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Downtown living means late-night noise

Raleigh officials are trying to strike a balance between downtown growth and providing residents with some respite from nighttime noise.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — City officials are trying to strike a balance between downtown growth and providing residents with some respite from nighttime noise.

More than 400 condominiums are expected to become available by the end of the year, bringing an estimated 1,000 new residents downtown.

"We have requirements that you do not disturb residents at night, but at the same time, people who live in Glenwood South enjoy that 18-hour experience of having entertainment right in the backyard," Raleigh Planning Director Mitchell Silver said.

Solas is the latest option in the Glenwood South district. The three-story venue, which opens Thursday, features a ground-floor restaurant, a dance club on the second floor and a rooftop patio and bar.

"It's nice to give them different options," Solas owner Niall Hanley said. "What I'm essentially doing here is opening three different businesses. It just happens that they're stacked in the same place."

Silver said Raleigh wants to attract more retailers downtown, including a grocery store. Hanley said having people and businesses in close proximity is the nature of city living, and residents need to become accustomed to late-night noise.

"(Downtown residents) want to be able to walk out, get a cup of coffee, come up (to Solas' patio) to have a bottle of champagne, go downstairs (to the restaurant) and have a steak. That's the nice thing about living in a city. We need to start to accept that we're growing," he said.

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