Down along the broad new sidewalks of Raleigh's reborn Fayetteville Street, entrepreneurs and preservationists are restoring century-old storefronts in vibrant colors, decorative facades and historic textures.

Like others scattered throughout downtown, the reincarnated cast-offs, standing as thick as seven abreast along Fayetteville Street's 200 block, are helping to revive the city's forlorn heart -- one costly, painstaking renovation at a time.

"When you looked at this block 10 years go, it was primarily vacant, and half the block had false facades," said Myrick Howard, president of Preservation North Carolina, whose headquarters is in the 1874 Briggs Building, which anchors the stretch. "It has turned into a very cool block. It will wind up in a lot of brochures about Raleigh, because it has a very interesting, late 19th-century/early 20th-century streetscape."

Downtown boosters already tout the low-rise revival, which is expected to intensify this year with the completion of several more renovations.

"While most of the focus is on the tall new buildings, there's just as much excitement around the restoration of neat old buildings that remind us of where we came from," said David Diaz, president of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. "Fayetteville Street is our Main Street. That's where we need a soul, a sense of place, and more economic activity."

And greater incentives to renovate, the street's risk-takers say.

Procedures often cumbersome

Building owners, contractors and preservationists say Raleigh's building code and permit procedures for restorations remain too cumbersome, despite improvements in recent years. As a result, they say, renovations can take years and cost hundreds of thousands of extra dollars.

Take the future Mahler Gallery, a pending rehabilitation of part of the old McCrory's discount store in Fayetteville Street's 200 block.

Rebuilding its ornate, lopped-off cornice was the easy part. The owners, including real estate broker Carter Worthy and builder Greg Paul, have been trying for two years to get all the necessary permits to start work inside.

"It's a struggle to get historic buildings back in play," Worthy said. "New building codes are not a good match with old buildings. It takes a long time to get things done, which is frustrating."

Worthy, Paul and gallery owner Rory Parnell hope to open the Mahler building later this year. When it reopens, its uses will be the same as in the 1880s: a shop at street level, an office (Worthy's) on the second floor, and apartments on the third floor.

Preservation North Carolina and the A.J. Fletcher Foundation endured even greater tribulation a decade ago when they renovated the Briggs Building, a landmark former hardware store.

In the end, Howard said, the groups spent $500,000 more than they should have had to -- and the building wound up with redundant fire sprinklers.

"I tell people half-jokingly that if we ever have a fire, you will drown before you burn," he said.

To speed the process, Howard said, the city should establish an inspections permit team specializing in historic renovations.

Larry Strickland, the city's inspections director, said his staff is working toward that.

"We try to use the same inspectors with rehab projects," he said. "Some people are better at the rehab code than others. And rehab work is complicated. We still have a ways to go. It's a learning curve for everybody."

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