. Near Mitch's?

6/5/2010 8:02:44 AM

it was the 10' wide space to the left of porters

6/5/2010 9:27:42 AM

Quote :

"[staffparking] Hillsborough Street Paving begins Monday, June 14 Christine Klein to staffparking Hillsborough Street paving is scheduled to begin Monday, June 14, 2010. We expect to complete paving within one week, barring unforeseen circumstances. During the paving operation, there will be NO PARKING along Hillsborough Street between Horn and Enterprise Streets. Please do not move traffic cones placed in these spaces by the paving contractor. Hillsborough Street will remain open and Wolfline buses will run normal summer routes. However, traffic may be slow and congested and you may want to plan to access campus via other streets and avoid Hillsborough Street next week. Thanks for your continued cooperation and patience!"

6/10/2010 8:07:15 PM

Quote :

"Please do not move traffic cones placed in these spaces by the paving contractor."

What they really meant to say was "Please do not use traffic cones to make a really kick ass monster."

6/10/2010 9:42:31 PM

paving?

i thought i saw some asphalt trucks rolling in this morning

6/14/2010 1:01:32 PM

it looked like they had done some paving over by the circle this weekend

but i don't have anything to compare it to since i didn't drive through there last week

6/14/2010 3:52:02 PM

lookin' good!

6/17/2010 1:15:55 PM

did they reopen the circle this afternoon?

part of the traffic was just one way and you couldn't get from cameron village to hillsborough street that way

6/17/2010 5:40:08 PM

For anyone who is out of town and wants to know what it looks like:
(uploaded 6 days ago)


I was going to drive down Hillsborough with a camera just like this, but thought that I would look it up on youtube first. Somebody beat me to it. Sorry about the music.

6/21/2010 3:20:57 PM

wow. a ton has changed since that video was shot

6/21/2010 3:53:44 PM

^^ That was cool thanks

6/21/2010 8:45:42 PM

I liked the old Blue Flame building better than the new one (at least, from the outside)... I don't remember enough of the inside (of the old one) to compare, but the new one.. well spacious is nice, I guess.

6/21/2010 9:19:46 PM

hey, i still want cookies!!!!

6/21/2010 9:32:44 PM

I'm strongly considering taking tomorrow afternoon off to watch the carnage on the traffic circle (assuming they paint the double lanes on it tonight)

6/22/2010 12:18:19 PM

7/11/2010 11:04:46 AM

Quote :

"I'm strongly considering taking tomorrow afternoon off to watch the carnage on the traffic circle (assuming they paint the double lanes on it tonight) "

please take a camera.

7/11/2010 12:41:37 PM

give me a holler, ScubaSteve, I'll walk out there with you haha

7/12/2010 2:52:22 AM

Barrels have all been moved from the circle! Let the carnage begin!

7/18/2010 1:44:21 PM

I almost got hit by some tard there last night right after they moved the barrels.

7/18/2010 2:02:23 PM

hahha just drove through the two lane circle

it was a cluster

love it

7/18/2010 2:05:07 PM

A friend of mine was hit by a car while she was on her scooter recently. She was in the circle down by Morgan Street and the car entered the circle while she was already in it. Totally knocked her down and out.

The fucker left the scene too!

Really pisses me off and makes me want to put a brick through the assholes window.

7/18/2010 7:44:51 PM