maybe it would be something like that one building downtown? (nah)

6/26/2013 7:04:56 PM

Hell, I'd be fine with a solid brick wall.

6/26/2013 7:32:10 PM

they should replicate this

6/26/2013 8:04:03 PM

Whoa whoa whoa

I need more info on that photo.

6/26/2013 8:13:38 PM

http://goodnightraleigh.com/?s=Man-mur

Holy crapballs! A photo I'd never seen!

Thanks!

6/26/2013 8:15:10 PM

message_topic.aspx?topic=608968

6/26/2013 8:23:29 PM

holy shit.

an old photo that marko has not seen????

i feel... i'm not sure how i feel.

^(and i remember that thread being a lot longer... that's how i knew this thing ever existed!)

[Edited on June 26, 2013 at 8:26 PM. Reason : ]

6/26/2013 8:25:11 PM

I've noticed that if you're headed west on Hillsborough and its the least bit congested some asshole always gets in the right lane at Brooks and floors it trying to pass as many people as they can before merging back in at Dixie.

Also the building that Sakura is in is for sale for $1.5M (lol). Apparently their lease is up in August.

6/26/2013 8:45:26 PM

Tear it down.

6/27/2013 7:02:47 PM

Quote :

"holy shit. an old photo that marko has not seen???? "

7/1/2013 12:57:51 AM

Quote :

"Tear it down."

Agreed. Build something better there that utilizes a more urban footprint. Put some retail on the ground floor and Sakura can lease there in the future.

7/1/2013 12:55:13 PM

1) Demolish building
2) Strip asphalt, concrete, and any gravel
3) Poorly grade remaining dirt lot, taking care to leave many low spots where water can collect.
4) Drop some old telephone poles and spray-paint numbers on them.
5) Sell parking spots to students for hundreds of dollars a year.
6) Profit.

7/1/2013 1:15:17 PM

Word is that John Kane (who did the North Hills redevelopment and North Hills East) has acquired the pending second phase of Stanhope Village / Valentine Commons from Val Valentine.

The current plans were mostly OK with me, but it seems like Kane will be making some pretty big changes.

Valentine is not turning out to be a developer in the sense of actually building things, but especially if this 2nd phase turns out OK I'll give him credit for realizing that he should hand the project over to people who do have the resources to build themselves. I think he's actually looking pretty smart right now, waiting until the market for apartments is hot and then pulling the trigger.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/19/3039420/north-hills-developer-will-lead.html

[Edited on July 22, 2013 at 12:05 PM. Reason : Found the article]

7/22/2013 12:03:19 PM

Quote :

"Stanhope Village / Valentine Commons"

what is this?

[Edited on July 22, 2013 at 1:51 PM. Reason : ah, so that's the name of that large complex]

7/22/2013 1:42:34 PM

Quote :

"Drawings unveiled for Hillsborough Street hotel By Colin Campbell RALEIGH — Neighbors got a first look last week at designs for a new hotel on Hillsborough Street across from the N.C. State Belltower. Developer Joe Whitehouse met with the Hillsborough Citizens Advisory Council to show off plans for the Bell View Hotel. By early next year, Whitehouse will raze the block that’s currently home to Sadlack’s Heroes, Schoolkids Records and several other businesses. It will be replaced by a seven-story, 125-room hotel owned by the university, with two ground-floor restaurant spaces. The hotel’s brand will be announced in the coming weeks, and it’s expected to welcome its first guests in 2015. Public art piece featured Clearscapes designer Thomas Sayre presented renderings of the project last week. The front of the building will be essentially split in two – one half a primarily brick facade inspired by the university’s history, and the second half a glassy, more modern design. The center will house a 55-foot-tall public art piece inspired by the shape of a bell, a tribute to the hotel’s landmark neighbor. “As the sun traverses (the sculpture), it will sparkle different ways, and you will see the world reflected different ways,” Sayre said. Whitehouse said the sculpture was commissioned early in the process. “We want to make a contribution to the arts,” he said. The hotel’s parking deck will be tucked away behind the building, not visible from Hillsborough Street. Guests will access the garage using Maiden Lane and Enterprise Street. The hotel project is one aspect of the changing face of Hillsborough Street – from grungy college hangout to a more polished business district. The city has revamped one section of the streetscape near the new hotel, and other sections are on the way. Down the street, another block of older storefronts will soon give way to student apartments. The hotel plans are expected to get a hearing at the Raleigh Planning Commission in the coming months."

http://www.northraleighnews.com/2013/07/23/3051517/drawings-unveiled-for-hillsborough.html

7/25/2013 1:16:30 PM

Quote :

"@NewRaleigh: Porter’s Restaurant on Hillsborough now closed. Will become an Irish pub concept."

Quote :

"@NewRaleigh: Urban Food Group will not run the new place. The space has been sold. UFG will open more Vivace restaurants soon"

8/19/2013 2:48:56 PM

Man, people really love that Irish pub concept. I can't get excited about it.

8/19/2013 2:56:08 PM

It's the lowest common denominator of low concept.

Like worse than places with mechanical bulls.

8/19/2013 2:57:38 PM

I wasn't crazy for Porter's buy come on, an Irish pub? Hillsborough St. could your ideas be any more stagnant.

###This just in! Porter's to become an Irish pizza pub!!!!!!###

8/19/2013 3:08:02 PM

Pizza/Wing Hookah Bar that also sells scooters would be awesome

8/19/2013 3:09:15 PM

don't forget the cereal.

8/19/2013 3:10:17 PM

Wasn't there a guy who wanted to open a legit barcade? Nothing mind-blowing but I still think that would be cooler than what always ends up there instead.

8/19/2013 3:18:53 PM

eh, i imagine an irish pub might do well there.

8/19/2013 3:41:03 PM

Can we just designate one part of town as Little Ireland and put all of the shitty pubs there?

8/19/2013 3:44:54 PM

has anybody ever enjoyed a meal at one of the 48 local Irish pubs?

because I'm gonna go with no

8/19/2013 7:43:39 PM

Damn. I actually loved Porter's. Maybe I'm one of the few, but I'm a bit sad I won't be able to go there when I'm back in Raleigh for football games this fall.

I suppose it had a pretty good run though, considering nothing lasts forever on Hillsborough. (Restaurant-wise, anyway) (Except for Bruegger's)

8/19/2013 7:53:44 PM

Porter's wasn't amazing or anything, but it filled a pretty important niche for people who work on campus. We'll have to start driving important campus visitors downtown for lunch now.

8/19/2013 7:58:29 PM

I also loved Porters. The location did not make sense but it would have been nice to move it somewhere closer downtown.

8/19/2013 8:29:23 PM

Movie theater/McDonald's/book store looks like its still up for lease.

I'd love to see someone put a mini-Rialto in there.

8/19/2013 8:34:54 PM

Come to think of it, my department always did graduate readings and ceremonies there, hmmmm.

^^^^How long has Bruegger's been there?

8/19/2013 9:33:56 PM

Quote :

"Porter's wasn't amazing or anything, but it filled a pretty important niche for people who work on campus. We'll have to start driving important campus visitors downtown for lunch now."

I've never been there, but it did fill this type of need. I know a lot of professors/campus employees that used Porter's as a meeting spot for visitors to campus. I figured with the new hotel opening in-between Enterprise and Maiden then Porter's would have been one place to see an increase in business. Hopefully it'll still remain somewhat more upscale than the rest of the businesses on Hillsborough.

8/19/2013 10:58:41 PM

I ate there one time. I don't think anything can survive on Hillsborough St. without catering to the students (except for Sadlack's). It was just too intimidating and it seemed out of place.

I don't know what I would like to see go in there though. Definitely not an Irish pub. Mitch's already has a very pub-by feel to it.

8/19/2013 11:49:28 PM

There's definitely pleeeeeenty of students that go to Sadlack's. I was among many at the time. Though you're probably right, they don't necessarily cater solely to them.

EDIT: Also, yes, Mitch's is already a pub, and with better food than an Irish theme.

[Edited on August 20, 2013 at 12:45 AM. Reason : f]

8/20/2013 12:44:33 AM

Students go to Sadlack's for lunch. The night crowd is mostly just crazy old coots.

8/20/2013 1:05:06 AM

Quote :

"^^^^How long has Bruegger's been there?"

It was there when I showed up as a freshman in '98, so at least 15 years. They used to have newspaper clippings and "best of" lists on the walls and I think those went back to '94 if not earlier, so probably 20. The only other things that have been continuous since my arrival in Raleigh are Mitch's (well over 30 years and probably closer to 40), Sub Conscious, Subway, Golden Dragon (!) and Sadlack's, whose days are numbered.

(I'm no longer counting Two Guys as since the change of ownership it's a completely different restaurant that just has the same name as the old place.)

8/20/2013 1:09:13 AM

snoopys and char grill

8/20/2013 1:51:46 AM

Players Retreat since 1951 (close enough)

The Alley (although it's been through some transformations)

^and the Snoopy's near Meredith was actually a KFC, but you're probably talking about the downtown one. Arby's and that Sushi place have been there for a while too. And Indian Mahal.

[Edited on August 20, 2013 at 9:32 AM. Reason : ]

8/20/2013 9:21:27 AM

Porters was one of my favorite restaurants. Fuck

8/20/2013 9:42:16 AM

India Mahal is disgusting. The health department shuts them down for weeks at a time.

8/20/2013 9:58:43 AM

Yeah, I'm surprised they've survived for at least 20 years, maybe more. I've never eaten there.

8/20/2013 10:00:38 AM

Quote :

"Players Retreat since 1951 (close enough) The Alley (although it's been through some transformations) ^and the Snoopy's near Meredith was actually a KFC, but you're probably talking about the downtown one. Arby's and that Sushi place have been there for a while too. And Indian Mahal."

Don't know how I forgot the PR, that's blasphemy. I love love love Char-Grill but wasn't counting things that aren't on the part of Hillsborough near NCSU. Yes, I did forget India Mahal but I've always been a little scared to actually eat there. Arby's and Suhshi Tsune have been there since I came to Raleigh also (probably longer on the Arby's since it has the old-school hat sign. Forgot them too, unfortunate because Sushi Tsune is actually really good.

[Edited on August 20, 2013 at 10:07 AM. Reason : The Alley isn't the same restaurant without those two ladies who always worked there. ]

8/20/2013 10:06:22 AM

Neomonde! What a strange location for a successful Lebanese/Mediterranean restaurant.

[Edited on August 20, 2013 at 10:33 AM. Reason : 35 years]

8/20/2013 10:32:57 AM

Again, I don't know if I'd consider Neomonde to be part of the "NC State Strip". But it is worth mention as a success and as one of my favorites on the street as a whole. If you're willing to pass Gorman both the Applebee's and the Burger King are long-termers, but they're not really in the heavy walking traffic path (and consequently high rent and low parking) that defines the spaces where turnover is high.

(This also makes Arby's, Sushi Tsune, and even Snoopy's questionable as part of that group.)

8/20/2013 3:31:38 PM

if we're counting Neomonde, we might as well include Second Empire to the list

8/20/2013 4:33:36 PM

soccer dome has stood the test

8/20/2013 5:04:44 PM

I know it's had some name changes over the years but how long has WakeMed been there? Also, Ole Time Barbecue.

8/21/2013 4:13:06 AM

^Has anyone eaten at Ole Time Barbeque? Dorton Arena has been there since '52. I saw the Rock and Roll Express vs. Midnight Express there back in the 80s.

Sorry to get the thread off track.

[Edited on August 21, 2013 at 9:21 AM. Reason : ]

8/21/2013 9:20:54 AM

Quote :

"^Has anyone eaten at Ole Time Barbeque?"

uh, yeah. a lot of people.

8/21/2013 9:41:38 AM

what happened to sadlacks staying open in some of the new space that's going to be built?

8/21/2013 9:52:20 AM

^^cool story dude.

8/21/2013 10:06:10 AM