Downtown Raleigh Is Removing Things This Fall. Here's What Fills the Gaps.

This fall, most of downtown Raleigh's changes involve taking things away. Seven landscaped planters came off Fayetteville Street in early October. A block of South Street is permanently closed to traffic. The surface parking lots across from the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts are gone. At Moore Square, the large community tables are next on the list.

Each of these removals has a replacement on its way, and each replacement runs on its own schedule. The movable seating on Fayetteville Street is due by the end of 2026, and the convention center expansion near South Street is planned for 2029.

Fayetteville Street gained sidewalk by losing planters

The city's October 6 update on Fayetteville Street says seven landscaped areas were removed across the 100 to 500 blocks, leaving out City Plaza. That added nearly 300 square feet of usable sidewalk. The city says the space is for walking and for businesses that want to offer outdoor dining or add more of it.

That was Phase 1. City Council set aside $1 million for these short-term improvements on November 4, 2025, so it took a little under a year for the first visible change to reach the street.

Phase 2 also starts with a removal. The existing benches will come out, and new seating designed to be rearranged for different events will go in. The city expects installation by the end of the year. So for part of this fall, the street may have less fixed seating than it did over the summer.

Phase 3 is public art and wayfinding at the intersections. The city's call for art drew 135 submissions. A selection panel of Fayetteville Street business owners, downtown residents, and other stakeholders chose five artists, and their concept designs are due out for public input soon. Installation is expected by the end of next summer. The Fayetteville Street public art page names the selected artists:

• Taylor White
• Carlos González García
• Max Dowdle
• A Gang of Three, the collective of Lincoln Hancock and William Dodge
• Matthew Mazzotta

The new sidewalk space is most useful on blocks where restaurants already serve outside. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance's outdoor seating directory lists several along this stretch:

That directory isn't dated, so treat it as a starting list and check before you go. The storefronts on this street have changed a lot this year.

The storefronts are turning over at the same time

In February, the News & Observer reported that The Newsagent's had soft-opened at 228 Fayetteville Street. It's a shop for used books and media with a coffee bar inside. In August, the paper reported that Flavor Hills had closed its restaurant at 319 Fayetteville Street after two years. The DRA's new-business page now lists Ibis Cuisine at 319 Fayetteville St. under "Coming Soon." Its district directory still lists a different restaurant, Sono, at that address. That's another reason to treat the directory as a rough guide to the corridor.

One opening is pending. Whatnow reported in late September that Pikasso Swig, a DIY craft bar, was coming to 400 Fayetteville Street in fall 2026, with no official opening date yet. The DRA's new-business page still lists it as "Coming Soon."

Across downtown as a whole, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance's State of Downtown report counts 83 storefront openings between July 1, 2025 and August 1, 2026. It also reports a net gain of 20 storefront businesses since July 2025. Set side by side, 83 openings and a net gain of 20 show how much turnover sits underneath the growth. The wider sidewalks give whoever moves in next more room to set tables outside.

At the south end, a street and its parking lots are gone

Walk south on Fayetteville toward the performing arts center and the removals get bigger. The city's October 2 construction update confirms that the block of South Street between Dawson and McDowell is permanently closed. Much of the traffic that used South Street now uses Lenoir Street, one block north.

The surface lots across from the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts are closed too, to make room for a 600-room Omni Hotel. The city sends visitors to the Performing Arts Parking Deck, where the second level is reserved for guests with disability placards and license plates. There's also an accessible loading area in front of the performing arts center for drop-off and pickup.

If you've been to a show at the Martin Marietta Center since spring, you've already used part of the replacement. The redesigned Lichtin Plaza opened on April 21, 2026, with a dedicated drop-off lane, new wheelchair-accessible ramps, and more green space.

The rest of the south end is still under construction. The new Red Hat Amphitheater, one block south of its old site, has work underway on masonry walls, framing, roofing, and underground utilities. The DRA report says it's on track for the 2027 outdoor concert season. The convention center expansion on the old amphitheater site is planned for 2029. That means the parking you lost this fall comes back as a hotel, a concert venue, and a larger convention center, spread over about three years.

Moore Square's community tables are the next removal on the list

East of Fayetteville Street, the same pattern is starting at Moore Square, but nothing has been decided yet. The News & Observer reported that the Raleigh City Council reviewed three "play experience" options for the square at its September 19 retreat. Any of them would go where the large community tables now stand, in the square's southwest corner next to South Blount Street.

Parks director Stephen Bentley explained to the council why that corner was chosen. "Those community tables are not really playing out the way which we hoped," he said. He also said the location has less impact on underground utilities, which keeps the cost down.

Council members leaned toward Option 1, called "Ground Discovery." It's a wavy, net-like structure for kids, estimated at $1.5 million to $1.8 million. Council member Jonathan Lambert-Melton said it "preserves the tree canopy." Parks staff still have to gather public feedback and bring the proposals back to council, so this isn't approved or scheduled. The idea grew out of a suggestion from Downtown Raleigh Alliance CEO Bill King that the square connect more closely with Marbles Kids Museum.

The blocks around the square are changing too. In July, Kokoro Ramen & Izakaya opened at 200 E. Martin St. in the former Royale space, which had been empty since 2020, according to the News & Observer. The city is also studying redevelopment of the sites bordering the square on its east and south sides, with mixed-income housing, ground-floor retail, and more pedestrian activity in mind. As of its October 5 update, the city was still reviewing feedback and preparing a strategy, and that update gives no completion date.

Here's how the four removals line up:

October 17 uses both squares on the same day

You can see the reworked spaces in use on Saturday, October 17. The city's downtown calendar lists Pets and Pumpkins at Moore Square at 11 a.m. The October events guide from Visit Raleigh lists Raleigh's International Wine & Beer Festival on City Plaza, 443 Fayetteville St., the same day from noon to 8 p.m.

If you have kids along, the Moore Square splash pad stays open through November 1.

If you own a downtown condo or a home near the Moore Square or South Street changes and want to know how these projects could affect a sale over the next few years, Live Raleigh can walk you through the timelines and what buyers ask about them. Let's Connect and schedule a free consultation.