Unwelcome Development

By Ashton on August 11, 2005

While driving up Boylan Ave the other day (after visiting my favorite shoe store, Firefly) and getting ready to turn right onto Peace, I was greeted with a large sign advertising another new downtown condominium building. This one is called The Glen on Peace and will sit right on the SE corner of the intesection of Boylan and Peace streets… presumably completely filling the space on Peace between the Starbucks and Boylan thus requiring the razing of the Carolina Tiffany Lamps store/house. It is a four story building with 18 units ranging in size from 1065 to 1460 square feet and ranging in price from $260,925 to $394,200.
Now, before I get into my comments on this place, let me just tell you that I am an absolute proponent of downtown development. I am anti-sprawl and think that downtown Raleigh is a fantastic place with so much to offer. Bloomsbury Estates is an exciting project. The Paramount (to which the Glen on Peace will be a neighbor) is a solid project with a Metropolitan feel. The Dawson is an attractive building that fits in well in a downtown environment and should remain attractive for years to come. And just about every other downtown condominium project has my support.
But, what in tarnation is this horrible structure? Click on the picture above to get a closer look. Or even better, check out their website and bask in the cheap hotel look of this building. There should be a big blue "StudioPLUS – Deluxe Studios" sign mounted on the side, if you ask me. What is the point of building a building in downtown Raleigh that would fit just as well in Cary or North Raleigh or Apex or Garner or anywhere for that matter? Why waste your time and the beauty of our city by building a building you could find at every other exit off Interstate 40?
Ok, well maybe I’m being a bit too harsh… maybe a bit to quick to judge given that this is just a computerized rendition of the project. Perhaps I should just sit and wait to see how it turns out. Let me just scroll down their page and read a little mo…. GASP! Oh no… please, no. Tell me it isn’t true. Please tell me that The Preiss Company has nothing to do with this project. Oh holy hell…
The Preiss Company, fine purveyors of crappy rentals available throughout Raleigh… dragging down the property values of fine Raleighians such as yours truly. Did wonders for us when the Preiss rental across the street from our townhome was busted for being a brothel. As if the peeling paint and general disrepair of the place wasn’t enough… Just ask any NCSU student you know about the reputation of the Preiss Company and if you get past the "who?" question, you’ll surely get an "ugh" in response. Scanning the web, there are quite a few postings about dealing with Preiss, none glowing. And the folks over at belowthebeltline.org don’t have much nice to say either.
So, if you want to spend $235-$270 per square foot to live in a hotel-looking building being developed by a notoriously difficult company, by all means give The Glen on Peace a good close look. Hopefully, even you won’t want one.

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Dana McCall

Yeah. After seeing the Bloomsbury Estates, this Glen on Peace looks VERY boring. IF the construction isn’t good it will be known as the Piece Near Glen.
I wish the City of Raleigh would just suck it up and get rid of the camel hump hill in front of McDonald’s on Peace St. This hill makes it VERY dangerous to be a pedestrian on that stretch of Peace St.; a stretch that could easily become very neat once the Paramount is in place.
Dana McCall

Yeah. After seeing the Bloomsbury Estates, this Glen on Peace looks VERY boring. IF the construction isn’t good it will be known as the Piece Near Glen.
I wish the City of Raleigh would just suck it up and get rid of the camel hump hill in front of McDonald’s on Peace St. This hill makes it VERY dangerous to be a pedestrian on that stretch of Peace St.; a stretch that could easily become very neat once the Paramount is in place.
http://profile.typekey.com/chrisjam/ chris

Totally agree with you. It’s dangerous enough as a driver through there. Never know if the cars coming over the hill are actually going to be able to stop in time. I can’t imagine it would be too terribly expensive compared to a lot of the other projects going on around town. Guess it depends on what kind of infrastructure elements are buried beneath that stretch of road.
The two positive elements in the design of The Glen on Peace (such an optimist, aren’t I?) are the brick exterior (although we’ll see what happens in the end… I am pretty sure The Dawson was supposed to have some brick too) and what I’ll call the “Raleigh Ridges” along the first floor of the building. These pronounced ridges can be found throughout many of the buildings in Raleigh, including the Capitol, Memorial Hall, The Dawson, many of the government buildings around the Capitol, etc. etc. etc. Would be interesting to know if this was intentional or by chance.
http://profile.typekey.com/chrisjam/ chris

Totally agree with you. It’s dangerous enough as a driver through there. Never know if the cars coming over the hill are actually going to be able to stop in time. I can’t imagine it would be too terribly expensive compared to a lot of the other projects going on around town. Guess it depends on what kind of infrastructure elements are buried beneath that stretch of road.
The two positive elements in the design of The Glen on Peace (such an optimist, aren’t I?) are the brick exterior (although we’ll see what happens in the end… I am pretty sure The Dawson was supposed to have some brick too) and what I’ll call the “Raleigh Ridges” along the first floor of the building. These pronounced ridges can be found throughout many of the buildings in Raleigh, including the Capitol, Memorial Hall, The Dawson, many of the government buildings around the Capitol, etc. etc. etc. Would be interesting to know if this was intentional or by chance.
Al Manson

The Preiss Company is unethical and doesn’t care about its customers. They force less profitable students out of their apartments when someone else is interested. I hope they get busted and sued broke, and that a company that cares about people and respects the city they operate in will handle student housing in Raleigh.
Al Manson

The Preiss Company is unethical and doesn’t care about its customers. They force less profitable students out of their apartments when someone else is interested. I hope they get busted and sued broke, and that a company that cares about people and respects the city they operate in will handle student housing in Raleigh.
Rebecca

I am currently a student residing in a division of The Preiss Company’s apartment complexes. I am trying to get more recycling bins put around University Woods off of Trailwood Rd., but the management has been increasingly hostile toward my efforts when I approach them. Does anyone have any suggestions about what I can do or how I can approach the management again? The project manager Amy Davis said I could submit a map to her showing where I would like the new recycling bins to be placed and she would propose the idea at the next board meeting, but I know this is probably a ploy. I also spoke with Donna Preiss on the phone and she said that they already had recycling bins and I responded with no we don’t I’m a resident at University Woods. She instructed me to call the project manager and quickly hung up the phone. They are not friendly at all and I believe should be held accountable for the maltreatment of residents’ concerns.
Rebecca

I am currently a student residing in a division of The Preiss Company’s apartment complexes. I am trying to get more recycling bins put around University Woods off of Trailwood Rd., but the management has been increasingly hostile toward my efforts when I approach them. Does anyone have any suggestions about what I can do or how I can approach the management again? The project manager Amy Davis said I could submit a map to her showing where I would like the new recycling bins to be placed and she would propose the idea at the next board meeting, but I know this is probably a ploy. I also spoke with Donna Preiss on the phone and she said that they already had recycling bins and I responded with no we don’t I’m a resident at University Woods. She instructed me to call the project manager and quickly hung up the phone. They are not friendly at all and I believe should be held accountable for the maltreatment of residents’ concerns.

>raleighing store

Unwelcome Development

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