Downtown Continues Surge Forward in 2018, Competes Nationally
Top 2 tech city in the US? Close to 200% population growth with housing units tripling in two years, and still less cost of living than Nashville, Austin or Atlanta? Downtown Raleigh it is, and last week, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance released their 2018 Annual State of Downtown Report in front of business leaders, developers and city officials of the Capital City.
With a new Raleigh city council and Downtown Raleigh Alliance CEO in place, 2018 is shaping up to be an interesting time for the continued development push in central Raleigh. 2018 numbers speak for higher CBD growth even with neighbor concerns and gentrification issues.
A few takeaways for your compass:
Development
Downtown is the densest employment center in Triangle with 77 employees per acre
Compared to US workforce, Raleigh is 96% higher in computer, math jobs, 156% higher in software and app developers, 105% higher in civil engineers
The commercial and residential pipelines have over $1.75 BILLION in development planned or currently under construction in downtown
Residential
Downtown population has grown 179% since 2000
Housing units have doubled since 2000 and are on plan to triple by 2020
Median apartment rent near $1.50 per square foot are WELL BELOW national peer cities Charlotte, Atlanta, Dallas, Austin, DC, Boston, etc that soar above $2 - $4.50 per SF
Average residential rent is $1,444 a month
Class A apartments average $1,516 a month
Cultural
Raleigh has 2nd highest growth in tech jobs out of all US cities by Forbes
Young residents (25-44) make up 36% of Downtown Raleigh, compared to 26% around US
Green City - Raleigh beats Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Houston and Seattle with more acres of green space in/near the city center
Raleigh has 40 art galleries and entertainment venues
Thanks to Downtown Raleigh Alliance for compiling the report (click here for full report), and check out the DRA website here for more info http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/
- Capital Compass
