Fayetteville Street has served as the cultural and economic spine of downtown Raleigh since the city’s founding plan in 1792, connecting landmarks including the North Carolina State Capitol and the Performing Arts Center. Following its conversion from a neglected pedestrian mall in the 1970s to a ceremonial street in the 2000s, the area in and around Fayetteville Street attracted more than $2 billion in public and private investment. The current streetscape redesign builds that momentum across five central blocks, addressing the corridor’s declining vitality and reinforcing its potential as a gathering place for intimate community gatherings and large-scale civic events. SWA collaborated with the City of Raleigh Urban Projects Group and engaged Engineering Services, Parks and Recreation, Urban Forestry, Transportation, the City Manager’s Office, and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance.

The design strategy centers on opening the street, inviting greater activation through modifying existing horizontal planters to free space for outdoor seating, introducing new site furnishings and wayfinding elements, and commissioning public art installations to create cultural sights along the corridor. For the redesign of City Plaza, concentric circles in the paving design organize site elements to frame daily use and community events. Together, these interventions preserve the street’s ceremonial scale while returning to the site’s history, prioritizing a people-centered public realm.