RTP property sells for over a half a billion dollars to an out of state investor
A California-based real estate investment trust bought a large chunk of a Research Triangle Park campus in one of the biggest real estate transactions in the Triangle this year.
This week, Alexandria Real Estate Equities spent $590 million on 253acres of property at the Parmer RTP, a laboratory office campus, according to Durham County records.
The purchase, first reported by the Triangle Business Journal, covers seven parcels next to the Durham Freeway on TW Alexander Drive, Moore Drive and Ellis Road.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ executive chairman and founder, Joel Marcus, declined to comment on the purchase.
Alexandria’s investments in office and lab buildings across the nation include those associated with giant companies like Facebook, Uber and Pfizer.
“This is a tremendous transaction,” said Scott Levitan, president and CEO of the Research Triangle Park Foundation, in an interview with The News & Observer. “[Alexandria is] terrific, not just as an investor, but as a partner in what we’re trying to do in RTP to move forward and keep our relevance in the future. I think this kind of investment and other investments they’re making around the park are just tremendous.”
This investment follows the recent announcement for plans for Genesis at RTP, a 104-acre industrial park in the works from Charlotte-based company The Keith Corporation.
Duke University announced it would lease 273,000 square feet at Parmer RTP in June for a lab to research viruses and conduct development and testing for vaccines.
Bioscience company GRAIL Inc. also recently leased 200,000 square feet at the upcoming Park Point campus under development.
Real estate in RTP has been resilient during the pandemic, Levitan said.
“I will say that the economic development folks in Wake County and Durham County both help us market sites because we span the two counties,” Levitan said.
“Their [business] interest flow and their prospect flow is still very, very strong and I think the Triangle is in the in the right spot right now.”
Levitan said that large corporate investment in RTP helps lead to more investment in the surrounding Triangle communities in terms of housing and education as the region continues to grow.
This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 12:06 PM with the headline "RTP property sells for over a half a billion dollars to an out of state investor."
