RALEIGH, N.C. — Over the past five years North Carolina has seen hundreds of thousands of people move to the capital city.
To keep up with the growth, the city of Raleigh, Downtown Raleigh Alliance and outside consultants are thinking up ways to revitalize the city. They’re midway through their planning process, and Fayetteville Street is in the spotlight.
City leaders reviewed a plan to revitalize Fayetteville Street during a February work session. The city’s 10 big ideas included screetscape designs, family-friendly attractions, supporting the Black business district, adding more housing and easy access to other growing areas of the city.
Raleigh leaders looked at a plan that includes 10 ideas for revitalizing Fayetteville Street. (Interface Studio)
“Recommendation number one is really focused on the streetscape of Fayetteville Street,” said Will Gaskins with the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. “How are we using the sidewalk space that we have to the maximum benefit of the businesses and the vibrancy of the street?”
Gaskins has been living in Raleigh for 14 years and wants to advance the community. He says the Downtown Raleigh Alliance has been asking people what kind of improvements they want to see downtown as well as interacting with local businesses.
“One of the things that the consultant team picked up on in looking at Fayetteville Street is that when you look at Fayetteville Street, it’s very gray,” Gaskins said. “You’ve got a lot of gray tones. It’s lacking a lot of the vibrancy where even stepping two feet off the street into the vibrant, interesting small businesses as well as going immediately one street over, there’s just so much more energy and activity.”
At the Rolley Private Showroom, that’s exactly what owner William Wynne and artist Lord Phly are all about.
The Rolley Private Showroom is an art venue and upscale clothing store on Fayetteville Street. (Spectrum News 1/Jenna Rae Gaertner)
“I’m from Raleigh,” Lord Phly said. “I was born and raised here. So I was here when art was nowhere to be found. It started to creep in, but even in unique ways. So, you know, [I’ve been] doing it for the last few years, being a part of a lot of city projects.”
But not all Raleigh businesses feel the revitalization plans are the best way to support companies that are already bringing vibrancy to downtown. Lord Phly says he would love a more vibrant Fayetteville Street but is disappointed with the lack of conversation and collaboration he’s seen.
“We can’t wait for outside people to come in and see what Raleigh is like,” Lord Phly said. “Why don’t you make sure that people in Raleigh love what it’s like? Because they actually do.”
Although the Downtown Raleigh Alliance and consultants have had focus groups and surveys for the community, they admitted they haven’t spoken to all the businesses on Fayetteville Street yet and are still in the planning stages. Lord Phly says he hopes to be included in the planning process, and if he gets to do some art along the way, he’d love to be a part of revitalizing his home city.
“Being someone impactful, influential in the conversation about how it gets done and then be able to be there throughout the process to ensure the end result,” Lord Phly said. “I believe that’s more important to me than actually painting.”
The full economic development strategy process is at its halfway point. Activating Fayetteville Street is the first chapter, but the city will be addressing retail strategy, the downtown office market, improving minority-owned businesses and new big ideas for downtown in the future. The report will be finished later this year.
People can provide feedback on the Downtown Raleigh Alliance website and check for public engagement opportunities.