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In that regard, Raleigh and Wake County are the Eastern node of one consolidated Triangle region, and the continued popularity of Western Wake can be attributed to just being the central-most spot of the Triangle as a whole.
I've always been curious where the population center of the Triangle is. My gut is that it's somewhere in north Cary, and I'd love to see that mapped over time. Though we are talking about western Wake here, my guess is that the center has been moving east and south pretty consistently over time. Then again, north Cary is still western Wake.
I'd say that the Favored Quarter theory has had even more resonance since the 2009 crisis. That crisis sharpened wealth disparities overall, and disproportionately hurt property values (and fortunes) on the less-favored sides of town. Certainly, closer-in areas have become trendy regardless of their side of town -- but the closer-in favored side is still much trendier.
The creation of a giant new white-collar job center between Raleigh and Durham definitely changed the region's geography. However, I'm not sure it alone would have been enough to "flip" the region; many attempts to create giant job centers on the less-favored sides have failed. Even the ever-rising tide of the Triangle's fast growth didn't lift a lot of Big Plans that were just fundamentally on the wrong side of town: Treyburn and Mini-City come to mind.
Yeah but NE Raleigh wasn't always bad, I think its the consequence of cheaper/starter homes aging 20-30 years.
Or it could be that criminal types like the ambiance that is Capital Blvd. which is more transient, busy, gas-station-sketchy than any other thoroughfare in the Triangle.
I thought that Wake's housing was in demand everywhere from all the accolades bestowed constantly.
RTP hasn't always had as many people working there either.
But Raleigh has so few bad areas compared to most cities, that we should just be grateful.
Analyze Charlotte, where East, North and West is full of bad areas. There's only one direction that favored.
I'd say that the Favored Quarter theory has had even more resonance since the 2009 crisis. That crisis sharpened wealth disparities overall, and disproportionately hurt property values (and fortunes) on the less-favored sides of town. Certainly, closer-in areas have become trendy regardless of their side of town -- but the closer-in favored side is still much trendier.
The creation of a giant new white-collar job center between Raleigh and Durham definitely changed the region's geography. However, I'm not sure it alone would have been enough to "flip" the region; many attempts to create giant job centers on the less-favored sides have failed. Even the ever-rising tide of the Triangle's fast growth didn't lift a lot of Big Plans that were just fundamentally on the wrong side of town: Treyburn and Mini-City come to mind.
Fascinating observations... didn't think about the whole 2009 situation. Do your foresee that sort of crisis situation intensified due to the Pandemic and its aftermath?
Also, just exploring the Mini-City take... what sort of industry sector jobs were a part of those big plans?
Last edited by UserNamesake; 12-31-2020 at 12:22 PM..
The Mini-City area has suffered from the closing of most of the projects downtown and the accompanying Sec 8 housing that followed. I know it was a long time ago, but when I was a kid in the early to mid 70’s, Brentwood was a great family neighborhood. I often wonder if extending Atlantic 30 years ago or so didn’t help start the decline. And I am not saying it is now all bad, it just has some real challenges especially on the periphery of the neighborhood.
The Mini-City area has suffered from the closing of most of the projects downtown and the accompanying Sec 8 housing that followed. I know it was a long time ago, but when I was a kid in the early to mid 70’s, Brentwood was a great family neighborhood. I often wonder if extending Atlantic 30 years ago or so didn’t help start the decline. And I am not saying it is now all bad, it just has some real challenges especially on the periphery of the neighborhood.
The “projects†downtown that closed had around 1000 people in them and they closed in the 2000s a couple decades after Mini City was pretty firmly cemented as what it is.
Do your foresee that sort of crisis situation intensified due to the Pandemic and its aftermath?
Also, just exploring the Mini-City take...
Given that there's a "K-shaped recovery" underway, that could very well occur. I'm concerned about what will happen once mortgage/eviction forbearance programs end.
As for Mini-City, it was planned well before my time. A quick glance into Newsbank turns up this from the N&O in 1993, when the now-WalMart/Lowe's was proposed:
"developer C.O. Weaver... unveiled plans for Mini-City in the early 1970s. Weaver had in mind a $50 million shopping center that would be larger than Crabtree Valley Mall, a 20-acre convention center and a 350-acre industrial park. The mall was to serve as a thriving center of a new community that would also include high-density residential developments, office parks, industrial outlets and even a religious center."
Elsewhere, it's mentioned that a major employer was the Westinghouse (later ABB) electric-meter factory, which is still on Capital just northeast of the Beltline.
I think Sherifftruman is correct that the destiny of Mini-City had been determined before decisions were made to clear the housing projects out of downtown. But I think DodsonRamseur is also correct that the growth of Section 8 along US 1 as far out as 540 intensified what was already happening.
I think Sherifftruman is correct that the destiny of Mini-City had been determined before decisions were made to clear the housing projects out of downtown. But I think DodsonRamseur is also correct that the growth of Section 8 along US 1 as far out as 540 intensified what was already happening.
Starter homes don't age well, and the thousands of them built in the 80's with that period's building standards are now aging badly. The normal lifecycles for even apartment complexes and entry-level housing neighborhoods dictates that different echelons of society move in as others move out and up the financial ladder.
Gwinnett County in metro Atlanta has experienced the same turnover as in Mini-City. It's full of neighborhoods that are now decaying in appearance.
As downtowns and close in neighborhoods became highly-sought after and expensive, the displaced went to the suburbs which are now aged and more affordable.
Triangle folks are spoiled to wish that a booming economy could lift all sides of Raleigh ending in no bad areas at all.
All those vinyl-sided homes clustered in treeless neighborhoods will ensure that NE Raleigh will continue the same trajectory it's currently on now.
People who run Cary think all the dumb rules are important to draw people. But as they say in real estate the main thing is location,location,location.
For a long time wind was a major factor in where wealthy people lived. They wanted to live upwind of factories that might put out bad pollution or smells. That still applies but not as much as it used to.
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