R etail R e c ruitm ent B ro c h ure
DOWNTOWN RALEIGH
GROWING
EMERGING
CREATING
© Michael Zirkle
© Bryan Regan
Cover images provided by Bruce DeBoer and Bryan Regan
© Holly Jacques
The
Opportunity
With over $1 billion in real estate investment since 2007,
including $552 million from the private sector, Downtown
Raleigh offers the savvy retailer an opportunity to join in
on this booming city’s latest success story. Developments
completed in 2008 alone included RBC Plaza (the U.S.
headquarters of RBC Bank), the Raleigh Convention Center
and associated Raleigh Marriott City Center hotel, as well
as large-scale residential complexes.
Downtown is becoming a new dining and nightlife
destination with its growing numbers of residents and
evening/weekend-oriented traffic drivers. It is emerging as
the heart of the city’s sizable and fast-growing “creative
class,” with a host of renowned “indie” live-music venues
as well as “hipster” bars and businesses that offer ideal
co-tenancy for soft-goods and other concepts targeting a
similar psycho-graphic.
The Downtown Raleigh Alliance recently
launched the “YOU R HERE” marketing
and branding campaign centered on the
idea of “unexpected flavors” – a notion
of discovery and authenticity that cannot
be duplicated.
The
traffic drivers
Approximately 40,000 Daytime Office
Workers, and Growing
Global headquarters for Progress Energy
New U.S. headquarters for RBC Bank
State Capital of North Carolina
New “Raleigh Convention Center”
State-of-the-art, 500,000 sq. ft. facility, capable of
accommodating groups as large as 5,000 people
New, 400-room Raleigh Marriott City Center,
in addition to the renovated, 355-room
Sheraton Raleigh Hotel
© Bryan Regan
© Holly Jacques
Center for “High Culture”
Live-Music Destination
Home of the Progress Energy Center for the
Performing Arts, with four theaters, including the
2,277-seat Memorial Auditorium
Concentration of renowned medium- and
smaller-scale “indie” venues
750,000 people attended approximately 800
performances in 2008 (symphony, opera, ballet,
musicals, etc.)
5,000-seat, open-air amphitheater scheduled to
open in 2010, with Live Nation as the promoter
Fast-Growing Residential Base
Broadly Popular Museums and Attractions
North Carolina Museum
of Natural Sciences
760,000 visitors in 2008, and growth
projected with Green Square project
expansion
Marbles Kids Museum/IMAX® Theatre
369,000 visitors in 2008
North Carolina Museum of History
Artspace
Increasing appeal of “central-city”
living
Within a five-minute drive…
Estimated 20% per-decade growth
from 2000 and 2009
327,000 visitors in 2008
Projected 20% per-decade growth
from 2009 and 2014
113,000 visitors in 2008
$51,000 average household
income
$222,000 median home value
(versus $193,000 citywide)
University Presence
Shaw University
1,600 students, 1,100 living on-campus
Peace College
700 students, 280 living on-campus
Campbell University School of Law
500 students
(fall 2009)
St. Augustine’s College
North Carolina State University
(approximately one mile away)
© Bryan Regan
In the quadrant to the immediate
north/west…
$75,000 average household
income
82% white-collar
(versus 72% citywide)
1,500 students
(approximately one mile away)
Resurgence of “close-in”
neighborhoods $370,000 median home value
(versus $193,000 citywide)
33,000 students
© David Blount
Historic City Market
Atmospheric, cobblestone-lined
district
Anchored by Big Ed’s City Market
Restaurant, a regional draw
© David Blount
The
CITY
The largest city in the Raleigh-Durham MSA,
Raleigh’s 2009 population of 371,092 exceeds
that of Minneapolis, St. Louis, Cincinnati and
Pittsburgh. The city enjoyed a 22% growth rate
in the 1990s and 38% growth rate in the 2000s
(on a per-decade basis) thus far. It is projected
to increase by another 30% in the next five
years (per-decade), to 426,632 in 2014.
Raleigh sits in “Research Triangle,” a region
known for its three major research universities
and its large concentration of high-tech and
life-science companies. As a result, it has
become an epicenter of the “creative class,”
full of well-educated, progressively-minded
young professionals with an urban lifestyle
and sensibility.
© Bryan Regan
© Holly Jacques
As one of the
fastest-growing cities,
healthiest economies and
biggest creative-class
draws in the U.S., Raleigh
has garnered numerous
accolades in recent years,
including the following:
#1
Best Place for Young Adults
#1
Best Place to Start a New Business
#1
City Where Americans are Relocating
#1
Best Place to Live in the U.S.
#1
Best Place for Business & Careers
#2
Best Place to Live, Work & Play
#3
Most Wired City
#4
Major Market in the South, Raleigh-Cary
#5
Most Recession-Proof City
(Bizjournals, 2008)
(Bizjournals, 2009)
(Forbes.com, 2009)
(MSNBC, 2008)
(Forbes.com, 2009, 2008)
(Kiplingers, 2008)
(Forbes.com, 2008)
(Southern Business & Development, 2008)
(Forbes.com, 2008)
© Bryan Regan
© Bryan Regan
Demographics*
DOWNTOWN
5-MINUTE DRIVE
10-MINUTE DRIVE
Population, 2009 (estimated)
10,214
35,531
154,222
Population, 2014 (projected)
11,305
39,001
172,852
Population Growth, 2000 to 2009
(per-decade rate)
24%
20%
27%
Population Growth, 2009 to 2014
(per-decade rate)
21%
20%
24%
$47,534
$50,708
$58,513
Average Household Income
*According to data from Nielsen Claritas
The
ACCESS
Unlike suburban centers such as North Hills, Downtown Raleigh is easily
accessible from multiple directions and via multiple modes-of-transport.
Convergence of major citywide
arterials
1. Wade Avenue/40W
2. Glenwood Avenue/U.S. 70
3. Capital Boulevard/U.S. 401
4.New Bern Avenue
2
5. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
6. Garner Road
3
1
7.I-40E/I-440 Beltline
8. South Saunders Street/U.S. 401/U.S. 70
9. Western Boulevard
10.Hillsborough Street
10
9
DOWNTOWN
RALEIGH
4
5
8
6
7
© Bryan Regan
Approximately
one mile from
I-40/I-440 interchange
(via South Saunders
Street/U.S. 401/U.S. 70)
Ample off-street parking
WILMINGTON ST.
Approximately 30,000 total
spaces in off-street parking
decks and lots, 35,000 total
including on-street parking
NASH
SQUARE
MO
OOREE
SQU
UARE
© Holly Jacques
Downtown Circulator
R-LINE hybrid-electric buses
provide free transportation
on a downtown loop (route and
stops shown in red on map)
Center for regional mass-transit network
Capital Area Transit and Triangle Transit converge
at Moore Square Transit Station.
Downtown will have a stop in the envisioned regional
light rail and national high-speed rail networks.
The
testimonials
“History has proven without argument that being at the right place at
the right time is one of the greatest advantages to achieve success.
Downtown Raleigh is the right place at the right time. We have a terrific
population of energetic, creative and intelligent residents, workers and
visitors that are delighted to be in Downtown Raleigh. They know it is
unique. They want to be part of its mystique.”
- Mayor Charles Meeker
“We found there to be a real resurgence in demand for retail in downtown
Raleigh. Between the people who live in downtown, work in downtown and the
thousands of visitors we have here each month, there’s a very diverse market
of people who want to shop and dine on a daily basis. Our restaurants serve
tens of thousands of people a week and our guest counts are still rising.
It’s amazing how many of the prime spots are still left to be occupied.”
- Greg Hatem, Empire Properties
© Bryan Regan
© Steve Reid
The
AVAILABLE SPACES
For more information, please contact:
The Downtown Raleigh Alliance formalized
agreements with Downtown landlords and
brokers to work with them in the leasing of
available spaces.
Economic Development Manager
Downtown Raleigh Alliance
Office Phone: 919-821-6980
[email protected]
Paul Reimel
120 S. Wilmington Street
919-832-1231 phone
Suite 103
919-832-0984 fax
Raleigh, NC 27601
YouRHere.com
Design Provided by Ulanguzi Creative Strategies
Back cover images provided by Bruce DeBoer, Bryan Regan and Holly Jacques