Red Hat Amphitheater plan advances, as Raleigh council moves to close a downtown street
Plans to build a new Red Hat Amphitheater next to the current one downtown took a step forward Tuesday when the Raleigh City Council moved to close a block of South Street.
The council approved a resolution saying it intends to close the road between Dawson and McDowell streets and asked staff to remove the block as a public street from the city’s comprehensive plan. It also agreed to buy a small lot at the corner of South and McDowell from the N.C. Department of Transportation.
The lot and that one block of South Street are needed to build a new amphitheater as large as the existing one and within the city’s budget of $40 million, says Kerry Painter, director of the Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex, which includes the amphitheater. The new Red Hat is part of a larger plan to expand the convention center, which would take up the site now occupied by the amphitheater.
The City Council will consider actually closing that piece of South Street at its meeting Sept. 17, when it will hold a public hearing on the issue. The hearing is required before the city can close part of a public street.
Council members will likely hear from residents of Boylan Heights, the neighborhood just west of downtown, who consider South Street a vital connection to the center of the city. The Boylan Heights Neighborhood Association passed a resolution last week saying it supports keeping Red Hat downtown but wants the city to fully consider options that would also keep South Street open.
Boylan Heights resident Frank Haynes told council members Tuesday that closing South Street should be a last resort.
“The amphitheater is vital for Raleigh,” Haynes said. “But the plan to close a block of South Street is being pushed through without public engagement, especially with those most impacted by its closure.”
Painter said closing South Street is a last resort. She said designers considered other options, and none of them could accommodate crowds of 6,000, as the current amphitheater does, or would cost tens of millions more.
“The only solution is to fall onto South Street,” Painter said.
Shrinking the amphitheater to fit between South and Lenoir streets, and keep both open, would risk losing the touring acts that can draw 6,000 to 7,000 people, said Dave Rose, who heads Deep South Entertainment, a Raleigh-based music and concert company.
“To attract these tours, we must be competitive in both size and quality of our venue,” Rose told council members. “The current plan ensures that’s the case.”
Many support closing South Street
Indeed, to many people, closing a block of South Street seems a small price for ensuring Red Hat remains viable. So far this season, Painter said, the venue has hosted 51 concerts, bringing 265,000 people to a downtown that is still struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are just managing to stay afloat,“ said Rusty Sutton, co-owner of the Green Monkey bottle shop and bar on South Wilmington Street. “Now we are facing the possibility of losing one of our bright spots.”
Pam Blondin, owner of the Deco gift shop on South Salisbury Street, said many businesses like hers “have been hanging on by a thread since COVID” and that concerts at Red Hat bring a much needed influx of visitors.
“I can say to you categorically that if it were not for venues like Red Hat, I would not still be in business,” Blondin told council members. “Red Hat Amphitheater is a literal lifeline for those of us who have worked tirelessly to build a unique and independent business community in downtown.”
The council heard from several others who own businesses downtown or work for them. They spoke not only about the money concertgoers spend on meals, drinks and hotel rooms but also the vitality and sense of safety they bring to city streets.
Another attempt to explain why street must close
Council member Jane Harrison, whose district includes Boylan Heights and Red Hat Amphitheater, said everyone seems to agree that the amphitheater is good for downtown. But Harrison added that closing South Street is “not desirable.” If it is inevitable, she wants the city to hold one more session to explain to residents why it’s necessary.
“I hear a lot of different facts out there about what is going on, and I want everyone to be part of this,” Harrison said. “I want people to be excited about what we’re doing.”
City Manager Marchell Adams-David said the city would organize a session in the coming weeks to answer questions from residents, particularly in Boylan Heights and Heritage Park, a public housing complex off South Street.
Council member Stormie Forte noted there isn’t much time before the September vote, and said the city could have done a better job reaching out to these residents earlier.
“You’ve got a lot of folks who are very frustrated because they didn’t get an opportunity to weigh in,” Forte said. “This turned out to be one of the blind spots.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2024 at 8:36 PM.
