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The west side of downtown Raleigh, consisting of Glenwood South & Warehouse District has been on a tear in the last few years, and is in the midst of robust mixed use neighborhood development. While these areas used to be busy on weekends for nightlife alone, thousands of new residents occupying recently completed housing units, 2 grocers, a food hall, office space, hotels, retail, and even more restaurants and nightlife have lifted them to 7 days a week districts. Even so, there are several significant projects still in the pipeline that will only grow the experiences.
Does downtown have a lot of retail? My impression was it wasn't a city like other cities that you go to shop. Is there one main drag downtown lined with all the retail stores?
Does downtown have a lot of retail? My impression was it wasn't a city like other cities that you go to shop. Is there one main drag downtown lined with all the retail stores?
There isn't a high street of sorts. Fayetteville St. used to be that sort of street, but its retail spaces have been repurposed over time. For instance, the former downtown department store is now loft condos.
Retail at that level is slow to return because competition from The Village District (formerly Cameron Village) is less than a mile from downtown, and it stole most of the retail in the late 40s and early 50s. Even then, a very successful developer has recently built 2 substantial mixed use developments (The Dillon & Smoky Hollow) and each of them have come with more retail spaces, including a grocer in each. One is a Publix and the other is co-op grocer. So, that's starting bring back more shopping in the city.
I mentioned Raleigh in response because it perfectly fits OP's question of a Southern city that is "developing"..... It's quickly becoming a much different place than it was in the past.
Thats about right. The Village District has 70+ stores. It is the retail heart of ITB Raleigh, though it basically just skirts outside of Downtown Raleigh (it’s a half-mile from Glenwood Avenue, the traditional western edge downtown).
It’s relative lack of grid layout outside of Downtown/Midtown
Il disagree here.
So many dense urban threaded cities don’t have grid layouts, like Any European City. Atlanta wouldnt be the best example of that either since the core resembles some form of a grid. Not Manhattan or SF cut, but the blocks are generally rectangular in a good portion of its CBD and Central Areas.
Because cities that didn't have grids at one time were pretty choppy. For example, Central Boston prior to the big Dig was a mess/choppy. Then on the flip side, cities like Orlando and Dallas are pretty choppy with having decently okay grid layouts in their CBD/neighboring hoods.
Last edited by masssachoicetts; 07-29-2021 at 10:59 AM..
Thats about right. The Village District has 70+ stores. It is the retail heart of ITB Raleigh, though it basically just skirts outside of Downtown Raleigh (it’s a half-mile from Glenwood Avenue, the traditional western edge downtown).
Interestingly enough, The Village District is developing its own credentials around work+live+play by having added hundreds (if not over 1000) of housing units over the last decade, and some more "work" as well.
Just a 3 miles north of there, the ever expanding & multiphase Midtown district has created its own work+live+play for those who don't prefer to be right in downtown or adjacent to it, and want more of a sanitized type experience.
Interestingly enough, The Village District is developing its own credentials around work+live+play by having added hundreds (if not over 1000) of housing units over the last decade, and some more "work" as well.
Just a 3 miles north of there, the ever expanding & multiphase Midtown district has created its own work+live+play for those who don't prefer to be right in downtown or adjacent to it, and want more of a sanitized type experience.
Good post here. Cary is too near Downtown.. although a different style.
The developments surrounding Downtown Nashville are pretty nice and really compliment the area. Uptown Dallas also appears to be one of the most complete neighborhoods in the south. A city I've always enjoyed watching "come alive" is West Palm Beach. They've been steadily and consistently developing their downtown into a true live, work, play neighborhood. They've repurposed and rehabilitated a lot of the historic architecture on Clematis Street.
City Place is constantly evolving, and when I visited a month ago, the place had a totally different feel than it did in '18 when I last visited. I think it's even been rebranded/renamed. I also assumed that all of the new towers under construction, were just more condos and apartments. Wrong. They've built 2 or 3 new office towers in the middle of their entertainment district. All of this right by a direct rail connection to Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
It's almost as if they've realized just how much weight they hold in the trajectory of the South Florida region. Having to anchor a county with over 1 Million residents kind of forces you to play the role of the big city. You can accept it reluctantly, or ambitiously.
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