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Official Wake Campus Development Thread

deacfan123 said:
Yeah if WF went to charlotte it would have exactly 0 of the appeal it has now. In a medium sized city that can feel really small for students. Yet has about everything you need to do etc.

Charlotte is awful. Only reason to go is to the panthers or hornets games.
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Yes, Winston-Salem HAS IT ALL !!!
 
I'm super happy that you don't want to move to Charlotte because we have plenty of people and I will let everyone know how great W-S is. I'm also not the one who brought up the idea of the university being better off if it had settled in Charlotte. And I'm also not the one who decided the WFU business school would be better off there.
 
I haven't been to Chapel Hill in years, but my recollection and as far as I knew the current reality is that Franklin Street was like the ultimate as far as being a "quintessential" college town's main drag. Today I read an article in BizNC that says it's pretty much a dump; most of the college related shops and hangouts are either boarded up, replaced by some bare-bones pop-ups, or slated for a major developer's shovel. The local folks in charge say that it just can't survive off of 29,000 students for 9 months a year, i.e. it needs to be a year-round hub for living, work and innovation. Somehow the folks on King Street in Boone and not to mention the mountain and beach folks have figured out how to make a go of it even when the main source of revenue is only around for 6-9 months of the year. The few blocks down from UVA are another example of where it seems the local university undergraduate population along with visiting alumni and fans seems to be the economic focus. But also plenty of examples including past attempts on Baity and Deacon Blbd. with the "college thing" comes what its own limitations and problems, so maybe turning Franklin into what sounds similar to our Innovation Quarter is the way to go.
 
Franklin Street isn't as cool as it used to be, but Chapel Hill is still a pretty great college town.
 
They are continually caught between like three things they want Franklin St to be and try to thread the needle with all of them, and as a result it’s been in constant decline for the last 20 years, imo.
 
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Could you go into more detail about that? I really enjoyed Franklin St. 20 years ago.
 
DownEastDeac said:
I haven't been to Chapel Hill in years, but my recollection and as far as I knew the current reality is that Franklin Street was like the ultimate as far as being a "quintessential" college town's main drag. Today I read an article in BizNC that says it's pretty much a dump; most of the college related shops and hangouts are either boarded up, replaced by some bare-bones pop-ups, or slated for a major developer's shovel. The local folks in charge say that it just can't survive off of 29,000 students for 9 months a year, i.e. it needs to be a year-round hub for living, work and innovation. Somehow the folks on King Street in Boone and not to mention the mountain and beach folks have figured out how to make a go of it even when the main source of revenue is only around for 6-9 months of the year. The few blocks down from UVA are another example of where it seems the local university undergraduate population along with visiting alumni and fans seems to be the economic focus. But also plenty of examples including past attempts on Baity and Deacon Blbd. with the "college thing" comes what its own limitations and problems, so maybe turning Franklin into what sounds similar to our Innovation Quarter is the way to go.
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The difference between Chapel Hill and Boone or Charlottesville is that Chapel Hill has to compete with Durham and Raleigh for people and dollars. Richmond is like an hour from Charlottesville. Is W-S the closest city to Boone at 1.5 hours? Fundamentally it's a taller task for Chapel Hill to go all in on catering to students and alumni because the geographic and demographic landscapes are just different.

Chapel Hill, and Franklin Street, have changed a bunch in the past decade, but it's definitely not unrecognizable or anything.
 
It’s funny. You see what is happening to Franklin St what happened to NC State during the mid ‘90s with Hillsborough St. Leases became too high and thus the increase in prices. A college student can only afford so much. Same thing happened at tOSU and High Street.
 
The State of NC has come through with the $35M that it promised to start the redevelopment of the area around Baity St. and transform it into a "multimillion-dollar entertainment destination".

It all sounds good and I hope it succeeds but I see three problems with the project: location, location, location.

deacon-blvd-redevelopment-sitemuck_900xx1413-795-0-182.jpg

www.wfdd.org

State grant to fund major redevelopment project near Wake Forest University athletic facilities

The proposed 80-acre development includes retail shops, restaurants, housing and a parking deck.
www.wfdd.org www.wfdd.org

Plans are underway to transform parking lots near Wake Forest University’s athletic facilities into a multimillion-dollar entertainment destination.

The project is a joint venture between Wake Forest University, Front Street Capital, and Carter, an Atlanta-based development company.

Adam Parker, a vice president with Carter, says the idea is to restore the area around Allegacy Stadium, David F. Couch Ballpark, and Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum to its former glory.

“Going back to the 80s, this part of town was really lively," he says. "Baity Street had restaurants, music, venues, bars, etc. And then once all those RJR jobs moved away from what is now Whitaker Park, a lot of those businesses that were dependent on those workers left as well.”

The development they envision includes retail shops, restaurants, housing, and a parking deck. Parker says between game days and fair events, the area already attracts up to 750,000 visitors annually.

“We want this project to be active on days when there's no football game, or no fair event, or no basketball game," he says. "We want to make this part of town somewhere that people would think to go to on days that there are no events happening in the area.”

A $35 million state grant will cover the initial infrastructure work on the project, like road construction and utility relocation. Parker says they’re seeking private investment to cover additional phases of development.

Construction is currently slated to begin as early as the end of 2024.
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CaptRenault said:
The State of NC has come through with the $35M that it promised to start the redevelopment of the area around Baity St. and transform it into a "multimillion-dollar entertainment destination".

It all sounds good and I hope it succeeds but I see three problems with the project: location, location, location.

View attachment 8861

www.wfdd.org

State grant to fund major redevelopment project near Wake Forest University athletic facilities

The proposed 80-acre development includes retail shops, restaurants, housing and a parking deck.
www.wfdd.org www.wfdd.org
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On the Fringe isn’t part of the master plan?
 
“Going back to the 80s, this part of town was really lively," he says. "Baity Street had restaurants, music, venues, bars, etc. And then once all those RJR jobs moved away from what is now Whitaker Park, a lot of those businesses that were dependent on those workers left as well.”
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Yeah, I wouldn't exactly describe Baity St as lively. There was nothing there except Baity's and I think a guitar center or music shop. Then Ziggy's showed up, and I think maybe Baity's and Ziggy's may have co-existed for a short period of time before one burnt down? Anyway, it was rarely lively. Sometimes they'd have a good band and it would be lively for the 3 hours of the show. I'm glad to see it's getting an overhaul, but skeptical as to what they're actually going to do with it. Just because you build it doesn't mean they'll come.
 
EatLeadCommie said:
Yeah, I wouldn't exactly describe Baity St as lively. There was nothing there except Baity's and I think a guitar center or music shop. Then Ziggy's showed up, and I think maybe Baity's and Ziggy's may have co-existed for a short period of time before one burnt down? Anyway, it was rarely lively. Sometimes they'd have a good band and it would be lively for the 3 hours of the show. I'm glad to see it's getting an overhaul, but skeptical as to what they're actually going to do with it. Just because you build it doesn't mean they'll come.
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Corbins!
 
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