Raleigh leaders optimistic about future of downtown area after look at updated strategic plan

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Hundreds of city officials, business leaders and community stakeholders gathered Wednesday for a major briefing on growth and development in downtown Raleigh.

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) hosted its annual State of Downtown Raleigh event at the Martin Marietta Center. The event highlights big ideas and growth areas along with identifying areas of improvement in the core of the capital city.

"We need to add more things downtown, more businesses, more events, more attractions, that want people to come to Raleigh, North Carolina," said Carey Kidd, owner of Element Gastropub.

Element sits in the heart of downtown Raleigh at City Plaza, and Kidd has been vocal about the need for more foot traffic downtown, both to support small businesses and preserve public safety.

"More events, more conferences, more conventions, Do what we need to do to bring people downtown. Because when there's more people downtown, it keeps the riff raff away, keeps people safe," he said.

Those concerns were acknowledged Wednesday, but the DRA, city officials and business community in Raleigh remained highly optimistic about the direction downtown is trending. That's bolstered by numbers presented during the event that show Raleigh trails only Nashville in the number of downtown apartment units built since 2015 -- and data that shows 1,600 more downtown units are currently under construction.

Kidd believes that's a good start.

"More people downtown enjoying downtown is going to bring not only more people to our restaurants -- this could bring more businesses downtown that want people to come in and walk around and shop," he said.

In addition to that housing data, city officials highlighted $7.4 billion in downtown development between recently completed projects, those currently under construction, and future projects.

"Make sure that we have the the stores, the restaurants, the bars and the event spaces that they want," said Rusty Sutton, owner of the Green Monkey.

The city also released the rest of its Economic Development Strategy first presented to City Council in part this past winter. That includes the city's plans to revitalize Fayetteville Street, build better connections between pockets of downtown Raleigh and improve the connection to Dix Park.

"There's still work to be done," said Bill King, DRA's President and CEO. "And that's what the economic strategy focuses on is, OK, what do we need to be doing for the future? How do we better use our plazas, our public spaces, our connections to kind of reinvigorate downtown and elevate it?"

City officials said more than 19 million people visited the city last year, and they project 11,000 new residents will move downtown by 2029. The current uncertainty surrounding Red Hat Amphitheater was also top of mind for DRA and business leaders, many of whom have said the venue is a lifeline for downtown foot traffic.