Study provides map for southwest Raleigh development

Southwest Raleigh could be ripe for development, according to a study the City Council reviewed Tuesday.

Posted 10:28 p.m. Apr 21, 2015 — Updated 7:09 p.m. Apr 22, 2015

RALEIGH, N.C. — Southwest Raleigh could be ripe for development, according to a study the City Council reviewed Tuesday.

The portion of the city, which includes North Carolina State University, Meredith College and the State Fairgrounds, has seen its population double in the last 40 years. A $150,000 study conducted by N.C. State found more retail stores, supermarkets and sidewalks are needed, and the area has a low crime rate and a high level of diversity.

Former Councilman Thomas Crowder, who represented the area before his death last year, pushed for the study. Councilwoman Kay Crowder, his wife who was appointed to serve the rest of his term, said the study could be used as a roadmap for future development.

"How can we better educate developers that this is a place where there is affordable housing, development opportunities, the kind of money that sits in the district that could be spent in the district?" Kay Crowder said.

One council member said he would like to see similar studies for the city's other districts.

The City Council also took the following actions at its meeting Tuesday:

Agreed to pick up the $411,000 cost to pay for crossing guards at another 21 elementary and middle schools in Raleigh. Currently, police officers act as crossing guards at only a handful of schools identified as high-risk traffic areas. Some schools have already declined the service, which will take effect next fall.
Approved the extension of Pullen Road from Western Boulevard to Centennial Parkway. The two-year project is expected to help ease congestion once the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh builds a nearby cathedral. The diocese and North Carolina State University are splitting the $3 million cost.
Rejected a request by Dobs Inc. to rezone 2.8 acres on the southwest corner of Varsity Drive and Avent Ferry Road to allow residential mixed-use development.
Designated the Leonard Medical Hospital and Leonard Medical School, at 800 and 816 S. Wilmington St., as Raleigh Historic Landmarks. Both properties are owned by Shaw University. Both helped educate black physicians at Shaw, and the hospital played a key role in improving health care for the black community during segregation. The hospital also is significant as an example of the work of Gaston Alonzo Edwards, North Carolina’s first professionally registered black architect.

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