Raleigh; New Pricey Condos Pushing out the "Little Guy"

[Justin6882]

This is a concern of many long-time downtown residents. I do feel to an extent that some of the areas they mentioned do need cleaning up, but not necessarily pushing out the residents that have been there for years. This is the price of progress, however, and its inevitable that some of these people will be priced out of the market. The stores they mention on Wilmington Street, however long they have been there, are dumpy, run down, and sometimes kind of scary. I wouldn't mind them all being either relocated, or forced to renovate and make them appealing. While I probably still wouldn't shop there, its important that our main streets in Downtown be inviting.

Pricey Downtown Condos Might Price Out the "little guys"

Also,
This is a classic example of not knowing which subforum to put this post in. There isn't really any information on any new developments, however it does mention development in general. But since this is focusing more on the people, I chose this one, so mods, if it is in the wrong place...in lieu of closing it, please move it to the P&C.

[Raleigh-NC]

I read the article and I have mixed feelings about this. Palladium Plaza is a far cry from the original Yarborough proposal, an 8-story mid-rise with retail on the ground floor. The new 5-story project is not only smaller - the parking deck will clearly overwhelm Palladium Plaza - but also lacks retail and entertainment destinations, a key component of a true urban project for that section of Blount Street. Pushing away the "little guy" is not because of ungratefulness, but rather lack of true vision. If I were the City of Raleigh and/or Progress Energy, I would seek a solution that develops half of the site, leaving the "little guys" where they are, and develop the rest of the site in the future, when something between 8 and 12 stories could be built. As is, Palladium Plaza is nothing impressive and too small, given the size of Two Progress Plaza.

What I have also noticed is that some individuals like to make an issue out of nothing. They keep talking about the new residential developments keeping away the less wealthy residents. Not only Wilmington Str suffers from the existence of crappy stores, but also lacks some more upscale destinations. Quite frankly, there is no single retail destination I would visit along that street. Sure, those stores attract some people, which is fine with me, but there are ways to improve the existing options. Nobody will misplace the "little guys"; we merely discussing possibilities to attract more retail and entertainment in that area, which will be beneficial to ALL. Bringing more afluent residents will give downtown a boost... the kind of boost people who make $20,000 a year cannot offer. On the other hand, we should all be thankful that some business owners - the little guys - stayed behind to keep DT Raleigh alive, when major retail names pulled out. Personally, I have more respect for the little guys than I have for the big ones, although I understand the reasoning behind moving to a busier location.

There must be a middle solution for the "little guys" and I hope that developers, business owners and the city leaders will find a way out of this. The owner of Men At Work put it very nicely when he expressed his desire to be a success story. I must agree with him. Maybe I should start taking my car to his store for detailing

[ejohnson]

Wilmington street consists of a lot black owned apparel stores for men, black barber shops amd even Coopers Bar-B-Q is in that area.

[Raleigh-NC]

Yes, but I have never seen you shopping there, ejohnson

It is a fact that black-owned shops are everywhere along Wilmington Str. These people did not abandon DT Raleigh, unlike other businessmen, who got scared and didn't invest on the core of our city. I am not sure those people were truly losing money... it must have been more like "we are not making as much as we could, so let's move to the suburban side of Raleigh". I give lots of credit to the business owners who stayed behind and kept DT Raleigh alive, even until only 5pm. I hope that they get the respect and support of the city when their time comes to be relocated. Let's face it, big investments will eventually misplace many of these businesses, which is sad. On the other hand, the existing businesses may have the opportunity to improve their offerings and image. I would feel very unhappy to see them disappear in favor to some stupid big retailer who never gave downtown a second look. Personally, I believe that if Saks Fifth Ave was to open their store downtown, the place would have been just as busy as it is in the suburban Raleigh. (I am known to make bold and very optimistic statements, so please bear with me.)

One more business that has remained true to downtown, along with Cooper's BBQ is Mecca Cafe; it has been there for 75 years. DT Raleigh has managed to keep these guys in business and I hope the long tradition will continue for many more years, even after chain restaurants appear everywhere (almost inevitable).