505 FLORENCE & 513 W. CABARRUS STREETS
Developer Richard Johnson and architect David Maurer, a BH neighbor, presented the proposed plans for two 6,000-square-foot houses that would sit at the corner of Florence and W. Cabarrus Streets. A dilapidated rooming house used to sit at the site on the east side of the neighborhood. Johnson received permission from city officials to demolish the former building about a year ago.
The two Craftsman style houses would feature four condominiums each. The condos would come in two sizes:
- a 2-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,000-square-foot flat selling for $155,000 - $160,000. These flats would be on the first floor of each house.
- 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,900-square-foot flat selling for $270,000 - $275,000. These flats would be one and a half stories and would start on the second floor of each house.
Johnson and Maurer take their plans before the city's Historic Commission April 7. They must receive approval to proceed.
Johnson said he must pre-sell three units before construction could begin.
One house would front Florence Street. The other would front W. Cabarrus.
Plans call for, among other things, a gravel lot behind the houses for
parking, access drives from both W. Cabarrus and Florence and a Mission style picket fence to front the properties as well as a picket fence across the street to shield the car lot.
Johnson also plans to erect a BH Historic District sign - replicas of
those posted at the north and south entrances to the neighborhood.
Johnson also owns and plans to renovate the white house at 509 Florence Street. Work stalled for months on the project, however he said it is expected to resume in April.
DISTRICT COMMANDER T.L. SHERMER
DOGS
Shermer said Raleigh police did eight hours of surveillance on Florence Street where there were reports of unruly and unrestrained dogs. The police saw no violations. "The dogs we saw were tied up like they're supposed to be," he said.
If neighbors see further violations, they're encouraged to report them.
SPEEDING ON BOYLAN AVE.
Raleigh police issued about seven citations to motorists for speeding onBoylan. And police have notified PSNC and Clancey and Theys about speeding complaints.
500 BLOCK OF S. SAUNDERS
Shermer said two Spanish-speaking officers have been communicating with Hispanic residents on S. Saunders Street and as a result the block is cleaner and better taken care of. He said the difference is noticeable.
CRIME STATS FOR BH
"Hard core crime is not in your area," Shermer said.
Neighbors complained to Shermer about noise and other problems at the house on the corner of Boylan and South streets. The house is outside of Shermer's district, however.
ACTION ITEM: Invite Captain Poteat, who patrols the district where the problem house is located, to the next BH meeeting.
TRIANGLE TRANSIT AUTHORITY UPDATE
DON CARNELL
Carnell said the rail project is on target to open by December 2007 as scheduled. The TTA recently received approval that allows it to buy right of way. It has already leased space in the Dillon Supply buildings near the planned downtown station, for instance.
Carnell noted what he called a bump in the road. The Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro area has gone into a lapsed condition with their planning and as a result, they're temporarily not eligible for federal money. That means the TTA has to draw on local money to proceed with design and other plans until the area gets back in compliance.
Carnell presented drawings of the rail tracks and the downtown station that surprised some BH neighbors. It showed that the two major Dillon Supply buildings on West Street (home to the new Sushi Breeze restaurant) are scheduled to be torn down and replaced with parking lots for the
station.
ACTION ITEM: Expect to receive invitations in the coming week to so-called cluster meetings to develop the designs for the individual stations. The meetings will be held in Raleigh, Cary and Durham and will be followed by separate station meetings where residents can vote on the designs.
BHA PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Paul Meyer said the West Side Coalition plans to meet in the first week of April to determine the boundaries of the downtown redevelopment zone. If an area is desiginated a part of the zone, it becomes eligible for federal, state and city grants.
ACTION ITEM: Joseph Huberman moved that BHA authorize Paul to lobby on the neighborhood's behalf to get as much of the area next to BH included in the zone as possible. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.