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November is almost half over, the football team sits at 7-3 behind the momentum of a tucked in t-shirt, and the first season of #KeattsIsTheTeatts has just recently gotten underway in Raleigh. In the time since I last did one of these posts there hasn’t been a ton of new updates for things that have happened around NCSU, but a few projects have been completed since then. So if you’re back in Raleigh for the holidays, for a basketball game, or for the final home football game, then I hope you can use this post to check out some of the new things that campus and the surrounding area has to offer.
Not a whole lot new happening here, but it seems as though the Case Commons project is still underway and on track to be completed within the schedule established after Keatts was hired. I’ve touched on this before, so I won’t spend too much time on it, but a ~50% basketball players dorm will be built beside Reynolds. The timeline on this was shifted after it was first announced a couple of years ago, but the project has a $15 million price tag and is set to open in August 2019.
In connection with Mariott, State opened a hotel on Centennial Campus back in October. This is the first hotel on-campus at State and offers guests the standard restaurant and bar options, but also comes complete with Howling Cow ice cream on-site, as well as 2 different types of beer brewed on-campus at NCSU.
I personally have never been to a Popeye’s. However, I have been to Bojangles, which is just right up the road from where a new Popeye’s will be taking over the space previously occupied by Greek Fiesta on Western Blvd.
“You come at the king, you best not miss.”
God speed Popeye’s.
H-Street Kitchen opened up on Hillsborough last year after the spot previously underwent extensive renovation efforts. However, the restaurant closed earlier this year and soon after was transitioned into “La Stella Wood Fired”. I was a big fan of H-Street, but it never really catered to the college crowd the way I felt like it should have (i.e. drink specials up on the old movie marquee, staying open past dinner to be a place where students can go drink on weeknights, etc.)
The interior looks largely the same, but additional TV’s have been added on the bottom level, and the upstairs dining area has now been turned into a 2nd bar and lounge area. The menu has been made a lot more college-friendly as well, with every dish being cooked in one of the large wood-fire ovens (i.e. pizza, grilled sandwiches, desserts, wings, sides & appetizers, etc). A previous article I’d read also talked about having specific nights dedicated to local breweries and nights allowing student & local bands to play live music.
PR, Mitch’s and EV have been on the street for decades, but seeing new spots open up on Hillsborough is something that the area has needed for years. I would definitely encourage people to give this new restaurant a shot so that it can avoid the same fate as its predecessor.
With The Alley now gone, Target has taken up the space previously occupied by the bowling alley. The new store officially opened earlier this month to now give Hillsborough a Target and a CVS directly next to campus. I would’ve loved to see something a bit more exciting go in the location, but at least the students on campus now have other options than being price gouged at the on-campus C-Stores.
This new construction effort is a bit farther away from campus, but will drastically alter the way that Blue Ridge Road looks out near Carter-Finley and the PNC Arena. The construction, which is set to begin next year, will send Blue Ridge beneath a bridge constructed at the railroad tracks at Hillsborough & Beryl. New connecting roads will also be added to alleviate some of the congestion that the intersection tends to see on an almost constant basis.
I have no doubt that this new construction will definitely improve the traffic flow of that area of Raleigh in the long-term, but with construction set to last 2-3 years, it will no doubt create massive traffic issues during that intermediate time period.
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That’s all I’ve got for this post. Here’s to hoping #StateCoachDInTheTuckedInT can finish out the 2017 regular season with 2 wins against Wake Forest and that team that happens to be 2-8 with a 6th year head coach. Go Pack, Go Beer, Go Football.