Raleigh builds a new kind of transit and prepares for development expected to follow
READ MORE
2024 Places to Watch in the Triangle
In 2024, these are the spots you’ll want to keep an eye on as growth in the Triangle region continues to surge with new development and more jobs.
Expand All
New Bern Avenue on Raleigh’s east side has begun to change in recent years, as pricey modern homes and condos replace older buildings in the historically African American neighborhood east of downtown.
That change is expected to accelerate in the coming year as Raleigh begins building its first bus rapid transit line along New Bern from downtown past WakeMed out to New Hope Road. The 5.4-mile BRT line will have 10 stations, with elevated, covered platforms and 3.3 miles of lanes reserved for buses.
Construction begins in early 2024, and the city says the special 60-foot articulated buses will begin moving passengers by the end of 2025. The project also includes a new path along New Bern for pedestrians and cyclists.
City officials expect BRT to be a catalyst for change, as people and businesses seek to be near the first transit system of its kind in North Carolina. The city is taking steps to both encourage and define development along the corridor, to the chagrin of some existing residents.
One of the city’s strategies is to rezone 744 properties, allowing denser development on more than 700 acres along the BRT line. The city planning commission narrowly voted against the proposal, in the face of criticism that it would hamstring existing single-family home owners without doing enough to slow gentrification or guarantee affordable housing in future development.
The city is also taking a more direct approach, by buying property that it plans to redevelop in partnership with private builders.
That includes the former headquarters of the Division of Motor Vehicles — two large office buildings on nearly 5.4 acres at the corner of New Bern and Tarboro Street. The city has agreed to pay the state $20 million for the property. Demolition of the older of the two buildings will begin in the coming year as the city holds a series of public meetings to find out what the community would like to see built there in addition to affordable housing, says City Manager Marchell Adams-David.
.JPG "RAL_121123-PETE-BUTTIGIEG-KLM-09 (1).JPG")
Meanwhile, private developers, both for-profit and nonprofit, are also moving in. A development group recently paid $20 million for about 7.7 acres at the corner of New Bern and South Swain Street, in the area the city proposes to rezone. And two nonprofits, DHIC and Brightspire, are nearing completion on 156 units of affordable housing for people age 55 and older on the site of the former Milner Memorial Presbyterian Church near the future King Charles Road BRT stop.
During a recent visit to Raleigh, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg toured the route of the BRT line with Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin and other city officials. Buttigieg said the land along New Bern will surely become more valuable and attractive to people when it is served by the BRT line, and acknowledged the challenge that poses.
“As you improve an area, values rise, prices rise. There’s the risk of people being priced out,” he said in an interview. “Housing and transportation can help strengthen each other, but only if there’s intention. And that’s why I’m glad to see a lot of intention around housing affordability alongside the improved transit that Raleigh’s working to deliver.”
This story was originally published January 17, 2024 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Raleigh builds a new kind of transit and prepares for development expected to follow."
.JPG)
