- Opening Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
for Capital Bank Headquarters
- Moore Square: Past, Present, and
Future
- Fayetteville Street Opening Party
- Weekend Reminders
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Recently, Kelly MarCom won the Triangle CREW Champion Award for the most creative advertising/marketing project for the design of the identity system for Downtown Raleigh. The 2006 Champion Awards are sponsored by the Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women. The annual competition recognizes excellence in the commercial real estate industry in the Triangle region. Kelly MarCom Vice President Jamie Kelly and Nancy
Hormann, president of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, accepted the
award from North Carolina Lt. Governor Beverly Purdue. The new website will provide a complete directory
of shopping, dining, and cultural attractions, a calendar of events,
news updates, and commercial and residential real estate listings.
Most importantly, the custom interactive map, the feature that will
differentiate www.downtownraleigh.org from others, will provide
the users’ destination location relative to surrounding restaurants,
parking, shopping, and events. Imagine the ease of selecting a destination
spot, and with the click of a button, all relative surrounding area
attributes including accurate distances appear. Phase one of the
new website is expected to launch in early June. Be sure to take
advantage of the innovative capabilities of www.downtownraleigh.org.
RBC
CENTURA BECOMES DRA MARKETING
SUITE & DOWNTOWN RALEIGH SMALL BUSINESS CENTER SPONSOR Recently, RBC Centura took title sponsorship of the DRA Marketing Suite & Downtown Raleigh Small Business Center. The sponsorship will aid the continued improvement of the marketing suite as well as enable the creation of a small business center. The small business center will be home to invaluable information regarding business development, entrepreneurship, parking, dining, shopping, business, and residential opportunities in Downtown Raleigh. It will be a useful resource for downtown visitors, workers, patrons, and residents. For three years RBC Centura will own title sponsorship of the marketing suite and small business center with first rights to renew after it expires. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance is pleased to have the support of RBC Centura and looks forward to the continued transformation of the marketing suite and development of the small business center made possible by the RBC Centura sponsorship. > Back
For close to a decade, Liz has advanced through the trenches of the bar and restaurant industry, now finally emerging on the issuer side of the paycheck. Two notable steps along her journey provided the inspiration for The Borough and the concept of community building she hopes foster on the barstools inside. While living in Ireland for a year, she worked in a tiny rural pub and learned the value that a convivial atmosphere can add to a community. Then after moving to Raleigh, Liz became a part of recreating the Warehouse District’s Vertigo into Poole’s Diner, as it is known today. In addition to building the business, she met the supporting cast of friends that have helped fuel her passion for community building. Combined, the influences create a concept that not only links the funky Warehouse district to the old country, but also gives a conspicuous nod to the revelry and décor of Glenwood South. As an urban update of the neighborhood pub, The Borough borrows elements of chic interior design and couples them with the genial barkeep relationships of yesteryear. Liz hopes that her emphasis on customer service serves as a critical component in differentiating The Borough’s concept from other Downtown Raleigh establishments. This emphasis is mandated amongst her staff, since Liz herself has seen the power in developing strong relationships with her customers. On most nights, you’ll even find her behind the bar slinging drinks, trading jokes, and offering a smile. While charmingly humble, Liz is proud to boast that The Borough will be independently owned. There are no partners or corporate policies behind the curtain influencing her business decisions or policies. That does not mean she’s doing it alone, however. Several of her regulars from Poole’s have lent Liz their spirit, and perhaps more importantly, their sweat. Between unpacking cases of glassware, Jake Green, emphasized how “important it is that Liz has her own bar.” He and other friends and former patrons volunteered their time to help Liz get the doors open. Such relationships were solidified during the experience and reputation she tallied at Poole’s. The location for The Borough was selected because of Liz’s affinity for urban areas, and her belief that the pedestrian scale, diversity of people, and blossoming downtown neighborhood contribute to a feeling of intimacy. In describing her search for viable locations for The Borough, Liz exclaims that she “never considered anywhere but downtown.” “I love this city. Downtown Raleigh feels like the place I am supposed to be – it has provided me with so many friends, laughs, and opportunities – now I want to pay it back by opening a place that will create similar experiences for the community,” she continued. Back inside the bar, a warm, cozy palette of colors
blanket the walls and cultivate the room’s intimate, yet lively
character. In addition to its modest draft offerings, The Borough
also offers outdoor seating and a wide selection of bourbons and
scotches. The Borough is open seven nights per week, from 4PM –
2AM. Their menu features creative pub fare, and the pub offers free
Wi-Fi for customers spellbound by the world wide web.
“This is something that we’ve thought about for a year,” said President Willy E. Stewart, PE. “Our research indicated that the timing was right. The new location puts us at the center of activity in downtown. It reinforces our brand in the market. And it also gets us closer in proximity to clients, regulators and permitting agencies. Simply put, Downtown Raleigh is the place to be.” John T. Jenkins II, PE will serve as branch manager. John has been with Stewart for two years, joining the firm as civil department manager at the Morrisville, NC location. John owned his own firm, SouthTech, before it was acquired by Stewart. Under John’s leadership, Stewart’s civil engineering department has doubled in size over the past year. Stewart is a 100-person firm that focuses on structural
engineering, site/civil engineering, transportation engineering,
and special inspections. It has six offices in the Carolinas. Clients
include area architects, private developers, contractors, the City
of Raleigh, NC State University, Wake Med, Rex Healthcare, Wake
Tech, the Wake County Public School System, and the North Carolina
Department of Transportation. For more information, go to www.stewart-eng.com.
Russ McLauchlan, CEO/Chair of Calvert Holdings, Inc. (parent company of Calvert Café) said, “We desire to be corporate America’s coffee shop by offering a managed amenity to building owners and management groups. We plan to continue demonstrating our commitment to offer quality products with superior service in an upscale environment with these two new locations.” In a desire to meet the growing need for amenities within office buildings, Calvert Café plans to expand nationwide into Class A office facilities by offering a packaged coffee shop with ongoing support, marketing, and management. Both new locations are scheduled to begin operation
by early summer 2006. The Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) commissioned OnPoint, a Raleigh independent polling and research firm, to conduct the survey which questioned a random sample of 811 Wake, Durham and Orange county residents on April 12, 2006. The survey indicates that traffic is a growing concern. Of those questioned, 90% said congestion in the Triangle already is a problem and 94% of respondents feel that traffic congestion will get worse over the next 5-10 years. Most people questioned in the survey believe that the region should do more than just build more roads. 70% of respondents said that the Triangle should develop a variety of transit options including a regional rail system. "This survey reaffirms what we've heard for more than a decade," said Carter Worthy, TTA board of trustees chair. "Quite simply, across the board people want rail." Of the respondents, 69% said they believe transit money from local gas taxes should be spent here, instead of sending money elsewhere. The majority, 61%, said they believe the federal government should provide part of the final funding package for the rail system planned between Durham, RTP, Cary and Raleigh. Those surveyed believe that rail will spur development
that will positively affect the quality of life in the Triangle
with 65% of the respondents saying that the quality of life will
improve with a rail system while 56% say that a rail system will
produce economic benefits. Only 26% said that the rail system would
not produce economic benefits. OPENING
RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY FOR CAPITAL BANK HEADQUARTERS “We are excited to join the Downtown Raleigh community and contribute to the development and growth of this vibrant city center,” Yarber said. “We are proud to demonstrate our leadership role in the Triangle with our investment in the community and equally proud to conduct our banking business on the ‘Main Street’ of North Carolina, Fayetteville St.” A full-service, new branch office on the lobby level of Capital Bank Plaza will serve Capital Bank clients. In addition, Capital Bank has executive offices and financial service offices on floors throughout the building. The relocation reaffirms Capital Bank’s position as one of the state’s largest community banks and is a strong signal of support to the revitalization efforts of Downtown Raleigh. Capital Bank Corporation, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., with approximately $1.3 billion in total assets, offers a broad range of financial services. Capital Bank operates 26 banking offices in Raleigh (5), Burlington (4), Sanford (3), Asheville (3), Graham (2), Cary, Greensboro, Hickory, Mebane, Morrisville, Oxford, Pittsboro, Siler City and Wake Forest. The company’s website is http://www.capitalbank-nc.com. > Back NC State University College of Design announces a storefront windows exhibition of student artworks exploring Downtown Raleigh, part of CAM’s Moore Square: Past, Present and Future after-school program. Moore Square: Past, Present and Future, is an annual after-school project that focuses on the history, current development and future of Downtown Raleigh and its community. The 2006 student participants are learning about the downtown community by exploring the people who live, work, and visit Downtown Raleigh. The program includes interactions with a variety of community members and downtown businesses/organizations that provide students with multiple viewpoints on the program’s focus. The students then create artwork demonstrating what they have learned and their vision for the future. Students integrate archival images and their own photos, writing, and drawings into multimedia collage. The artwork generated from this project will be displayed in storefront windows in Downtown Raleigh. This program is funded by a generous grant from the Goodnight Education Foundation. Program Reception & Student Presentation:
Window Exhibition: Artwork to be Displayed: mixed media collage, digital
photography The City of Raleigh, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, the Convention Center, and the staff of Artsplosure are busy pulling together the party that will mark the opening of the four blocks of “North Carolina’s Main Street” from the State Capitol to the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel. Details of the street party will be available by the end of the month. The party will mark the end of 16 months of construction that returned the street’s 100 to 400 blocks to vehicular traffic. The conversion from a pedestrian mall began March 14, 2005 and came with a price tag of $9.33 million. T.A. Loving Company of Goldsboro is the project contractor. The four blocks are being converted to a 40-foot-wide thoroughfare with parallel parking on both sides of the street. Traffic signals at Davie, Martin, Hargett and Morgan streets will be modified. Hargett and Martin streets will be converted to two-way traffic. The new street will offer a wide streetscape for
art, open space, and outdoor dining. The new design allows flexibility
for parades, festivals, and other events, such as the opening celebration
set for July 29. 2nd Annual The Art of Downtown Living Home
Tour Held the same weekend as Artsplosure, the self-guided tour will focus on the wide variety of housing options available in downtown, featuring historic properties and single-family homes, as well as affordable rental units and luxury condominiums. The event will be held rain or shine. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased by cash
or check at the Raleigh Urban Design Center at 133 Fayetteville
Street from now through the day of the event. Children 12 and under
are free. Proceeds from ticket sales will go towards a future educational
series coordinated by the Raleigh Urban Design Center highlighting
emerging downtown issues.
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“Rain
rain go away come again another day,” thought the Downtown
Raleigh Alliance Staff moments before guests were scheduled to arrive
for the State of Downtown on April 17. The heavy rainfall, although
long overdue, was one special appearance not written into the program.
Despite the weather, downtown advocates filed into the Fletcher
Auditorium to demonstrate their support and interest in downtown
developments and the progression towards a downtown renaissance.
Speakers included: Nancy Hormann, President/CEO of the Downtown
Raleigh Alliance; Roger Krupa, Director of the Raleigh Convention
and Conference Center; and Mitchell Silver, Director of the City
Planning Department. Topics featured recently completed, under construction,
and planned developments by the public and private sector with special
emphasis on the Convention Center. Special thanks to the Convention
Center for all of their help with our annual meeting. 
Undoubtedly, Downtown Raleigh is evolving into a thriving urban
area that offers a myriad of dining, shopping, living, and working
options. New bars and restaurants continue to emerge, mixed-used
developments are taking shape, Seaboard Station Grocery Store has
found its home, and the list goes on. To mirror the revitalization
occurring Downtown, the Alliance requested the services of Kelly
MarCom, aforementioned as the marketing and public relations firm
awarded the Triangle CREW Champion Award for most creative project
for the Downtown Raleigh identity system, and Geocentric, a specialty
web software and map company dedicated to improving destination
marketing and local search activities, to transform the website
into an interactive information highway for Downtown Raleigh. The
website which once centered around the Alliance will now be solely
dedicated to information pertinent to the Downtown Raleigh resident,
business, patron, and visitor. Simply said, the website now serves
as an extension of the Downtown Raleigh identity system. 
In
February 2006, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance transformed their conference
room into a marketing suite to coincide with the new image of Downtown
Raleigh as a chic, progressive hub for entertainment, work space,
and residential developments. With the help of Edge Furniture and
RBC Centura, the marketing suite is now conducive to a productive
work
environment and a model space for other downtown businesses.
If
you’ve noticed the gray circles with the letter “S”
adorning the third floor windows at the Montague Building on Hargett
St., then you know that Downtown Raleigh has a new presence. Stewart
Engineering, Inc. opened an office on May 5th, moving 18 members
of the firm’s civil and surveying departments from its corporate
office in Morrisville. The firm expects to have over 30 employees
at the downtown site by the end of 2006.
Calvert
Café announced its expansion into the Downtown Raleigh market
with two upscale coffee shops. The new downtown locations at the
new Capital Bank Plaza on Fayetteville St. and the NC Museum of
History will join Calvert’s existing location at University
Tower (Durham).
Capital
Bank announced today that it has opened its new headquarters building
at Capital Bank Plaza in Downtown Raleigh. Raleigh Mayor Charles
Meeker and Capital Bank President and CEO B. Grant Yarber will make
remarks and host a ribbon-cutting ceremony starting at 5:00PM
on Thursday, May 18 at Capital Bank Plaza,
333 Fayetteville St. The city plans to close Davie Street
for the event.
Mark
your calendars to spend the last Saturday of July downtown dancing
in the street. The completion of Phase One of the Fayetteville Street
Renaissance Project will be celebrated the evening of Saturday,
July 29.
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When: Saturday, May 20th (11:00AM to 7:00PM) and
Sunday, May 21st (11:00AM to 6:00PM) 120 S. Wilmington St., Suite
103 .|.
Raleigh, NC 27601 .|.
www.downtownraleigh.org |