by Leo Suarez

Closed Holiday Inn to Reopen as a Hotel Indigo This Fall

Photo of the upcoming Hotel Indigo renovation, July 2026

I’ve been overlooking this one for a awhile so I’m glad to be circling back to it. If you haven’t been following the news for the Raleigh “Hair Curler”, the cylindrical structure on Hillsborough Street that was the Holiday Inn, then I hope this update is seen as a good one. Later this year, the building will reopen as a Hotel Indigo after a big renovation. A few years back, there were plans to demolish it. However, here in 2026, the building now has historic status and we’ll soon be able to enjoy the views from the 20th floor once again.

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by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Photo of The Acorn Hotel construction, July 2026

If you swing by Blount Street these days, you can see the hotel construction taking shape in the middle of the block. This is starting to look like nice urban form here and I absolutely love the sharing of the parking with the development behind it. I formerly had it down as a TownePlace Suites-branded hotel but today I’m seeing it has changed to an Element by Westin, a first for the Triangle. I’ll have to confirm that but either way, the first floor is being put in place now.

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by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Downtown has been really red recently. Have you noticed? Of course, the Pic of the Week had to be related to the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup win. I’m a fan and always try to watch as much playoff hockey as I can, and this was an incredible run. I just love Raleigh when the Canes go deep, because people everywhere are into it. They momentarily seem to shed their other sports allegiances (even if just somewhat), and Raleighites are just a little more in tune with each other.

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by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Photo of the construction of Highline Glenwood, June 2026

A lot has taken place since we last checked in on Highline Glenwood about three months ago. The lower floors are in place and there’s even some glass being put in. By my count, the ninth or tenth floor is being worked on so this thing should really rise up throughout the Summer. As a reminder, this will become Raleigh’s tallest residential tower by floor count when completed sometime in 2028.

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by Leo Suarez

Walking Along New Bern Avenue Bus Rapid Transit

It certainly doesn’t look like a bus lane but if you squint, you can see the future dedicated lane along the southern side of New Bern being worked on. Actually, it’s all pipe work at the moment as workers replace an old waterline. It’s not transit but it makes sense to get that done so we can have stable road space for a high-frequency bus line in the near future.

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by Leo Suarez

Pic of the Week

Image of the topping out ceremony at Red Hat Amphitheater, May 2026

This week, the folks behind the Raleigh Convention Center celebrated the topping out of the Red Hat Amphitheater. They put in place a red steel beam, shown above, with a ceremonial Christmas tree, guitar, and American flag. A new Raleigh flag would have looked nice up there as well but maybe that can be used for the official grand opening. They are really making progress on the amphitheater and if you haven’t been by it recently, it’s more impressive in-person.

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