The Weld and Rockway Raleigh: Mixed-use space across from Dix Park

Across Lake Wheeler Road from Dorothea Dix Park (featured in the three previous posts), just a mile or so southwest of downtown Raleigh, stand a pair of newly developed mixed-use communities under the names of The Weld and Rockway Raleigh.

The Weld encompasses twin 20-floor towers, The Holston and Ray at The Weld, developed by SLI Capital of Raleigh and Mack Real Estate Group of New York City. The Holston opened in November, while Ray at The Weld opened a month later. 

Very close to The Weld and situated along nearby South Saunders Street is a separate project, The Row (see lead-off photo), which is described as the first residential community to be part of Rockway Raleigh, a development of Kane Realty and Merge Capital. Two future Rockway communities at the site will be called The Heath and Lynde Hills Loft. 

All of these properties include or will include retail shops. Shops already open within the developments include Campo Taco Co., Benchwarmers Bagels and Sunflower’s Cafe, which are in The Row complex; and Willow House Coffee, a free-standing shop across Saunders Street from The Row. 

This summer, Drift Coffee & Kitchen is scheduled to open in The Weld as well. When it does, people who live and work in this modest area will have no fewer than four retail options to find coffee outside their homes or offices.

The Weld and Rockway Raleigh are situated near where Lake Wheeler Road meets Saunders Street, a “V” shaped junction just south of Rocky Branch Creek.   

Online promotions for The Weld describe one of its key characteristics as “access,” beginning with its proximity to the 305-acre Dorothea Dix Park, which is just a hop, skip and jump across Lake Wheeler Road. Rockway Raleigh also touts its closeness to the park as well as being near the Rocky Branch Creek Greenway east of Saunders Street. 

Both projects are near Raleigh’s downtown, which means they're also close to such attractions as Red Hat Amphitheater and Meymandi Concert Hall at Martin Marietta Center (both a half-mile northeast). And just a mile or so south, near where Lake Wheeler Road meets Centennial Parkway, are Trophy Brewing and Taproom, the State Farmers Market and the State Farmers Market Restaurant. 

The new development communities also are not far from the as-yet undeveloped Downtown South, a 140-acre, $2 billion mixed-use Kane Realty proposal for a site where Saunders Street meets I-40. Kane and the City of Raleigh envision that Downtown South will become an important southern gateway by serving as a major entertainment and residential hub featuring a $250 million soccer stadium (for the National Women's Soccer League's North Carolina Courage) as well as residential units, office space and retail.

So you see, this complex indeed has access, and a lot of it can or will be accessible on foot or a short drive or bicycle ride.  

Dix Park is a considerable draw because, for one, it already exists. And for another, it contains walking trails, a play plaza for children, a dog park, and plenty of general space to run, walk or ride bicycles. It also has a huge field that has been used for festivals and concerts, and a smaller open space for a popular annual display of sunflowers that are in bloom from early July to early August. 

And finally, the City of Raleigh and the Dix Park Conservancy are in only the early stages of a 10-year master plan to improve the park, so as they say, there is more to come. When I was there last week, there was a lot of building demolition going on in the park, with lots of taped and fenced off areas. 

To view a full gallery of my shots from the visit to The Weld and Rockway Raleigh, follow the link in this sentence. 

Views of The Row above and in the first four photos below. Campo Taco Co. is at the north end of the complex.  

Above: Separate from The Row, and across Saunders Street from the complex, is Willow House Coffee and Community. 

Above and first four photos below: The south end of The Row, distinguished by its rust exterior section as well as the Sunflower's Cafe.

Above and final photos below: More looks at Ray at The Weld and The Holston.  

Above and first three photos below: Side views of The Holston along Hammer Drive. The Holston is one of the two 20-floor twin towers that comprise The Weld. 

Above: The Holston (left) and Ray at The Weld, side by side.

Dororthea Dix Park, Part III: The park proper

In addition to the Gipson Play Plaza and scores of buildings shown in previous posts of this series, on Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, N.C., has sufficient area among its 305 acres to exhibit traditional attributes of a park, such things as scores of trees and plenty of open space and beautiful landscaping. 

The lead-off photo depicts a nice portion of what is referred to as “the big field” at Dix Park, space used for such things as concerts and festivals. One such example was the annual spring weekend Dreamville festival, which concluded its four-year run in 2025 (city and Dreamville officials have said a new four-year festival is in the works, but no details have been made public as yet). 

Or you can go to the big field just to roam, which is what I used it for when I was there Tuesday. 

The big field technically is a mix of rolling land that steadily goes up or down hill, depending on the direction you’re headed. The area in the foreground of the above picture is at the top of the hill. One goes downhill as he or she proceeds in the distance shown in the middle of the photo. 

It’s at that opposite end of the field that the park abuts the State Farmers Market property, and a stroller need only recognize the bright orange roofing as he or she draws closer and closer to the end of the field to appreciate the proximity of the market. 

I’m not sure what kind of work is being done on the right side of the photo, where the orange fence and construction implement is located, but I did read somewhere that there is a bandstand being installed in the field, and perhaps this is where that is going. 

To view a full gallery of photos from the “park proper” portion of my shoot at Dix, follow the link in this sentence.   

Above and below: The objective of this sculpture by DeWitt Godfrey, titled Attun, is to blend “natural mathematics and computational design with community context.” Godfrey used corten steel and stainless steel fasteners to create this 2023 work. Corten is a durable copper-chromium alloy designed to resist corrosion and does not require painting. The sculpture is intended to be visual-only; signage asks visitors not to climb on it.  

Above: A view of the downtown Raleigh skyline from Dix Hill, just outside the Greg Poole Jr. All Faiths Chapel.

Above: With a combination of rollers and banked turns, this pop-up pump track enables anyone to sharpen their bike, scooter or skating skills. It is open March through May each year.

Above: Sunflower Power Poles, easily visible from Lake Wheeler Road, the park’s eastern perimeter, is an art work created by Thomas Sayre and installed in partnership with the Duke Energy power utility. The sculpture transforms traditional utility poles into art, paying tribute to Dix Park's popular annual field of sunflowers, which visitors can find in the park interior from early July to early August. Raleigh-based Sayre, a sculptor and painter, has created and built public arts projects throughout the world. Another of his best-known local works is Gyre, the large three-piece ellipse on the grounds of the North Carolina Museum of Art.