Skip to main content
NC DEQ logo NC DEQ

Topical Navigation

  • Home
  • Divisions
    Divisions
    • Air Quality
    • Coastal Management
    • Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
    • Environmental Assistance and Customer Service
    • Environmental Education and Public Affairs
    • Marine Fisheries
    • Mitigation Services
    • Waste Management
    • Water Infrastructure
    • Water Resources
  • Permits & Rules
    Permits & Rules
    • Permit Directory
    • State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)
    • Express Permitting
    • DEQ Forms
    • Permit Assistance and Guidance
    • Rules & Regulations
    • Enforcement
    • NC DEQ ePayments
    • DEQ Permitting Transformation Program
    • Environmental Application Tracker
    • Pre-Regulatory Landfills Map
    • Title VI Compliance
    • Risk-Based Remediation
  • Outreach & Education
    Outreach & Education
    • N.C. Environmental Education
    • Distance Learning - Environmental Education
    • Environmental Justice
    • Educator Resources
    • Recognition Programs
    • Public Involvement Programs
    • Training
    • Recreation
    • Research
    • Grants
    • Conservation
    • Recycling
  • Energy & Climate
    Energy & Climate
    • Energy Group
    • Climate Change
    • Community Solar
    • Energy Assurance
    • Energy Efficiency and Weatherization
    • Energy Resilience
    • Transportation
    • Workforce Development
    • Offshore Wind Development
  • News
    News
    • Press Releases
    • Public Information Contacts
    • Environmentally Speaking Blog
    • Public Notices & Hearings
    • Events
    • Key Issues
    • DEQ Dashboard
    • Legislative Reports
    • Requesting Public Records
  • About
    About
    • Our Mission
    • Leadership
    • Boards and Commissions
    • Divisions
    • Green Square
    • Contact
    • Work at DEQ
  • NC.GOV
  • AGENCIES
  • JOBS
  • SERVICES
NC DEQ »   Home »   blog

Raleigh’s Peace Street Gets a Facelift

November 1, 2019

Author: Laura J. Leonard, Mary Alice Blackstock

The Division of Waste Management’s extensive work to protect the environment and public health can be seen across North Carolina. Several sites along Peace Street in the heart of Raleigh near the Capital Boulevard Corridor are getting a facelift through the division’s environmental work, allowing them to be redeveloped to spur economic development.

Two division programs – the Dry-Cleaning Solvent Cleanup Act (DSCA) Program and the Brownfields Program – have worked together with site developers to restore and revive an area along the northern gateway into downtown Raleigh.  This included work that is ongoing with roadway realignment and overpass improvements at the Capital Boulevard and Peace Street exchanges.

“The proposed redevelopment will be a key component of Raleigh’s Capital Boulevard corridor improvement plan and the city’s plans for Peace Street area revitalization,” said John Gallagher, a consultant for the developer of the Brownfields site. “The project will also revitalize an underutilized, environmentally impaired area, and will help to increase vitality and safety of the urban core of Raleigh.”

Three brownfields projects right off Capital Boulevard highlight Peace Street’s facelift: Smokey Hollow, Peace Street and Smokey Hollow 2. Collectively, the three sites were formerly occupied by a variety of office buildings and commercial operations including automotive repair and gasoline stations, Rollins Economy Cleaners, a car wash and the former Finches Restaurant. After redevelopment, the area will be home to a Publix and mixed-use projects with residential, restaurant, retail and office spaces.

Map view of brownfields sites in downtown RaleighBrownfields sites are abandoned, idled or underused properties where the threat of environmental contamination has hindered their redevelopment. Through a brownfields agreement, prospective developers are encouraged to redevelop a site.

“The facelift will greatly change the downtown Raleigh’s northern skyline,” said Brownfields Program Manager Bruce Nicholson. “For nearly 22 years, the state’s Brownfields Program has helped renovate abandoned properties into thriving businesses that not only boost the state’s economy but also protects North Carolina’s precious natural resources.  Reusing these downtown properties is a form of recycling that protects undeveloped land from continued sprawl.”

Since the first brownfields agreement in 1998, the program has generated more than $16 billion in economic investment through redeveloping sites in previously contaminated areas.

Of the three sites, the Peace Street project required more attention as the former Rollins Cleaners was situated on that location.Old picture of Rollins Cleaners in downtown Raleigh

“Rollins Cleaners entered into the DSCA Program in 2013 because the program can assess and clean up dry-cleaning solvent contamination with minimal costs to the owner,” said DSCA Program Manager Delonda Alexander. “After an investigation identified a significant release of dry-cleaning solvent, DSCA staff performed assessment and remediation activities at the site.”

Coordination between the two state programs provided assurance to the prospective developer interested in redeveloping the property that environmental risks at the site would be managed appropriately. In 2018, the prospective developer purchased the property from the owner of the dry-cleaning property, which was the last property purchase in the collection of parcels that comprise the Peace Street brownfields property. The Peace Street brownfields agreement was prepared in early 2019, underwent a 30-day public comment period in May and June 2019, and was recorded on June 28, 2019.

Construction and remediation at Rollins Cleaners in downtown RaleighOne will continue to see cranes working on these three brownfields projects for a while. Construction began on the Smokey Hollow site in 2018 and is estimated to be complete by 2020. Remediation activities at the former Rollins Cleaners were completed in March 2019, and construction at the site is expected to begin in 2020 or 2021. Construction has commenced on the Smokey Hollow 2 project, which is located immediately south of the Smokey Hollow location.

“In 2012, the City of Raleigh saw the potential for a dramatic transformation of this area, leveraging a programmed bridge replacement project to undo a 1960s-era urban renewal plan and create a new walkable urban place with a restored street grid fronting a revitalized Peace Street,” said Ken Bowers, director of City Planning for the City of Raleigh. “Redevelopment in this area has exceeded our expectations, and brownfields remediation has been essential to making this vision a reality.”

This blog is related to:

  • Environmentally Speaking
  • Brownfields
  • Dry-Cleaning Solvent Cleanup Act

Related Articles

  • The Coastal Reserve welcomes Margaret A. Davidson Fellow recipient, Daniel Bowling
  • How the Clean Smokestacks Act breathed new life into NC air quality 20 years ago 
  • How to Differentiate Pompano Dolphinfish from Common Dolphinfish
  • What Salamanders and Lichens Can Teach Us about Air Quality in North Carolina
  • Fisheries Director Catches Up with Anglers at Cape Point
  • A Ride on the Electric School Bus
  • POPS Goes the Cleaners
  • Viewing Climate Change through a Creative Lens
  • Winter Air Quality
  • Seasonal technicians needed at Wilmington Office
  • Modernizing the Hazardous Waste Billing Process
  • The Year in Review: DWR Water Education in 2021
  • Coastal research grants: Assemble and polish the application package
  • Coastal Research Grants: Prepare a budget and additional materials
  • Coastal Research Grants: write the project description

Related Articles

  • Collaboration Between Departments Attracts Record Number to 6th Annual Nonformal Educators Meeting
  • State Brownfields Program Celebrates Milestone
  • DEQ nationally recognized as Best Workplace for Commuters
  • Cooper names Michael Regan to lead NC DEQ
  • Teens & 20s Writer Plans to Earn Her N.C. Environmental Education Certification During Gap Year
  • BOEM announces wind lease sale offshore Kitty Hawk
  • Innovative Durham teacher removes obstacles to environmental education
  • Words of Rain Barrel Wisdom
  • Two state employees retire after monumental careers
  • Read Across America, a really BIG event for Raleigh elementary school

Share this page:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

How can we make this page better for you?

Back to top

Contact Us

Physical Address
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
217 West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27603 Map It
877-623-6748

Mailing Addresses

Work for Us

  • Job Opportunities at DEQ
  • For State Employees
  • DEQ Intranet

Twitter Feed

Tweets by NC DEQ

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • DEQ Employee Directory
  • Translation Disclaimer
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Open Budget
NC DEQ
https://deq.nc.gov/blog/2019-11-01/raleigh%E2%80%99s-peace-street-gets-facelift