Because nobody but yuppies would prefer not to have a giant substation or maintenance station of various sorts slammed right into the middle of a neighborhood?

Also, for things that would otherwise simply not be covered at all, it keeps kids and vandals away and other potential liabilities.

As the article states, not because yuppies, because church and general environmental sensitivity on the part of the city management. They planned to disguise it forty years ago when it was planned, as I'm sure many communities have similarly done. Imho, this is similar to the practice of disguising urban cellular towers, a la http://twistedsifter.com/2012/08/examples-of-cell-phone-towe...

I just looked up the company Whole Foods Market that has those premises, they started in Austin in 1980, so presumably the City of Raleigh must have some of the best public officials in the world, given they can predict both yuppies and the future location of specific businesses.

I'm not sure why you were downvoted. Having spent some time there this seems like an eminently reasonable answer.

Because aesthetics matter.