Construction continues on several projects aimed at bringing commerce and community to Hillsborough Street.
Development is in progress for several large apartment complexes and hotels along a three-mile stretch of the road that borders NC State’s North Campus.
The construction coincides with the effort to make major improvements to the area surrounding the university’s campus. Phase one of these restorations involved improving vehicle traffic flow and safety on the roadway while making accommodations for the expected increase in pedestrian traffic. The project also added roundabouts where Hillsborough Street meets Pullen Road and Morgan Street.
Phase two of these revitalization efforts was approved for bidding in February of this year. According to the City of Raleigh Projects Department, the second wave of restoration is aimed at improving the sidewalks and roads along Hillsborough Street. The hope is that by improving the conditions for pedestrians and vehicle traffic, more people will utilize the area.
The project is budgeted to cost $12.9 million and will introduce more street-side parking and improved bike lanes along the campus section of Hillsborough Street, according to the City of Raleigh’s website.
One project, an apartment aimed at students, has faced several challenges from the community about its proposed height. Residents feared that the building’s proposed seven-story frame would tower over the rest of the street. A motion to the City Council was put forward to limit the building to five stories. The City Council has ended debate for now by granting permission for the apartments to be built at their originally proposed height.
In order to deal with the ins and outs of this transitional period on Hillsborough Street, Live It Up!, a non-profit created to promote growth in the community around the street, has set up an office across from campus to help the business and residential communities as the area continues to change.
Jeff Murison, executive director of the Hillsborough Street Community Service Corporation and member of Live It Up!, believes that improving the famous street is vital for the success of the community.
“We do things like pick up trash on the street every morning,” Murison said about the day-to-day actions of Live It Up! “Beyond that, we help businesses communicate with the community and help them understand the processes and challenges that they will have to undertake in order to acquire the licenses and permits they need to build here.”
Murison said Live It Up! is very aware of the community’s needs and concerns in this transition period and works to address them as best they can.
“We try to keep the residents and businesses informed when something might affect them,” Murison said. “We can always do a better job of communicating with the community, but in this case we put out fliers, and emails were sent to business owners informing them of the road closure.”
Murison said the goal of Live It Up! is to see Hillsborough Street turned into a proper hub of college activity.
“You look at a place like Georgetown outside of D.C., and you see it’s a destination for a lot of people, and not just college students,” Murison said.
According to Will Gaskins, the economic development assistant at Live It Up!, the total investment cost of all the construction projects is almost $300 million.
