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From 9-to-5 to 24/7: Public/Private Cooperation Quickly Brings Urban Vision to Life in Raleigh[ By Kevin Cantley ]
The new corporate facility for Progress Energy is part of the urban redevelopment trend involving public/private mixed-use environments with build-to-suit components and critical time frames. Its lesson is that greater public involvement and dialogue yield significant development rewards for private development and the public alike. A successful public/private approach to redevelopment hinges on sharing a large-scale vision of the city. Big ideas must be shared early in the process. They must have clear direction and tangible deliverables. For Progress Energy and the city of Raleigh, the strategy was elemental: Let's make the planning vision real and let's take the first step right now.
From A Private To A Public/Private Process
Progress Energy engaged the Atlanta design firm Cooper Carry for advice on how to develop its downtown real estate holdings. Coincidental with this analysis, the city was embarking on a major planning and a "Livable Streets Initiative." These activities soon became interconnected and mutually supportive. Cooper Carry was selected by the Downtown Raleigh Alliance to prepare the Downtown Strategic Plan. The Progress Energy process that began as a private enterprise became more public with each step. A citywide planning process began in mid-2002. The Center For Connective Architecture at Cooper Carry engaged the public in a dialogue about downtown and then designed a plan during a four-day public workshop. The people of Raleigh were now an integral part of the process.
Five Goals, Five YearsThe team collected the project goals and guiding principles from the citizens of Raleigh and generated a vision for the city's heart. Establishing five goals to be completed in five years -- the "Five in Five" -- the plan focused on the practical work ahead: improving the pedestrian environment of downtown by connecting existing and emerging neighborhoods to Fayetteville Street, the Main Street of Raleigh.The team studied the conversion of east/west streets back to two-way streets, investigated federal funding, a new convention center, future expansion with mixed-use and catalyst private development and a strategy to bring activity to the streets. Regulatory reform, by streamlining the city approvals process, providing development incentives and addressing outdoor dining and other pedestrian activities, was a clear objective of the plan. In response to the Livable Streets Initiative, Cooper Carry joined with Raleigh's Mulkey Engineers and Consultants to create the Fayetteville Mall streetscapes as a part of the effort to fill development gaps, open available blocks to vehicular activity and develop an outdoor festival and performance space. New street-scapes and public spaces were planned and designed. A vision for mixed-use development and an active downtown area emerged and the Progress Energy development would become an integral part of this vision. Richard Flier of Cooper Carry deserves credit for leading the public planning process that informed many of the successful elements of the Progress Energy site. The process prioritized important streets and determined how buildings should address them. The mixed-use building, called Two Progress Plaza, is designed to activate the sidewalk on all sides. The flip side of the building tapers down to blend with the low-rise character of its proposed residential block. The architecture responds to the downtown development planning with a purposeful mix of residential, parking, office, shopping, dining and entertainment. Working with Tom Trocheck of Progress Energy and Bob Cutlip, who is now with Highwoods Properties, as well as Trent Germano and Don Weaver with program manager Carter & Associates, the design team created a visually striking and complex urban block. Part modern skyscraper of glass and part architectural precast concrete, the building's lower floors reinforce the Livable Streets Initiative, drawing from the downtown Raleigh context. The goal was for the building to look like it had evolved over time and to blend with what the design team felt was Raleigh's eclectic look. They drew on the materials and styles of other older downtown buildings to accommodate restaurants and retail, then introduced a stainless steel and metal paneled arcade on which the more modern office tower sits. Examples of the historic references are seen in the specially-designed lighting fixtures and patterned transoms of matte stainless steel, giving the east fa‡ade an evolved Art Deco look that respects and complements the Raleigh context. The attention to detail carries into The Plaza's main lobby, where employees and pedestrians are greeted with exceptional materials and forms: stainless steel, polished granite and an extraordinary back-lit wall of onyx, a stone so lively and active that it serves as the art for the public lobby. In addition to its integration with Raleigh's urban vision, the new Progress Energy mixed-use development employs innovative and energy-saving design and construction practices, including Low-E energy-efficient glass and an automatic lighting control system. A high-efficiency, chiller-based air-conditioning system initially cost more but uses significantly less energy. Birmingham, Alabama-based Brasfield and Gorrie, the general contractors, used a concrete frame instead of steel, adding much-needed on-site storage space and making construction safer for an area with continuous pedestrian traffic. With 366,000 square feet of office, 23,400 square feet of retail, 1,065 parking spaces and a planned residential component of 70 condominiums, Two Progress Plaza is a valuable and impressive addition to downtown Raleigh. It is especially important because the principles underlying its siting, design and construction were formulated during the development of the Downtown's Strategic Plan.
Making The Vision RealIt's been less than two years since Two Progress Plaza broke ground. The 19-story, $100 million mixed-use development is the city's first new skyscraper in a decade. The new corporate mixed-use building provides a significant symbol of private and public leadership working together to revitalize the city. In January of this year, the city council authorized the construction of a 1,500-car parking structure beneath the new Fayetteville Street. This parking will serve the new Marriott Convention Hotel and a new 60,000-square-foot site being made available for private development.In mid-February, the Raleigh city council authorized two additional sites on the new Fayetteville Street for private development that will also be served by the new parking facility. Five hundred units of downtown residential, including the residential portion of Progress Energy, are currently underway. There are also two new Hope VI grants and a new Charter High School underway down-town as well. The new Fayetteville Mall streetscapes were slated to break ground in mid-March and RFPs for the two new downtown sites were to be released then. A new Marriott Convention Center Hotel is currently in schematic design at Cooper Carry. The new convention center, designed by Thompson, Ventulett, Stainbeck & Associates, will break ground in April. Seven new restaurants are scheduled to open in downtown Raleigh this year alone. In 2008, the new transit train, the convention center, the new museum of natural science, the new Fayetteville Street and 1,000 new residential units will open downtown. Clearly, Progress Energy, the city and people of Raleigh have a compelling momentum. With over $1 billion of new investment currently underway in downtown, Raleigh is changing and becoming the major urban center its capital city status implies. It's difficult not to get caught up in the surge of excitement. And it's easy to see that success is the result of a broad, citywide team that exemplifies public and corporate commitment. Kevin Cantley is president and design principal of Atlanta-based Cooper Carry. For more information
Cooper Carry
Progress Energy
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