The Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, citing the need to better serve its growing number of followers in the Triangle and around the state, plans to build a new 2,000-seat cathedral and campus on 39 acres it owns in west Raleigh near N.C. State University.

Michael Burbidge, the Bishop of Raleigh, announced the project at a press conference this morning at the diocese’s Catholic Center.

The project, estimated to cost between $75 million and $90 million, would also include a gathering hall and a 3-story parking facility.

Burbidge said the center will host musical events and lecture series as well as worship services.

“We are building a vibrant campus,” he said.

The diocese hopes to break ground on the project by the middle of 2013 after raising about a third of the overall cost of the project, Burbidge said.

Donors have already pledged $10 million toward the campus, according to the diocese.

View I-40 widening in a larger map

On time and on budget, NCDOT says it has finished a key $49 million project that opened up the Triangle's worst bottleneck by adding two lanes to a busy stretch of Interstate 40 in Cary and West Raleigh.

That's good news for commuters.  The six-lane freeway has room for more traffic in both rush-hour directions -- westbound is the heaviest in the morning, and eastbound in the evening.

DOT has learned there's a wrong way to widen I-40, and a right way. This one looks like the right way.

The new layout also should reduce confusion and accidents at the hectic split between eastbound I-40 and Wade Avenue. ... [MORE]

The owner of the Capital Center Office Building in West Raleigh has received an infusion of capital and extended the loan on the property.

The Dilweg Companies of Durham and Trinity Capital Advisors of Charlotte have formed a joint partnership to reinvest in the Capital Center.

Such deals have become commonplace in recent years as property values have dropped, and many owners have been forced to put in additional equity in order to refinance their debt.

Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
 

Not long ago, I wrote about battling illegal signs in my neighborhood. The signs, usually advertising new housing developments, pop up on right-of-ways every Saturday.

It's an odd feeling to walk for the first time into the men's restroom at The Goat, a tiny, dark barroom on Western Boulevard. This is because the biggest frill in this no-frills establishment is inside that restroom, and takes the form of a $1,200 urinal shaped like a red-lipped mouth.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that many, many, many things make me angry. So many people, situations and inanimate objects get me rankled that it can be difficult to squeeze in time for new hate.