As momentum builds on New Bern Avenue with Raleigh’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line and an influx of recently bowed businesses, a new development from the City of Raleigh will be a huge game changer for the area.
Over a year after the city bought the old DMV HQ on New Bern Avenue in Southeast Raleigh, city staff recently completed an intensive public engagement process for the future of the 5.88-acre property—with community ideas including affordable housing, indoor and outdoor community gathering spaces, the incorporation of local food (whether a commissary kitchen, co-op or food hall), retail, public art and installations that incorporate the history of the area, and overall accessibility.
“This site can hopefully become a hub for the surrounding neighborhood,” emphasizes City of Raleigh Deputy Director of Planning & Development and Urban Projects Ken Bowers—while acting as a connector to DTR as it continues to push out from the city’s core.
The DMV site in particular was attractive to the city for this project due to its location on Raleigh’s first Bus Rapid Transit line. “We wanted to make sure lower-income households were able to access the improved transit that’s going to be provided,” says Bowers. Not to mention “this part of East Raleigh has historically been affordable because market rates, sales prices and rents were lower than other parts of the city.”
Now, the site is undergoing a market and design study to gauge what’s possible: how much can actually be built, what types of projects make financial and physical sense, and where rents might land. That work wraps in November, after which the city will seek development proposals—aiming to pick a developer by Q3 2026. Bowers adds the current four-story zoning will likely have to change to meet community demands.
“The city doesn’t often have a large site like this that we can reposition to redevelop to achieve some community priorities and policy goals,” he explains. “If this is successful, we hope it can be a model for sites elsewhere in the city.”
How three locals navigate living and working car-free
If you thought you couldn’t get away with living in Raleigh car-free, think again. Even in the ’90s, a dedicated Quail Hollow professional faithfully took the CAT bus to and from his DTR Progress Energy post for a solid decade. But that dedication to a wheels-free low-footprint life is definitely rare for North Raleighites—especially in the 1900s—and easily the exception.
As a large central city, Raleigh takes the wheel as the most car-dependent major metro in the U.S. with 38 vehicle miles traveled (VMT) daily—and a walk score dipping as low as 18 in some burbs and averaging 31 in the city. The city is so reliant on cars that parking is at a premium and road construction is ongoing—or planned—for most major streets. While it may not yet be possible to change the tide citywide, it’s rolling differently Downtown.
Despite Raleigh’s carcentric sprawl, Downtown core’s respective walk, bike and transit scores of 82, 88 and 71 are perhaps a sign the city is evolving. And thanks to major strides in bikeability and Bus Rapid Transit—not to mention the influx of e-scooters and e-bikes—it’s keeping pace with cities like NYC and San Fran.
In fact, several residents have ditched their cars—saving time, money and a whole lot of stress in the process. We chatted with three locals living the “urban life” in Raleigh.
Intentional Living When local Ashton Mae Smith’s auto lease ended in 2019, it was a no-brainer not to renew. Having spent the last decade living within walking distance of her DTR office, she’s been in a one-car household with her husband and toddler ever since, spending the last six years walking, biking, scooting, bussing and ridesharing.
“I’m very intentional about choosing my doctors, exercise, son’s daycare and hobbies to be within walking distance,” says Smith, who adds she didn’t drive that much even before getting rid of her car. “That’s my preferred way to get around.”
After tracking her expenses over the years, she’s pocketed $5K a year just by skipping car ownership—savings that are reflected in her mental health as well. “Not having to think about a car is incredible,” she emphasizes. “There’s a lot of thinking about parking and is it gonna be safe and if you have something to drink do you leave it there overnight… all these things.”
Her toddler’s a fan too: “Half the adventure is riding the bus,” she says. It helps that kids ride free, tap-to-pay is seamless and their high-frequency line runs every 15 minutes.
Carless Confidence “It’s really not as hard as people think,” maintains Fayetteville Street resident Meg Crawford of her carless lifestyle. She ditched her car in San Francisco, and four-ish years after moving back to Raleigh, she’s still living that key-free life—thanks to remote work and easy access. “What’s great about Downtown,” she adds, “is it’s compact enough where you really have everything you need in a quick, easily walkable diameter. And public transportation obviously plays a role in that.”
Tapping into the tools at her fingertips, when walking won’t cut it, Crawford opts for her old triathlon bike, rideshare or even Turo—aka Airbnb for cars—which she’ll use for a jaunt to the beach or mountains. For her, the upside’s huge: She saves ~$1K a month while hitting up DTR events, cafes and restaurants on the regular—minus the hassle of traffic and parking headaches. To boot, she credits the walkable lifestyle with boosting her social life. “For me, it’s just pluses across the board,” she says. “I’m not sure I’ll ever fully own a vehicle again.”
Life Simplified For Raleigh Chamber VP of Leadership Development Shana Overdorf, the draw of DTR was about the strong community she expected to find. “But coming back Downtown meant sacrifice,” she admits—“and so when weighing my budget, the car was the first thing that could go.”
After making the move to Mira Raleigh in August 2024, she hung up her keys in January—a move she calls “freeing” and relatively easy, given her quick 471-step walk to work. While walking is her main mode, Overdorf taps into Raleigh’s full menu of options: scooters (her apartment has a few on hand), e-bikes, rideshares, carpools, the train—she’s even lined up for Raleigh’s E-Bike Rebate Program.
“I think the accessibility to different modes of transportation here—we’re really, very lucky,” emphasizes Overdorf. “It’s not that hard to figure out ways to have access to transit and transportation—but they’re also just easy to get to.” Doubling down on the community vibe, the Chamber VP reinvests her car-free savings by stacking up steps to faves like Sir Walter Coffee, The Bend, lucettegrace and A Place at the Table.
Walk Wins It’s all a sign of a city upping its urban appeal. While a current Village District dweller tells us she barely touches her keys more than once a week, another remembers feeling totally carbound just a decade ago.
Of course, it’s “not all rainbows and butterflies,” admits Crawford. Getting caught in the rain a mile walk from a destination is less than ideal, and it can take a lot of planning to get somewhere sans car. “There are definitely times where I’d really love to just jump in my car and do something that has arisen out of the blue very quickly,” she adds, “but there’s never so much of a hindrance that I can’t accomplish what I need to. The benefits definitely outweigh the negatives.”
Turns out, NC really is a vacation destination. Breaking the state’s tourism record with over $36.7 billion in visitor spending in 2024, it continues to be the No. 5 most visited state.
In attempt to continue providing aid to those affected by the Hurricane Helene in WNC, Gov. Josh Stein is calling for an additional $891 million for recovery efforts, which would go toward addressing food insecurity, rehabilitating waterways, repairing damaged schools, promoting tourism and more.
Canada, eh? RDU is adding two new direct flights to its roster in June, Vancouver via Air Canada starting June 5 and Calgary via WestJet starting June 9.
RTP’s 19-acre mixed-use community Triangle Mobility Hub selected Hoffman & Associates as the master developer. In partnership with GoTriangle and the Research Triangle Foundation of NC, the project will integrate residential, retail and office space with transit options connecting the Triangle via bus service, bike and pedestrian pathways—plus future bus rapid transit and rail service.
World Cup winner and two-time Olympic champion Lauren Holiday—along with husband Jrue, a two-time NBA champion—are the most recent investors of the NC Courage. Score!
Wheels up! RDU recorded its two busiest days in airport history to date over graduation and Mother’s Day weekend, with over 31,500 passengers boarding flights on Sunday, May 11—aka the second-highest number of travelers RDU has ever served in a day. Monday, May 12, saw 30,600+ passengers depart from the airport, putting it at No. 6.
Life is a highway—but nobody wants to ride Capital Boulevard all night long. Commuters of the section dubbed U.S. 1 may see tolls in the future, either throughout the entire 10-mile section or for just one toll express lane, both with the potential of adding it to the Triangle Expressway system.
Hey… y’all? According to AP News, the Southern accent may be disappearing in some parts of the South as more people move to other regions of the country.
WHAT’S NOT
The light may be dimming on the state’s solar power. Republican state reps want to nix a property tax exemption for solar energy developers that would impose taxes on ~$5.9 billion of solar equipment.
CityPlat plans to transform the former Kmart department store into a live, work, play concept.
The eyesore that has long plagued West Raleigh is finally getting new life—and, as such, all the recent surrounding urban development can finally start to come together. After sitting empty since 2018, the locally loathed former Kmart building on Western Boulevard that grates on eyes as far as from the Beltline has been scooped up by CityPlat, with plans for a live, work, play concept—think similar to Kane Realty’s mixed-use North Hills Main District.
Photo courtesy of WRAL
“This is a legacy project for us,” says CityPlat investment leader G Patel of the last major site left on the Beltline. “This is a very large undertaking for our firm. We’ve had our eyes on this site for many years, and it finally aligned to where we can take this project on and feel comfortable with it.”
The prominent location of the site will lend itself to the project becoming a family-forward flagship destination, with the firm “being cognizant about how to make the impact and the changes the site needs.” Building out the 12.08-acre property in phases, CityPlat plans to upgrade the property from the ground up—exterior, landscaping, utilities, parking—to repurpose the existing 117,000-square-foot structure.
Rendering by Redline Design Group, courtesy of CityPlat
Rendering by Redline Design Group, courtesy of CityPlat
And—as Beltline regulars may have noticed—construction is already well underway. After officially breaking ground in January, the dated Kmart building was completely gutted. Now, CityPlat is whiteboxing spaces for future tenants. Taking notice of where Raleighites want to be and what they want to be doing, the firm aims their focus on fitness facilities, sports and recreation concepts (hey, pickleball courts!), and entertainment spaces to activate a fam-friendly lifestyle.
Upping the accessibility factor, the development will flow seamlessly with public transit via easy access to a future bus rapid transit line—a major perk once living spaces round out the mixed-use ecosystem. “That is years down the road,” notes Patel. “It’s definitely a BRT overlay, so having density there would be ideal for the site.”
Garnering residents and visitors to the complex will eventually link local districts and even suburbs. “It’s a great connector—you have the university right there, you have Lenovo’s resurgence and the Blue Ridge Corridor, and then the connectivity between Cary and Raleigh,” emphasizes Patel, who has been heading local entrepreneurship endeavors since 2006. “It’s just such a great hub to activate that.” And West Raleigh is poised for a new destination.
New Bern Avenue’s star is on the rise as the first corridor for the City of Raleigh’s new Bus Rapid Transit system—and, now, it’s poised to shine even brighter thanks to the redevelopment of 1601 New Bern Avenue.
Already underway with an expected completion slated for this fall, the project—a joint venture among Capitol Commercial, Carroll Development and AB Capital Advisors—will boast 11,650 square feet of retail and restaurant space, plus a resurfaced parking lot and a 14-foot-wide sidewalk for outdoor seating at select spaces.
Poised to become a mini-gateway to Downtown Raleigh among a slew of other upcoming proximal redevelopments, the redesigned strip center also calls for a BRT station. And with it, the New Bern Avenue corridor is experiencing what some might call a dose of gentrification, as projects like these pave the way for new businesses and residents alike.
Case in point: The powerhouse duo behind craft brewery and brasserie Neuse River Brewing, Jennifer and Ryan Kolarov—alongside business partner Carl Boyajian—has inked a lease and will be introducing yet another crowd-pleaser to East Raleigh. Expanding their footprint literally and figuratively, their space bowing June 14 in the 1601 New Bern Avenue development is strictly a bar.
“We’ve had a lot of opportunities to do things in other places. This area specifically appealed to us because of the growth that’s happening.” —Jennifer Kolarov, co-owner, Neuse River Brewing, Blotto
Dubbed Blotto, aka British slang for “tipsy,” the new drinkery is all about keeping things simple, approachable and appealing. “We’ve been talking about opening up a bar as a watering hole, not a restaurant and not another brewery,” maintains Ryan, nodding to Neuse River Brewing’s uberpopular brewed on-site craft brews and fantastic fare. “We just found a perfect spot in East Raleigh.”
But don’t expect any old dive. Designed to be a laid-back retreat—think tropical plants, dark wood accents and a Tiki-themed patio welcoming people and pets alike—Blotto is intended for every inch of its 2,500 square feet to feel like home, whether popping in for a quick drink or settling in for a hang sesh.
Like its decor, the bar’s menu is sure to suit myriad tastes—delivering drinks worth bellying up to the bar for, but without brain-bending cocktail names or breaking the bank. “We want Blotto to be a bar for everyone,” says Ryan of Raleigh’s newest upcoming third place. “We want to have fun [classic] cocktails with fresh-squeezed juices. We don’t want our mixers coming out of a bottle, but we also don’t want the drinks to be $25. Just simple and approachable.”
To wit, fam-friendly by day and 21+ by night—with diverse draws like trivia nights and live music—the bar “where everybody knows your name” answers the call for all Raleighites.
“We’ve had a lot of opportunities to do things in other places,” says Jennifer of the emerging district, where they hope to see other cool concepts—think cafe, vino, restaurant—join them a la Person Street or Gateway Plaza vibes.
“This area specifically appealed to us because of the growth that’s happening.” Looks like Blotto may just be the harbinger answering the call for the booming New Bern Avenue corridor. blottonc.com
