— William Needham Finley IV(It’s real. I made it up) (@WNFIV) October 2, 2019
Vest season has been delayed due to unusually high temperatures in Raleigh. Residents who have been conditioned to wear vests during the usually cool month of October are struggling to adapt. “What the hell am I supposed to wear to a tailgate in October?” said Sutton Nichols III.
Many parents are concerned that it will not be cool enough to wear fall attire while taking pumpkin patch pictures with their children.
“It’s so hot that I’ll be dressed for picking strawberries but we’ll be surrounded by orange and that’s going to clash. I don’t care what the weather is, I’m wearing my damn Barbour vest,” said Mary Elizabeth Williams.
Temperatures are expected to remain in the 80s for at least another week. Shares of Patagonia and Barbour are trading at all-time lows as a result.
This isn’t the first time residents have had to deal with these issues. A Five Points couple, and their Cavalier King Charles, once struggled with what Barbour jackets to wear during an unusually hot February in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
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A Five Points dad hit a parenting milestone this week, sort of. Sutton Nichols III successfully taught his son, Sutton IV or “Little Sutton,” to ride a Peloton. The popular stationary exercise bike, which offers live and recorded streaming fitness classes led by virtual instructors, has become a staple of homes inside the beltline.
What is normally a memorable moment between parent and child was somewhat bittersweet, as Nichols wasn’t physically present to teach his son how to ride the Peloton. “Look, I’m a Vice Executive President Associate Partner at a big commercial real estate firm. I don’t have time to teach my kid to ride a Peloton. My wife was on my case about not spending enough time with the kids, so I took care of it,” said Nichols.
Nichols had his assistant contact Peloton with an offer. He would pay the company to digitally insert him into a series of classes as the instructor, an idea he got from spending a significant amount of time watching YouTube.
“Have you seen these deepfake videos? They’re insane. These nerds figured out how to use computers to put a person’s face and voice on someone else. It’s like photoshop but for a video. It’s actually kind of scary,” said Nichols.
He was referring to the recently popular deepfake videos, which use machine learning to superimpose existing images and videos onto source videos. In the example below, actor Bill Hader appears to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, and Seth Rogen.
We asked why Nichols had concocted such an elaborate and expensive scheme when he could have just become a Peloton instructor, or taught his son to ride a normal bicycle. “I make way – and I cannot emphasize this enough – too much money to become a real Peloton instructor,” he explained.
Since money did not seem to be an issue for Nichols, we asked why he didn’t buy a second Peloton to take the classes with his son. “And risk losing my dad bod? I worked too hard pounding cases of White Claw and Old Tuffy at the club this summer,” he scoffed.
We spoke to nearby residents and learned that Nichols was not the only one using the Peloton as a teaching tool. “I wish I’d thought of that deepfake idea. I travel all the time for work and figured I’d teach my kid to ride a bike by using the Peloton. It turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes of my life. After six months of classes, my kid started to think that Vince the Peloton instructor was his actual father,” said a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous.
I worked too hard pounding cases of White Claw and Old Tuffy at the club this summer.
Sutton Nichols III
Nichols didn’t just pay Peloton to digitally insert him into their courses. He also had to find a time when the Peloton was not being used by his wife, Mary Eton Nichols. “She’s on that thing constantly. I don’t even know how she has time to tell the housekeeper and the sitter what to do.”
The competition among Peloton riders was one of many reasons why Mary Eaton didn’t want to let Little Sutton become a user. “This is my life. I’m out here every day climbing up the leaderboard. Have you heard about the PED ring in Hayes Barton? They’re all doping to gain an advantage. It’s absurd that Peloton isn’t drug testing,” she said, insinuating that riders are using performance enhancing drugs to become better at riding a stationary exercise bike.
“I thought about contacting Stacy Miller to sue another rider that I KNOW is cheating. Unfortunately, I don’t have impulse control and I just called the person out in our Peloton Facebook group,” she added.
Nichols convinced his wife to let Little Sutton use the Peloton from 10:00 am to 11:00 am, while Mary Eton was attending her daily barre class.
Mary Eton had mixed feelings. “I mean, yeah, it’s great that he taught Little Sutton how to ride a bike that doesn’t move, but how am I supposed to post that on Instagram? It’s almost fall and getting a shot of Big Sutton holding Little Sutton’s seat as he wobbles down White Oak with the leaves changing colors in the background was going to be the PERFECT beginning of fall post. What the hell am I supposed to do now?!” said Mary Eton.
While there are still some issues to work through, the couple is proud to see the progress Little Sutton has made. “He started dead last on the leaderboard, but he’s working his way up. We’ve scheduled him in classes with a few other kids his age, so he’s also making friends.”
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Residents of Five Points are taking matters into their own hands after a disastrous 4th of July. To celebrate the birth of our great nation, many neighborhood residents gathered near the railroad tracks at the end of Bickett Boulevard to view the fireworks display being put on in downtown Raleigh. Then disaster struck. As the fireworks were starting, a Norfolk Southern train showed up and ruined everything.
“The train showed up right as the fireworks started and came to a complete stop. It would pull forward about ten feet then back up again, all while the train crossing signal kept ringing,” said Stahler McKinney, who notified me of this tragedy on Twitter.
Neighbors became more irate as they stared at a large train blocking their view of the fireworks.
“We have rights. It’s in the Declaration of Rights,” said Liza Jane Wambles. “Who the hell is Norfolk Southern? Isn’t that in Brier Creek? I’ve been drinking rosé all day, hashtag rosé allll dayyy!!!!” she slurred, before being cut off by her husband, Banks Wambles.
“Please don’t say “hashtag” in public. We’ve been over this,” he said quietly, pulling the bottle of rosé away. “But yes, this is definitely a problem. Now we’ve got to deal with three kids under 5 asking where the fireworks are. We can only distract them with Pirate’s Booty for so long,” he added.
Children could be heard crying “I can’t see! Moooooom, I can’t see!” while many parents wept silently, knowing there would be no end to the whining.
“This was basically our Vietnam. Explosions going off, the train crossing signal blaring, and little Charlie Jr. here torturing me with constant questions about why the train won’t move. I pushed my kids all the way out here in our UPPAbaby stroller that my wife got on micITBit. We were expecting to see fireworks.” said Charles Jarvis, a Five Points resident.
Emotions ran high as two dads fought over the last craft beer in the YETI Hopper. “My dad and Mr. Caldwell were wrestling in the street. Then Mr. Caldwell took a nap on the ground and the ambulance bagged and tagged him, so we went inside to play Mario Kart 8,” said one child, clearly desensitized to the ITB dad on ITB dad violence.
“now that Mr. Caldwell’s been bagged and tagged you wanna go play Mario Kart?”
“Yeah, the dad on dad crime isn’t a good look, but it happens. If word gets out that we can’t even see the fireworks from our neighborhood, our property values are going to plummet,” said Wambles.
The residents plan to sue Norfolk Southern for negligence, obstruction of independence, obstruction of freedom, potential decrease in property values, and “being annoying AF” as Liza Jane Wambles put it. While the residents have yet to select a firm to handle the class action suit, they are expected to go with Stacy Miller and Miller Law Group.
Five Points resident Vance Craig VI, a 31-year-old Senior Vice Super Duper Executive Broker at a boutique commercial real estate firm, has not been pleased with the current weather. “Do I wear my Classic Barbour jacket, or my quilted Barbour Vest? It’s February, so my body thinks it should be wearing the Classic jacket, but it’s 80 damn degrees out. I’d look like an idiot sitting outside at Nickelpoint drinking a Scotch Wee Heavy wearing a full on jacket when the weather feels like it’s June.”
His wife Mary Cameron Knoll Craig, who runs an Instagram account featuring images of the best Wine and Design paintings in Raleigh, seemed more prepared to deal with the current climate, but still voiced concerns. “I mean, obvi my Barbour vest goes perfect over my chambray button-down but it still pisses me off that I can’t get the full wear of my quilted Barbour jacket this winter. Sometimes I’ll get ready, we’ll go to Churchill’s, and the temperature drops 30 degrees by the time we’ve taken 15 Jell-O shots. The walk from the front door of Churchill’s to the Uber that’s 10 feet away can be unbearable. How do you even dress for that?”
The hassle of being at the mercy of the changing weather is hard enough for the couple, but has proved to be an even bigger problem for another member of their family.
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“We’ve had to increase the Xanax prescription for our dog, Mabel, because she has no idea what season it is. One day her Barbour coat is on, the next day it’s off. Her anxiety is through the roof.”
Mabel, net worth of $3.2 million, has no idea what season it is.
“The ice in her LaCroix filled dog bowl melts before she can even take it out and chase it all around the kitchen. Sure it’s less of a mess for the housekeeper to clean up, but that’s Mabel’s favorite part of the day. The ice in dog bowls is melting, y’all. And that’s sad,” lamented Mary Cameron.
Refusing to let the weather control their lives, the couple will spend the next two months island-hopping between the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas.
“We’re going to where we know the weather will be constant and we won’t have to wake up every day faced with these decisions. If I could sue the weather I totally would, and I’d get Stacy Miller at Miller Law Group to handle it,” said Craig VI, unaware that one cannot sue the atmosphere.
“I can see why they call it “climate change” now that I have to change my entire wardrobe multiple times on a daily basis. This is a fashion nightmare,” added Mary Cameron. Special thanks to Dale Moody at Cornerstone Properties for selling this lovely couple their home in Five Points.
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A new addition to the Ridgewood shopping center has area fishing enthusiasts flying high. After it was reported in the Development Beat that the new Orvis in Ridgewood had opened, dozens of dads from inside the beltline have flocked to the store’s parking lot. They aren’t just there to check out new gear. These dads are there to fish, or at least practice fishing.
With the flooding of Crabtree Creek becoming more common, combined with Raleigh’s new “pop-up” fishing holes that result from the city’s decaying sewer and water infrastructure, it’s no surprise that fishermen are taking to the streets to practice fly fishing. We spent some time investigating the phenomenon.
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“They come out at all hours of the day, all days of the week,” said one Orvis employee. “It’s like that scene in the movie Field of Dreams. They just start appearing from in between the rows of Tahoes and Yukons in the Whole Foods parking lot.”
An avid fly fisherman, who arrived at 6:00 am carrying his Orvis Battenkill reel in a monogrammed Filson case, shared his excitement over the new sporting goods store. “It’s just nice to get away from the office and come to the great outdoors. There’s no better place to tighten your loops and practice your back cast than a new Orvis parking lot,” said Davis Franklin, a commercial real estate broker.
“Surrounded by the beautiful stone facade and the traffic on the Wade Avenue 500, I can just close my eyes and imagine I’m hooking a bonefish on our annual Bahamas trip,” he added.
To recreate optimal fishing conditions, the store installed a livestream of a live stream. A video of a live stream in the North Carolina mountains is projected onto the side of the building while the soothing sounds of the water can be heard from the Bose surround sound speakers mounted in the parking lot.
The live stream livestream
The live stream livestream has been a huge hit, with many dads returning at night in their North Face Cat’s Meow sleeping bags to simply watch the river. Customers have already requested that a livestream of graduations, childbirths, school plays, and music recitals be played so they won’t have to leave the parking lot.
The lot continued to fill. Two dads wearing ultralight waders and Barbour vests in the 90 degree heat unloaded gear from their Yukons while debating whether to use a 4 weight or a 7 weight when catching bluegill at Lassiter Mill.
Nearby, a father was giving his son a lesson. “So this is called a wind knot. You’re going to get those if you keep tomahawking your cast like that,” he explained, as he placed a metronome on the curb to teach his son proper timing.
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One dad even brought a boat to the parking lot.
“I always try to snag some red drum while tooling around Rich’s inlet,” said Thomas Miller III, attempting to recreate those conditions by sitting in his boat that rested on the asphalt.
Another fisherman chimed in. “You might want to stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to in that drift boat, pal. I was about to bring my Jones Brothers Cape Fisherman out here and work on my double haul. Then my wife said all her friends that shop at Whole Foods might see me and think I was slacking off with their investments,” said Five Points resident and financial planner Vance Craig VI.
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“I’m just glad we’ve got an Orvis in Raleigh now,” added Craig VI, refusing to acknowledge the existence of the Orvis at Triangle Town Center. He went on to name-drop Orvis CEO Perk Perkins. “We’ve been giving Perk a hard time at the hunting camp for not having one of these inside the beltline. I told him I’d personally spend at least six figures a year if he’d just put one somewhere close.”
Craig VI then entered the store to purchase three new rods, a dog jacket, and a shotshell collar with an engraved brass plate for Birdie, his golden retriever puppy.
To keep potential customers in the parking lot longer, Orvis designed a custom OtterBox DryBox YETI container for cell phone storage. Customers can store their phones and be free from distractions as they perfect their casts.
“We want this to be a safe space for our customers while they practice the sport they love. I’m not sure anyone is improving, but they’re buying a lot of gear,” said an Orvis employee.
The store has done over $3 million in sales since opening last month.
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Contact wnfiv@itbinsider.com with news or to be featured in the Development Beat.
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It’s Fun To Tour the Poyner YMCA
The James M. Poyner YMCA is almost ready to open its doors. William Needham Finley IV got an exclusive sneak preview of downtown Raleigh’s newest wellness center a few weeks ago.
Located at 227 Fayetteville Street, the 26,000 square foot Poyner Y will feature group fitness classes, small group training opportunities, and state-of-the-art equipment. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on June 21st, but we have photos and highlights from the exclusive tour for media empires (and the other people that the Y invited):
There’s plenty of room for speciality classes
Including hot yoga and Zumba®
hot yoga studio
Their dedicated cycle studio is actually the first true bike share in Raleigh
Group training space
Regional Associate Branch Director Matt Lilley, after bench pressing 900 pounds.
Coffee and snack bar operated by Benelux Coffee
They also have locker rooms with saunas, a meeting room on the first floor for 15-20 people, and much more. Here’s more info on memberships.
Hours of operation:
5:30 AM – 8:00 PM Monday – Friday
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Saturday
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM Sunday
As you can see, the space looks great and offers some new features and programming that you won’t find at other YMCA locations. The Rock was invited to join the Poyner Y, but has yet to complete his member registration.
We’ll also check in on the construction progress of the Southeast Raleigh YMCA, a 35,000 square foot facility that is expected to create 190+ part-time and full-time jobs.
Our city’s oldest restaurant has been sold. The News & Observer reported that the Dombalis family announced the sale of downtown’s Mecca to Greg Hatem and Empire Eats. The Dombalis family had owned the restaurant for over 90 years. Hatem plans to keep the same name, menu, and staff, in order to prevent massive protests from Raleigh residents.
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Bakery Coming to Gavin Street In Five Points
A mysterious new bakery by the name of Flake & Crumb will soon open on Gavin Street, not far from Neuse River Brewing Company and Nickelpoint Brewing Company.
Few details are available at this point, but permits valued at $26,000 were issued last week for the upfit of a space at 1515 Gavin St. that described the future tenant as “Flake & Crumb Bakery.”
Our working theory is that the man behind Flake & Crumb is the same person behind Larry’s Coffee, which is also located on Gavin Street. County records indicate the property at 1515 is owned by Larry Larson. Larson just happens to be the Larry behind Larry’s Coffee. We can reasonably infer that Larson is behind this new bakery. If you’d like to nominate us for a Pulitzer, you can do so here.
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PLUS Dueling Piano Bar Coming to Glenwood
PLUS Dueling Piano Bar is coming to Glenwood South. They’ll take over the spot that was once home to Hi-Five and a bunch of other businesses we can’t remember. Located at 510 Glenwood Avenue, they plan to open later this summer in August. Thomas Hester (York Properties, Broughton) represented PLUS in the transaction.
Raleigh’s newest craft beer spot will take over a building formerly used as a bank at 518 W. South Street. Property owners Greg and Laura Kelly acquired the land for just over a half-million dollars a few years ago. The building was constructed in the late 1950s and was designed by architect Fred Carter Williams. According to Vault’s website, this was one of the first drive-thru banks in the area.
Although approvals are still required from the City, the website notes they hope to open in the fall, when “10 of our 18 taps will be dedicated to the craft beers of North Carolina.” The remaining 8 taps are a mystery for now.
IKEA Cary Falls Apart
What we assume the Cary IKEA would have looked like
Cary’s dreams of welcoming the region’s first IKEA crumbled faster than a piece of particleboard furniture left out in the rain. Citizens mourned last week’s announcement that the Swedish furniture store would not be coming to the Cary Towne Center mall.
Shock spread from the feeds of Facebook to the tunnels of Twitter after the announcement was made. We are now referring to the event as “Blue Wednesday.” The hardest hit by the news had to be the owners of Cary Towne Center, who pretty much based an entire redevelopment plan of the center around the IKEA anchor.
IKEA claimed to be “re-evaluating current expansion plans” and indicated they were shifting away from suburban locations to thriving downtowns. We’re pretty sure IKEA got wind of Cary’s strict ordinances that would require their iconic blue facade to be painted beige.
We’re not sure what will happen to Cary Towne Center at this point. If they can’t land a big name tenant (think Circuit City, the Limited, Journeys Shoes, etc.), they may soon make an appearance in Dan Bell’s YouTube series on the topic of abandoned malls.
Brewery Planned For Former Motorcycle Shop
One of our loyal readers posed an interesting question: Now that the beloved Twin Specialties motorcycle shop off Atlantic Avenue has closed, was it true that a brewery would be opening in its place?
Given that Twin Specialties shared a building with the popular bar/restaurant Scooters, adding a brewery to the space seemed to make sense. We did some journalism and used a telephone to get in contact with Joe G., the former head technician at Twin Specialities. He confirmed that Twin Specialties owner Joe S., who decided to retire and close shop, had leased the space to a brewery. No further details were available.
Joe G. announced he would be opening a brand-new shop, All In Motorcycles, at 3208 Wellington Court.
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Contact wnfiv@itbinsider.com with news or to be featured in the Development Beat.
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EXCLUSIVE: Lola’s Cantina Coming To Five Points
We covered the news of Lola’s coming to Five Points in an article last year and didn’t have many details on what exactly it would be. We aren’t even sure if it’s called “Lola’s Cantina” or just “Lola’s.” William Needham Finley IV decided to investigate by taking a picture on his way to a power meeting at Third Place last week.
As you can see from these exclusive images, we can now deduce that this establishment will be serving beer, margaritas, and cocktails.
We were also able to uncover that they will serve street tacos, burritos, and nachos.
We’re not sure of an exact opening date, but the landlord of the space said it should be ready towards the end of June/beginning of July. This should be a hit with the Five Points neighborhood.
Kane Realty Corporation announced that Chipotle will be opening in the Lassiter District (between Verizon and Panera Bread) in the fall of 2018. The North Hills location will be their sixth restaurant in Raleigh.
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Dads Already Fly Fishing In Orvis Parking Lot
Photo: Zach Hearon
When we first reported that the beloved Tripps restaurant at Ridgewood Shopping Center would become Raleigh’s second Orvis location, we joked that fly fishing fans would be camped out in YETI cooler igloos waiting for the grand opening.
Orvis, which has offered “Quality Clothing, Fly-Fishing Gear, & More” since 1856, currently operates a location at the Triangle Town Center Mall. The new location, designed by our friends at New City Design Group, celebrated its grand opening this past weekend, and already appears to be a hit among Raleigh’s fly fishing fans.
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Demolition Set For Old NC Equipment Co. Building
Demolition permits have been issued for the old North Carolina Equipment Company building, a property best known for the iconic tractor sign resting on its roof. Taking its place at 3101 Hillsborough Street will be The Standard, a 5-story student apartment complex and 452-space parking deck.
As part of the 2017 rezoning request, a condition was offered by developer Landmark Properties that ensured they would do everything they could to preserve the iconic sign. We’re pretty sure ITBlake the intern’s protest contributed to this decision.
“The tractor sign will be placed on the Hillsborough Street frontage and lighted,” the rezoning application stated, although it should be noted there is not a 100% guarantee this will happen. Landmark Urban Construction Raleigh will handle the demolition.
Peace Be With You, And Also With Hotels Featuring Rooftop Amenities
After weeks of discussion, City Council finally bestowed its blessing upon the long-delayed boutique hotel at 615 W Peace Street, located between the Peace Street McDonald’s and Starbucks.
The approval of the case allows the developers to create an unenclosed deck, patio, or shade structure on the top of the building that can extend 12 feet above the maximum height limit.
Developer MJM Group, which specializes in hospitality projects, is in discussions to select a boutique brand to manage the hotel. The 40-45 room hotel is expected to open in 2020.
Trophy Expanding Morgan Street Location
Our friends at Trophy Brewing are expanding their Morgan Street location. Known for producing the best beer (Trophy Wife) and the second best beer (Cloud Surfer) in America, Trophy has operated in their 827 W. Morgan Street location since 2012. Part of that building has been occupied by a laundromat and convenience store for decades.
Trophy will expand into that space and also add more outdoor seating. Construction should start in late fall and finish in summer or fall of 2019. We were planning on making the announcement in a sit down 20/20 style interview between ITBlake the intern and Trophy owners David Meeker, Chris Powers, and Woody Lockwood. However, ITBlake isn’t old enough to interview breweries yet. For more details, check out the N&O’s story.
Urban Outfitting The Dillon
Permits have been issued for the Urban Outfitters that will be located in The Dillon. Our friends over at August Construction Solutions, known for their work in transforming a large portion of North West Street into sleek, stylish office spaces, will be overseeing the Urban Outfitters fit-out.
Although ACS has done many retail projects across the country — it’s their bread & butter — owner Michael Iovino told us he’s especially excited about the chance to work on such a key project in the heart of downtown Raleigh.
“This is the first time since our inception that one of our national clients has built a location in Raleigh. We are excited to showcase our abilities. The Dillon is a high profile project and UO is a likewise tenant. The opportunity to work with Kane Realty Corp. to prove there is a local asset with such a national reach so close to The Dillon, Peace and North Hills amplifies the magnitude of this Urban project for ACS” said Iovino.
Work on Urban Outfitters is expected to wrap up by the middle of August, and is currently scheduled to open to the public on August 23.
Captured by photographer Brian James Patrick Oschwald.
It was never determined what started the fire that destroyed the Metropolitan apartments that were under construction near Glenwood South. The 241-unit luxury apartment building was set to open in the fall of 2017. The fire, of course, delayed those plans. ITB Insider’s exclusive on-the-scene coverage was Pulitzer-worthy and saved at least one life. You’re welcome.
In November 2017, a set of permits for the rebuilding of The Metropolitan were issued to Clancy & Theys, who will serve as general contractor. Last week, permits were issued for the apartment’s fancy new pool, whose construction cost was estimated at just under $400,000.
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ITBlake the intern has been working hard over the last year. We’ve seen him complete multiple workout classes, cover the Raleigh Christmas parade, and much more. We’re excited to finally share the results of one of his passion projects. Early on in his internship, ITBlake came to me and said, “The real estate market is booming. I want to learn how to flip houses.” So I arranged for a house to be purchased in Five Points, and told ITBlake to watch as many episodes of HGTV renovation shows as he could.
After watching countless episodes of the hit show Fixer Upper, ITBlake learned how to flip houses. He just finished renovating a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2,407 square foot home at 404 W Aycock Street. ITBlake spent days working on the project, only taking breaks to walk down to Roanoke Park and play Fortnite on his phone.
We produced our own HGITB episode to show off all his hard work. We also figured this would be a hit with his target demographic, because nothing appeals to ITB moms more than ITBlake and home renovation projects.
As you can see from the first episode of the series, ITBlake thought of everything:
Hayes Barton Baptist plans to tear down 6 houses to add parking
Moore Square seeking contractor
House of Swank finds a new home
Gusto Farm to Street begins work on first Raleigh location
1965 State Capital Plan Envisioned a Different Future for Raleigh
“Mystery Room” coming to Triangle Town Center
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Church Wants To Pave Paradise, Put Up A Parking Lot
Note: This section is co-authored by William Needham Finley IV. He’s seen how controversial this issue has been and figured that if we co-authored this, people wouldn’t know who to get mad at.
Hayes Barton Baptist Church at Five Points created quite a stir last week when they made public their plans to demolish a row of 6 rental homes they have owned since the 1960s. Was this a Crusade to evict 6 Satanic families from Five Points? Not quite. The church wants to put 78 parking spaces where the houses, built between 1920 and 1925, currently sit.
We assume HBBC got the idea from Mark 4:22, which recalls how Jesus turned 6 dwellings into 78 donkey stables to accommodate all the townsfolk lining up to check out His water in to wine miracle. These parking spaces would add to approximately 170 parking spaces already on the property. HBBC told the News & Observer that the spaces are needed to accommodate the 500 to 600 members who attend the 11:00 am Sunday service.
We’re unclear as to why this plan is being proposed at this point. For decades, local businesses have opened their lots to church members on Sunday, while the church has allowed Five Points customers to park in their lot during the week, a deal that was struck during the First Council of Nicaea.
Members of the church spent last week informing thy neighbors of thy plans. We first heard about it from an Olde Raleigh post on Facebook, since we’re millennials. We then obtained a document covering the church’s plans, since we’re basically Spotlight-level journalists.
The document states these are “concepts only!”and summarizes a report by the Long Range Capital Planning Committee. The report was presented in a February 10th meeting to the members of the Diaconate, which apparently has something to do with Deacons and is not the name of a dragon from Game of Thrones.
In the document, titled, “Change for the Next Generation,” seven points are listed under “Parking and Rental House Solution.”
-Provides covered drop-off area with closer access to nursery, sanctuary, chapel, and educational building.
-Provides additional handicap parking with closer access to the sanctuary.
-Retains real property for expansion and other uses.
-Provides truck delivery entrance, reducing the need for food service and other deliveries coming through the Welcome Center and the main church corridor.
-Creates a more attractive and welcoming entrance from White Oak Road.
Missing from the list was “Announce plans that infuriate neighbors and cause them to start a petition,” which is exactly what happened.
The petition on Change.org, created by Five Points neighbors, has received 751 signatures as of 11:13 am, March 15th. The authors of the petition offer the following alternatives:
-Continue using the houses for affordable housing, refugee support, or a community home for people with intellectual disabilities (essentially some use that lines up with the Church’s overall mission).
-Sell those homes to families that would love them and use the money to find another option (such as paying for shuttle buses and/or alternate parking solutions).
-Adding additional Sunday services to mitigate the high volume late Sunday mornings and alleviate some of the traffic and parking needs.
Those all sound reasonable. However, we understand that this property belongs to HBBC and they can do whatever they want with it. Since we don’t want to piss off the Five Points residents, and also don’t want to piss off God, we’re offering our own solutions.
1.) Add parking to the front of the church.
It’s a well known fact that this area has been mistaken as parking for years now. Why not just make it official?
2.) Put parking spots on existing land that no one is using.
We found plenty of potential parking spots in front of HBBC on White Oak.
And on the Whitaker Mill side of HBBC.
And behind HBBC.
HBBC will have to cut down some trees if they go with our plan. But just think of the money they’ll save on landscaping and leaf blowing.
Our main concern is the use of White Oak as the pick-up and and drop-off spot for HBBC preschool. I can already see a line of 15 Yukon XLs stretching out onto Glenwood from White Oak and creating a traffic apocalypse.
Hopefully our ideas will create constructive conversations that lead to a solution that appeases everyone. We aren’t trying to tell anyone what to do with their land. We’re just here to make the world a better place, one photoshop at a time. And remember, if you’re upset with our coverage of this, Jesus would have wanted you to forgive us. Have an ITBlessed day!
The City of Raleigh is seeking a contractor for an exhibit in the Moore Square Visitor’s Center. This will be separate from the $10.3 million renovation contract awarded to American South General Contractors in September 2017.
The City is looking for a design that incorporates “interactive elements, interpretive panels, and complimentary displays” in a 14.5′ x 14.5′ room and an adjoining 26′ x 4′ hallway.
The exhibit will “shed light on Moore Square’s evolution since 1792, as well as its uses over time.” The exhibit will “identify how Moore Square has been at the center (both figuratively and literally) of Raleigh’s history since the city was founded.”
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A House of Swank Makes A Home
House of Swank, a local screen printing shop, is moving to 119 E. Hargett St, in the historic Raleigh Furniture Building. Co-owner John Pugh said, “Our goals for the new location are twofold. First to establish the House of Swank shop as a retail fixture in the downtown. Second to have a space that is easily accessible to host music and maker workshops for community engagement and corporate events.”
The new location is a three-story brick building built in 1914 in the late Romanesque Revival style. The Raleigh Furniture building was a furniture store for much of the 20th century.
House of Swank is having a sneak peek popup shop at the new location from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm Saturday, March 17. They will also be discussing their new interactive Maker concept floorplan for the retail space, as well as selling Raleigh and NC-inspired clothing.
Gusto Farm to Street Coming to Wake Forest Road, JITB
Gusto Farm to Street, a healthy fast casual restaurant specializing in pizzas and salads, is coming to Wake Forest Road, in the same shopping center as Trader Joe’s.
Gusto boasts of its “scratch kitchens,” which complement their “vibrant farm-to-table flavors.” They make promises of using “healthy grains” and “antibiotic free meats.”
Permits were issued for the fit-out of Gusto’s 1,820 square-foot space to Battino Contracting Solutions just last week, so we imagine it won’t be opening for at least another month or two.
Side note: I love how they thought Raleigh would be so classy that people would be wearing tuxedos and formal dresses while eating at “Terrace Restaurant,” wherever that is.
Magical Mystery Mall
What has anchors, railings, sales, and floats on a sea of concrete? An indoor shopping mall, of course. Solving mysteries much tougher than that will soon be part of a new venture at the Triangle Town Center mall.
“Mystery Room: Detective Story” (as listed on the permits) will soon open in a 3,780 square-foot space in the mall. We’ve deduced from the name that it will be a detective-themed “Escape Room” where participants must solve a crime in order to “escape” the room. This is an interesting addition, considering that most people think Triangle Town Center itself is one giant escape room.
I found examples of places like this in NYC, where I’d make everyone call me Briscoe, and Los Angeles (Sergeant Joe Friday). If I make it out to the grand opening I’ll be going by Sheriff Andy Taylor and bringing ITBlake the intern along as Barney Fife.
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The mimosas have been freed and brunch is now better than ever. After the passing of the “Brunch Bill” and the approval from the City Council, Raleigh residents can now enjoy alcoholic beverages in restaurants starting at 10:00 am on Sundays. The law came as a result of many protests in support of freeing mimosas and Bloody Marys. Late last week Raleigh residents celebrated the historic law change and began making grand plans for their first boozy ITBrunch.
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The Norris family, who live in Hayes Barton, were determined to be first in line for Sunday brunch at NOFO. Their plan was to spend Saturday night camping out in the NOFO parking lot, sort of. The Hayes Barton family paid roughly $15,000 to have a sherpa construct an igloo out of YETI coolers and place it near the entrance to the restaurant. The igloo itself would be cooled by a portable air conditioning unit. That might sound luxurious, but the family didn’t actually plan on spending the night. “Well, we had church in the morning and our kids hate the outdoors. We figured we could pay the sherpa to spend the night in the YETI igloo and keep our place in line,” said James Norris V.
Families that pay a sherpa to build a YETI igloo to hold their spot in line together, stay together.
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His wife, Mary Ann Norris, added, “We thought about just making the sherpa camp out in a tent but it’s so hot that we didn’t want to be responsible if something happened to him.” Unfortunately for the sherpa, the AC unit failed after a few hours causing him to abandon his spot to avoid heat stroke. The family was less than pleased. “We got to brunch and found the YETI coolers strewn across the parking lot and there was no sign of Padrig, or Paulo, or whatever his name was,” Mary Ann said. “It’s hard to find good help these days,” added James.
The family had to wait in line, unlike my friends and I, who were the first to arrive at NOFO on Sunday morning. The red carpet was rolled out, Glowmosas from Humdinger were poured, and French Toast was ordered. I even brought my own ITBlessed glass, which I never leave home without. (Yes, these are available for sale, and my online store should be up in the next week.)
I documented the historic occasion on social media.
This was a great way to kick off my new ITBrunch series, where I’ll be touring Raleigh’s best brunch spots. I don’t even need to do an in-depth review of NOFO, since it’s already one of the top brunch places inside the beltline. Special thanks to NOFO for the wonderful hospitality. The whole experience gets a 5 out of 5 beltline rating.
A Raleigh couple can breathe a sigh of relief after over 15 months of waiting. The news of the Boylan Bridge Brewpub’s reopening has brought joy to a Five Points power couple who were beginning to give up hope.
Vance Craig VI, a 31-year-old Senior Super Duper Executive Broker at a boutique commercial real estate firm, spoke about how difficult the wait has been, “It’s my right as a Raleigh native to crush 12 beers and enjoy the view on that deck. Do you know how many deals I could have closed out there by now? At least two.”
Craig VI can now crush beers and close deals.
Mary Cameron Knoll Craig, Vance’s stay-at-home-wife, runs multiple Instagram accounts that have been impacted by the closing. During the bar’s hiatus she had no choice but to put her account devoted to images of skyline selfies on hold. “Ugh, you don’t even know how many likes I’ve missed out on with this place being closed. Where am I supposed to go for skyline selfies, Dix Park? You can’t even drink out there.”
Her husband added, “We didn’t know what to do. Sure, we could have driven all the way from Five Points and taken a skyline selfie on the bridge that’s 20 feet away from the bar, but that just looks like we’re trying too hard.”
“Exactly. Our skyline selfie needs to appear organic and authentic so we’ll get more likes. No one likes a try-hard,” explained Mary Cameron.
“Plus, if people saw us posing on the bridge for a picture they’d think we were doing engagement photos or headshots for a residential real estate website. Everyone knows we’re married and that I’m in commercial real estate. People would start asking questions,” said Craig VI.
The couple seemed surprised to learn that the bar would now offer a new menu and expanded wine list.
“This place has a full menu? I thought they just served cheese quesadillas, pretzel cheese dip, and whatever that Summer Ale beer is,” said Craig VI.
The couple’s assumption was backed up by a social media analyst with Walk West. “We’ve analyzed thousands of social posts related to this location. We have never seen a single picture of food or beer. Users are taking the same exact picture with the skyline as a backdrop. Typical images contain at least 5 girls wearing Aviator sunglasses, oversized t-shirts, and Jack Rogers sandals. We expect a flood of skyline selfies from this location in the coming weeks,” commented the Walk West representative.
Being at the mercy of the brewpub’s back and forth has been hard on the couple, but has also been an issue for another member of their family, Mabel the dog. “Thank God we can finally take Mabel to a bar where she can sit outside while we social climb by taking skyline selfies with other couples that we envy,” said Mary Cameron.
“It’s finally summer and I’m just ready to get lit on this deck. Now all we have to worry about is which Barbour apparel to wear,” said Craig VI.
Transfer Co. receives permits for redevelopment of Stone’s Warehouse
Five Points storage unit project moving forward on Sunrise Ave.
Plans unveiled for Raleigh’s second Lidl grocery store
New apartments planned for Southeast Raleigh
Transfer Co. Receives Permits More than two years after the City of Raleigh awarded a contract for the sale and redevelopment of the old Stone’s Warehouse space at 500 East Davie Street, permits have been issued for the property’s redevelopment. The downtown Raleigh development, officially known as Transfer Company, bills itself as a “food production hall, market, and gathering place” that will include a range of retailers and more than a dozen townhomes.
The old Stone’s Warehouse
On February 3, the Transfer Development Company officially signed the $2 million+ deed for the 87,791 SF property. The company, a consortium spearheaded by Monarch Properties’ Jason Queen, will eventually transform the one-time Carolina Coach Garage and Shop into a mixed-use development featuring town homes, restaurants, and retail.
Tenants announced thus far include the Videri Chocolate Factory, Boulted Bread, and Local Seafood. Queen told us that “other tenants have asked to wait and let them announce when ready.” An online listing for the property includes 20 available spaces for lease, ranging from a 5,048 square-foot anchor restaurant space with “rooftop seating and great skyline views” to a 70 SF kiosk space within the property’s “food hall.” According to plans filed with the City, the Food/Community Hall will occupy 6,590 of the building’s total 42,800 square feet.
The Food Hall
On March 1, less than a month after Transfer officially acquired the property, four permits were issued to C.T. Wilson Construction allowing work to begin on expanding the main warehouse space from 26,902-square-feet to 42,000 square feet, a renovation of the existing storage building, and new plaza and mezzanine areas. Queen said they hope to open in the summer of 2018.
Real Estate Report
William Needham Finley IV wanted me to share his success at being a “real estate tycoon” in this week’s real estate report. A house from Ryan Boone Real Estate that was recently listed in the Development Beat went under contract in three days. Finley swears he had everything to do with this, although the prime location on Wade Avenue and listing price of under $300,000 may have had something to do with how fast it went under contract.
Five Points Mini Storage Receives Permits Amid Neighborhood Backlash Five Points Mini Storage, a five-story 83,411 square-foot storage facility will go up at 1515 Sunrise Avenue. The project is being built out by 10 Federal Construction, a division of the development group 10 Federal, that owns the property. According to Finley, Five Points residents are NOT happy about this. One of his sources from the neighborhood had this to say, “A five-story storage unit facility snuck in the approval two days before the new UDO changed, which would have limited it to three stories. The City can’t do anything about it and the neighbors are livid. We’re going to have a five story tower in the middle of Five Points.”
It’s possible that 10 Federal assumed the project needed to be five stories since it is located in Five Points. We’ll keep an eye on this, but hope that residents deal with this better than they did with the recent warm weather.
A Rendering of the Storage Facility, As Described by a Five Points Resident
With Your Permit-ssion
Double Trouble Permits were issued last week for not one, but two storage unit projects. And neither of them are getting built by our friends, and expert self-storage builders, Rufty-Peedin. The horror.
Aside from the aforementioned Five Points Mini Storage building, the second project is actually the second phase of the Millbrook Self Storage development at 2013 E. Millbrook Drive. The new three-story, 43,682 square-foot storage building will be constructed by Imperial Design Builders.
I’d Buy That for a Dollar Dollar stores, which outside of storage units appear to be the most common project type in this great city of ours, also had a banner week last week, as renovations to the Dollar Tree at 6234 Glenwood Avenue were permitted right alongside a retaining wall for a brand-new Family Dollar at 1730 Trawick Avenue. The Dollar Tree renovations will be handled by Titan Contractors. Wimco will be building the Family Dollar’s retaining wall.
Southeast Raleigh Spice Things are heating up at Farmington Square, a Southeast Raleigh shopping center that will soon be welcoming the new restaurant Caribbean Spice. Located on New Birch Drive just off Rock Quarry Road, work on the 1,550 SF Caribbean Spice will be handled by Imperial Design Build.
Put a Lidl on It: Second Raleigh Location Unveiled
The new Lidl store will likely resemble its European counterpart
Lidl, the German discount grocer chain that broke ground last month on its first North Carolina location on Wake Forest Road in North Raleigh, filed plans for a second location in the City of Oaks.
The new 35,962 SF grocery store would be built at 4115 Buffaloe Road at the intersection with North New Hope. Details are sparse at this point, and representatives from Lidl once again did not respond to any inquiries. What we can tell you is that the store will boast 180 parking spaces and stand nearly 30 feet tall. Because those are the kind of details you *need* to know about a new grocery store.
Site plans for the new Lidl on Buffaloe Road
As we mentioned in our earlier write-up of the Wake Forest location: we’re not even sure what the product lineup at one of these places will be like. A higher-end Aldi, perhaps. Judging by some photos of the chain’s European locations, the aesthetic appears to fall somewhere between Ollie’s Discount Warehouse and the grocery section at Target.
Lidl as Ollie’s Discount Warehouse
Lidl as Target
So we’ll definitely be checking this place out. Besides, any store than hails from the Land of Chocolate probably has a heck of a dessert selection.
Apartments Planned for Southeast Raleigh
Quarry Trace, a new three-story, 96-unit apartment complex could be coming soon to the intersection of Rock Quarry and Barwell Roads in Southeast Raleigh. The multifamily development would be built out on a triangle-shaped, 8.43 acre parcel of land just south of Barwell Elementary.
The land was acquired by a subsidiary of the Taft Development Group in December 2016, and Taft is listed as the developer on site plans filed with the City. Taft, which has built a number of apartment complexes throughout North Carolina, developed the 401 Oberlin Apartments in Cameron Village and the Hammond Road Business Park. We imagine our readers are more familiar with 401 Oberlin.
401 Oberlin
As for the Quarry Trace: the three-story, 121,509 SF building will stand 43 feet tall and be accompanied by 222 parking spaces. The 96 units will be broken down as follows: 12 one-bedrooms, 60 two-bedrooms and 24 three-bedrooms.
The Raleigh City Council has approved plans from a Florida developer for a mixed-use roundabout at the Five Points intersection of Glenwood, Fairview, and Whitaker Mill. The project, called Hayes Barton II (HB2), will include a 12-story 300 unit apartment complex located in the center of the roundabout. Keep Reading
As you can see, someone drove their car up an entire flight of steps in front Hayes Barton Baptist Church. At first I assumed a Brier Creek resident was lost and unable to navigate the 8th traffic circle of hell, also known as Five Points. Then I remembered what Facebook had bombarded me with earlier that morning, it was the first day of school. Clearly this was the work of an ITB mom who had taken ten too many Xanax and was sobbing uncontrollably after dropping her kids off at Root or Lacy. The rivers of tears made it impossible to see her phone as she typed a first day of school hashtag on her Facebook and Instagram posts while driving. #theygrowupsofast
To make matters worse, she got a call from her husband who told her they might have to give up their membership at the Club as a result of the Dow dropping 1,000 points. After having the concept of the stock market explained to her, she became even more distraught at the thought of having to get a part time job at a Cameron Village boutique now that her kids were in school and she no longer had a valid reason to stay at home all day. This was all too overwhelming, causing her to miss the turn on to Whitaker Mill and drive up the steps in front of Hayes Barton Baptist.
Some speculated this was an ITB mom who was upset after finding out about her husband’s Ashley Madison account. Others thought there may have been a secret Lilly sale at North Hills that this person was racing towards.
There’s a slight chance this could have been an ITB mom reading about the plane breakup from Sunday night. Twitter user Kelly Keegan live-tweeted the breakup that she was, like, totes #blessed to witness, obvi. Since this happened on a flight leaving the Raleigh airport, we’ll consider it newsworthy. I’m too lazy to put all the tweets here so if you haven’t heard about it just go read the story on Us Weekly. Kelly went from around 1,500 followers when I first looked on Sunday night, to over 19,000 around 24 hours later. She’ll probably be on the Today Show and Good Morning America by the end of the week, and then the Holderni will do a breakup parody video titled “It’s Not Me, It’s You” set to the tune of “It Takes Two” by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston. Kelly will get a book deal and an HBO pilot for her reporting. I’ll just sit here and reevaluate my life and try to figure out how to launch a media empire. At least I didn’t drive my car up the steps of Hayes Barton Baptist Church.
Editor’s note: I’m not insinuating that all ITB moms have kids just so they won’t have to get real jobs and that all ITB husbands cheat on their wives. It’s probably more like 60%.
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