Implementation

Downtown Raleigh Alliance, in collaboration with Interface Studio and the City of Raleigh, launched an Economic Development Strategy for Downtown Raleigh in August 2024 that identifies opportunities for investment in downtown and outlines a 5-year plan for growth and revitalization. As the plan moves forward, we’re excited to share progress updates on projects, partnerships and initiatives.

Places

Exceptional public spaces should be a fundamental aspect of Downtown Raleigh’s identity. Elevating our greenspaces and plazas will create more engaging spaces that bring people to downtown everyday. These recommendations call for more investment in our public spaces and a clearer definition of the use and purpose of each space to better maximize opportunities for play, exercise, rest, and engagement.

Fayetteville Street Streetscape

Fayetteville Street has seen significant private investment over the past year, from new businesses opening on the 100-block to expanded destinations on the 500-block. To unlock the street’s full potential as a signature downtown corridor, the City of Raleigh is reevaluating its streetscape—including sidewalks and public spaces—to better serve businesses and residents.

In early 2025, the city launched a one-year project to develop a toolkit for improving the street and guiding future growth.

Next Steps: The City of Raleigh is engaging the community to gather feedback to create recommendations for how the street looks and functions.

Tree Well Enhancements

Working with the City of Raleigh, Downtown Raleigh Alliance and downtown stakeholders identified a need for continued investment for our tree wells. Initial improvements have taken place along Wilmington St. and other key corridors to install "flexi-pave", a pervious surface that enhances ADA accessibility and the pedestrian experience for downtown visitors.

Next Steps: The City of Raleigh is working to bid out work for additional tree wells to receive upgrades in 2025.

Moore Square

In the Spring of 2025, Moore Square Park received additional improvements, including:

In-Ground musical play Instruments
Shade canopies for seating areas on northern park edge
Tenanting of food kiosk with local coffee shop, Lucky Tree, opening April 2025

Next Steps: Downtown Raleigh Alliance will work with partners on continued activations for Moore Square, including Jazz in the Square and Skate Raleigh summer pop-ups

Connections

Providing safe and accessible connections for those visiting, living and working in Downtown Raleigh is a key strategy identified in the plan. Removing barriers and improving access for all will enhance the downtown experience and lead to a more vibrant destination.

Chavis-Dix Strollway

The strategy calls for building better connections within and through downtown, specifically calling out the world class emerging destination at Dix Park. To better connect Dix Park, Downtown and Chavis Park, the City of Raleigh is currently seeking candidate firms to design the first phase of a planned strollway. The strollway plans could include ways to celebrate the area’s significant heritage and history while also providing an enhanced connection through Downtown.

Next Steps: The City of Raleigh will hire a consultant to create a detailed concept place, a streetscape standard plan, and implementation strategy for a new multi-modal facility for the Chavis-Dix Strollway.

2-Hour Free Parking Pilot

Based on the study’s findings, the City of Raleigh recommended launching a 2-hour free parking pilot in select city-owned decks. This program helps visitors to downtown by making vehicle parking more accessible with reduced costs.

The first phase of the pilot was approved to continue through the end of February 2025. After community feedback showed positive response to the program, the pilot is now continuing through December 2025. As part of the program, visitors can park for free for the first two hours in the following decks on weekdays:

Next Steps: Staff will continue to gather feedback and data through ongoing community engagement to advocate for permanent adoption and more business- and consumer-friendly long-term parking solutions downtown.

Community

Our shared community and the people that make up our downtown fabric are fundamental to our long-term success and vibrancy. As we work to continue to advance a thriving downtown environment, our community will be at the center of everything we do.

Pop-Up Shops

Downtown Raleigh Alliance is committed to building an equitable and inclusive downtown community. Our award winning pop-up shop program will be re-launching in a new space this spring, providing an opportunity for Minority- and Women-owned businesses to open a storefront.

Next Steps: This June, the Pop-Up Shops will be opening at 120 S Wilmington St #135.

Celebration

As we work to move this plan forward, we continue to highlight what makes Raleigh unique and special by elevating our iconic experiences and celebrating our community's history, people and places.

Family Friendly

Raleigh Arts is launching an artist-in-residence program to create wayfinding signs that help visitors navigate downtown’s top destinations. Downtown Raleigh’s world-class museums are all within a 10-minute walk, and a designated family-friendly route will connect them with public art and placemaking features. The goal is to make downtown easier to explore and more engaging for families.

Next Steps: Downtown Raleigh Alliance is forming a Family-Friendly Working Group to bring together key stakeholders to shape this project.

Visitation Trends

We continue to monitor trends in visitation for our Downtown Raleigh market. Visitation data can be referenced below:

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Questions?

Mary Sell, Director of Planning and Transportation
marysell@downtownraleigh.org