Research Triangle Park names developer for million-square-foot office towers
The Research Triangle Foundation, the not-for-profit that manages Research Triangle Park, has named a Dallas-based developer to build up to a million square feet of office space and the park’s first high-rise towers, as part of the 100-acre mixed use development known as Hub RTP.
The development company, KDC, has built corporate projects around the country, including the Credit Suisse campus in RTP. The million square feet of office space will be the main portion of Hub RTP, which has been anticipated for some time after formal plans were announced a year ago and $20 million in funding from Durham County was made available over four years ago.
The ambitious Hub RTP project — originally known as Park Center — has been in the works since 2015, when Durham County pledged money toward the project in hopes that it would reinvigorate Research Triangle Park. The property is near the intersection of N.C. 54 and Davis Drive, and the high-rise towers would be visible from nearby Interstate 40.
The project is seen as a chance to turn nearly 100 acres of an aging office park into an urban town center, with new offices, apartments and hotels, shopping and green space. It has been billed as an effort to open up the world-famous business park from a collection of walled-off corporate fortresses to a place where people can live, work and play, helping RTP compete with thriving downtown hubs across the country for potential businesses.
RTP construction project stalled for years
For several years, the project stalled and no construction was started. But after a leadership change and one potential developer dropped out, Hub RTP gained momentum under the leadership of Scott Levitan.
In addition to naming the developer for the largest section of the project, the Research Triangle Foundation has found a developer for retail space and a residential component, grown the Frontier co-working campus, and launched the Boxyard RTP, a collection of repurposed shipping containers that will be turned into restaurants and bars.
Levitan has said the project will help RTP strike a balance between its original model and the needs and wants of companies in the 21st Century. Many companies, he has said, still want to have a private corporate campus. But there has been a noticeable shift of companies moving their operations into downtown-like hubs where workers can work and live in the same place.
“Our job is to create an environment that will attract companies to North Carolina,” Levitan said in a phone interview. “We heard loud and clear that companies are focused on having a mixed-use, town-center environment that is active and will help them recruit talent.”
Currently, RTP is really only active during daytime work hours. By creating a place for new offices, restaurants and apartments, the hope is that RTP can be an active area for more hours of the day.
Ellen Reckhow, a Durham County commissioner, said she believes the project is key to keeping RTP relevant going forward, especially as more people want to live closer to work and not have long commutes.
KDC built Credit Suisse offices in RTP
“To see the vision that we talked about four years ago finally being realized is very positive,” Reckhow said in an interview. “Ten years from now I imagine that part of the Park will be a tremendous focal point and hub, not just for the Park itself, but for the region.”
This will be KDC’s third project in the Triangle after building the two Credit Suisse office buildings in RTP in 2007 and 2019.
Kristie VanAuken, vice president of stakeholder engagement at the Research Triangle Foundation, said the foundation chose KDC because it has experience as a site selection expert in addition to being a development company. That should help, she said, when it comes to attracting potential companies to expand or relocate to Hub RTP.
“They have a deep Rolodex across the industry for companies looking for their next best location,” she said.
No tenants have been named for the office portion of Hub RTP, and there is no timeline on when construction will begin.
In May, the Research Triangle Foundation will begin site work on the 100-acre property, investing around $90 million into infrastructure there, VanAuken said.
Levitan added he hopes the Hub RTP project will serve as a catalyst to create new public transportation options for RTP. There are already preliminary plans, for example, for a commuter rail project that would have a stop in RTP, The News & Observer previously reported.
“Clearly with 55,000 people in the Park every day,” he said, “we will be connected to whatever [mode of transit] is ultimately chosen.”
Office tower construction details
The towers will be built “podium-style” — with less than seven levels of parking at the base — according to KDC southeast division president Larry Wilson.
Two towers are planned for now, but there’s flexibility for more, he said.
They will likely be up to 25 stories high, each a different height, with the possibility of underground parking.
Wilson said the master plan for the two office towers will be developed throughout the year, with a goal of starting construction in 12 to 18 months finishing the first building by the end of 2022.
“In March of last year we pursued in earnest and were fortunate enough to be selected,” Wilson said about the competitive developer selection process.
KDC formed a relationship with the RTP Foundation in 2006, when it began work on the first Credit Suisse building and has known the market well since, said Wilson.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 1:27 PM.
