The Trader Joe’s at this location and the planned Whole Foods at the Six Forks / Strickland in 2010/2011 location will be a huge plus for North Raleigh. Lookinf forward to both!

~ HW

Great to see some improvements and good to know that Trader Joe’s is still going there, but Holly Park is an opportunity for something much better than a mere renovation The layout would allow for something more urban and certainly more attractive… Yes, I know, it is easier said than done, but why wasting so much money and not taking advantage of the full potential of this parcel, even if it was done in several stages?

Jersey Mike’s is moving – heard it from a manager there.

ANYTHING is a VASTE improvement and the Trader Joe’s in Cary has done wonders for it’s Kildaire Farm Road strip mall, from an aesthetic as well as customer perspective. Parking lot used to be empty and now it’s hard to find a parking space. My guess is Trader Joe’s will attract more urban development just from the influx that the area will see.

I have been going to the barber in the corner of the strip mall for 17 1/2 years (great guy, still reasonable).

New look could be better, but this upgrade is long overdue.
Trader Joe’s will create a tremendous amount of foot-traffic for the shopping plaza. They need to upgrade the INSIDE of that pathetic DMV/Tags location.

I used to work for the Alcatel next door, any word on the status of that building (I heard they are going to level it (considering a development similar to North Hills)?

The Trader Joes space there looks a little small to me for a grocery store…surprised it’s not in the location marked “Retail H”. Go figure.

I’m very glad Trader Joes is doing similar to Costco in the sense that they’ve picked a site in the center of the city and are doing infill—instead of bulldozing a forest on the far edge of town in a new strip center adding more suburban sprawl. Good for them!

Sure Holly Park will be by no means a testament to ideal urban design…but a slight fix-up of an old ITB shopping center is always better than building a new one out in the middle of no where! So, this should be good.

Lew: Where is Jersey Mike’s moving to? A bigger location, I hope! But not too far, right?

Jenna – yah bigger store and basically where the demolished Taco Bell was across the parking lot.

Let’s see…Costco, Trader Joe’s, Fresh Market & Lowes on Strickland—I’ve died and gone to heaven!

Does anybody know where Wake Paint and Decorating are going? I was just in there the other day, and the place was going on like business as usual. Granted this is where they moved when they were displaced from North Hills, and I realized that it’s the old Baptist bookstore. I just thought that Trader Joe’s was going in to the new section over by Alcatel. I suppose with such a marquee tenant, the owners of Holly Park would want to showcase the location.

I believe Wake Paint and Decorating (which was recently sold) is moving into one of the normal spaces in the existing center.

Hope Jerry’s Artarama is still in the mix – don’t see it on the plans. Renovation looks fine. I agree with Ernest’s comment longing for more urban use of the expansive site.

What is the current status of the proposed Trader Joe’s at Holly Park? Early reports pointed toward a 2009 opening, but the space allocated to the site is still barren earth.

Jersey Mike’s is not moving after all. Man that is a bummer! Way too small a space on the end cap over there. But I guess in this economy leave well enough alone and don’t bite off more than you can chew (pun intended).

Sully,
I haven’t heard any word on Trader Joe’s. My assumption is that all things are still “on”. If I’m not mistaken, we’re still talking about a 6-7 month window. It looks like construction will begin when they complete the rest of the center, which doesn’t look too far off.
At least construction costs are going down!