From high rises to retail, these commercial developments will help transform the Triangle
Real estate is the one of the Triangle region’s economic strongholds and it has been hardly strained by the coronavirus pandemic. Numerous residential and mixed-use developments have continued to be planned and built, and so have developments centered mainly on office, retail and industrial space.
The National Association of Realtors recently confirmed this: the Raleigh metro area was named one of the top 10 markets for commercial real estate nationally in 2021.
“The top commercial real estate markets that are expected to outperform the rest of the nation are generally affordable and able to draw new residents with a greater flexibility to work from home,” said NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun. “These growing markets also offer much lower office and retail rents and are, therefore, able to attract new and expanding businesses.”
The selection of Raleigh is based on consideration of 25 different key economic and demographic indicators including population growth, homeownership rate, GDP growth and unemployment rate.
Here’s a round-up of the biggest commercial projects underway:
Midtown Exchange
The massive 40-acre Midtown Exchange commercial and residential project proposed for Raleigh’s midtown area just north of the I-440 Beltline will be a development that’s comparable in size to nearby North Hills.
Local developer Dewitt Carolinas said the first phase of the $1 billion project will include a 12-story tower with 330,000 square feet of office space, 19,000 square feet of retail and 5,000 square feet of conference and meeting space.
It will be the first of a pair of modern towers that will be linked by a skybridge and will overlook St. Albans and Benson drives. Construction on the first tower is starting in the first half of 2021, developers told The N&O previously.
Plans for the rest of the Midtown Exchange include more office and residential high-rises, a hotel, a convention center, retail and restaurant space, all built over the next decade. Housing construction is set to include up to 300 senior apartment units and 1,275 apartment, condo and townhome units.
One Glenwood sister tower
The 10-story retail and office building that’s the sister tower of One Glenwood is approaching completion. Tower Two is at the intersection of Hillsborough Street and Glenwood Avenue, west of Downtown Raleigh.
The $108 million development will have 271,500 square feet and create an “urban courtyard” between its sister tower, which is anchored by the Raleigh location of WeWork.
The towers are part of the overall Bloc[83] development, which has 30,000 square feet of retail with the 126-room Origin boutique hotel and will have a 665-space on-site parking garage across from Tower Two on South Boylan Avenue. The cocktail bar Dram & Draught is among its tenants.
Maryland-based developer Heritage Properties also has a taller third tower in the works. The company filed a rezoning request last year to build a high-rise up to 18 stories high with parking and ground-level retail space at 615 W. Morgan St. and 117 S. Boylan Ave.
South Park neighborhood project
A commercial office and retail center is planned for 1310 S. Person St., south of downtown Raleigh in the South Park neighborhood. As investors see homebuilding opportunities in the working class neighborhood, rising costs have displaced some of those residents from their homes.
Raleigh-based real estate investor and developer Merge Capital released plans last year for a 67,000-square-foot development with restaurant, retail and 18,000 square feet of office space. The plan calls for open communal spaces, outside seating and a 485-space parking lot.
Merge Capital told The N&O that more details on the unnamed project won’t be released until later this year.
They recently announced plans to partner with Kane Realty for the development of Park City South, an upcoming apartment and retail building complex at the eastern entrance into downtown Raleigh.
Raleigh Crossing
This 19-story office tower at 301 Hillsborough St. in downtown Raleigh will be a new addition to the skyline by the end of 2021 when it is set to be completed.
The 280,381-square-foot tower will have 12,162 square feet of ground floor retail and is the first phase of a bigger development that will include restaurant space and more.
The sleek blue-tinted tower already has nearly half of its space pre-leased by software company Pendo, according to The Fallon Company, who is developing it.
The Roxboro at Venable Center
The Venable Center, a commercial office complex from Trinity Capital Advisors and SLI Capital, is adding a fourth building to go with the three fully-leased former tobacco buildings in Durham.
The Roxboro will have 200,000 square feet of space and is aiming for completion by either the end of 2021 or early 2022, developers told The N&O.
The Roxboro, situated east of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park at 464 E. Pettigrew St., will include additional construction for around 220 apartments, but they aren’t expected to be completed until the spring of 2022.
The project will feature a rooftop lounge as well as a conference center. The eight-story building will be constructed on a parcel of land that is adjacent to the Venable Center’s parking lot.
Its Durham-based architects Duda|Paine say the design is meant to respect the area’s historic context.
Downtown Cary park
The town of Cary is hoping that an expanded Downtown Park will stimulate other commercial development on neighboring streets. That means redeveloping the park into a center for outdoor events and activities.
The 7-acre Downtown Cary Park will be part of the town’s reimagined central town square on South Academy, East Park and Walker streets. The project’s final plans are a product of years of community input and town planning.
Site work is underway and a ground breaking event is scheduled later this spring with full completion expected in 2023.
The town envisions the park will usher in modern development and growth that will aim to bring in crowds from across the Triangle since it won’t be “a Cary-centric thing,” said Joy Ennis, the town’s general manager, in a previous interview.
Plans for the park include new walkways, space for farmers markets, a dog park, an elevated bridge and spaces for live performance. It will be funded by a public parks bond voted on by Cary residents.
Hub RTP
The Hub RTP project is a chance to turn nearly 100 acres in Research Triangle Park into an urban town center, with new offices, apartments and hotels, shopping and walkable green space. Hub RTP is at the intersection of Interstate 40, Davis Drive and N.C. 54.
The Research Triangle Park Foundation partnered with Texas-based developer KDC in an effort to open up the world-famous business park. The idea is for it to become a place where people can live, work and play rather than a secluded office complex, helping RTP compete with thriving downtown hubs across the country for potential businesses.
The project calls for development of around a million square feet of office space on 44 acres. The most recent details for Hub RTP call for 1,200 multifamily units like apartments and condos, at least one hotel with up to 425 rooms, and 75,000 square feet of shopping, dining and retail.
Developers previously told The N&O that two office towers are planned for the site, with the possibility of more. They likely will be up to 25 stories high, each a different height, with the possibility of underground parking.
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. The first building could be done by the end of 2022, according to developers.
Genesis RTP
The Genesis 104-acre commercial development in Research Triangle Park is being planned by Charlotte-based commercial real estate firm, The Keith Corp., to be another large complex within the corporate park.
Site work is underway for the project, which calls for around 5.5 million square feet of lab, life science, manufacturing and office space when completed. It will be situated at 3029 E. Cornwallis Road, just near N.C. 147 and a mile from Interstate 40.
Genesis will have eight buildings, divided into four R&D and manufacturing buildings of 30,000 to 90,000 square feet and four multi-story office and lab buildings of 40,000 to 450,000 square feet.
California-based contractor DPR Construction recently pre-leased a new headquarters and R&D facility at Genesis with a projected completion date in early 2022, according to the Triangle Business Journal.
Park Point at RTP
Charlotte-based Trinity Capital Advisors announced in early 2020 that they would spend roughly $160 million in redeveloping the long-abandoned Park Point office complex in RTP.
The office and warehouse site will be transformed into a massive office, life science and industrial space park using the existing building’s structures.
The developer said Biotech startup Grail Inc., which announced last year it would bring 400 jobs to the Triangle, would be the anchor tenant of the site. Developers said earlier this year that Charles River Laboratories has also leased space at the site.
The first phase of the project will be completed this year, according to the firm.
Alexander Commerce Park
Trinity Capital Advisors spent over $7 million on 48 acres of land with plans for Alexander Commerce Park, an industrial warehouse space complex in Research Triangle Park.
Jeff Sheehan, a partner at Trinity Capital Advisors, told The N&O that the firm’s bullish attitude is driving them to quickly develop the park themselves before confirming any tenants.
The park is situated at the intersection of TW Alexander and Stirrup Creek drives on the Durham County side of Research Triangle Park.
The park will consists of three buildings totaling 441,280 square feet. It is expected to be complete by the end of 2021.
Merritt business parks
East Coast real estate developers Merritt Properties is building industrial business parks in Research Triangle Park and Wake Forest.
The upcoming park in RTP is titled Merritt TW Crossing, located on a 51 acres bought in early 2020. It will have four buildings totaling more than 282,400 square feet of light industrial space upon completion later this spring.
Located on TW Alexander Drive and South Miami Boulevard, the development already has leased 24,000 square feet of space to three companies, the firm announced this month.
Merritt’s venture in Wake Forest is the larger Merritt Capital Business Park, which will have over 450,000 square feet of industrial space upon the development’s completion by the end of 2021, the firm said. It will feature up to seven buildings off of Ligon Mill Road and Unicon Drive near U.S. 1, Interstate 540 and US-401.
East Rosemary Street redevelopment
Raleigh developer Grubb Properties is making major additions to downtown Chapel Hill.
The development approved by the Town Council will replace the town’s Wallace Parking Deck and its rooftop plaza at 150 E. Rosemary St. with a six- to eight-story, 250,000-square-foot, modern office building with specially designed laboratory space.
The $80 million office building alone could bring 800 jobs downtown and generate $4.2 million in downtown sales, town staff said. It also would generate roughly $1.3 million in property tax revenues for the town, Orange County and local schools, staff said.
At eight stories, it would be the tallest building on East Rosemary and East Franklin streets.
The project is the third part of a major transformation planned for the downtown corridor, which also includes renovating the CVS building at 137 E. Franklin St. and 136 E. Rosemary St. into new office space.
Grubb Properties is working with the town to build a 1,100-space parking deck at 125 E. Rosemary St. next year, The N&O reported.
The project is expected to bring year-round jobs and new residents downtown to establish economic activity in Chapel Hill comparable to Raleigh and Durham. It would allow for businesses to depend on customer bases outside of the UNC student population and attract companies to stay in the town, officials say.
Downtown Chapel Hill is part of Orange County’s only Opportunity Zone, and Grubb Properties is taking advantage of the program’s federal tax incentives to complete its projects.
Grubb Properties will soon complete The Gwendolyn, a 106,000-square-foot office building in Chapel Hill’s Glen Lennox neighborhood. That project was launched with a $2.2 million performance-based tax incentive, The N&O reported.
Holly Springs business campus
National real estate firm Crescent Communities recently announced plans for a new campus for life science and biomanufacturing industries on roughly 25 acres in Holly Springs, developed in cooperation with the town government and local developer Trustwell Property.
The campus will consist of three buildings with over 255,000 square feet, the firm said. Two of the buildings will be built for biomanufacturing and one will be a two-story office building.
The site is at the intersection of Green Oaks Parkway and Holly Springs New Hill Road. Crescent Communities aims to start construction this summer with completion of the first building expected in summer of 2022.
Treelight Square
Doors will open later this fall for a shopping center within Wendell Falls, one of the largest master-planned communities in the Triangle. The center, built across 45 acres with around 260,000 square feet of commercial space, will be anchored by the first Publix in eastern Wake County.
The Newland homebuilding company is overseeing the residential community, but the commercial portion will be developed by Triangle-based Edinburgh Development.
A new WakeMed hospital location will be built on the property in the future, The N&O reported previously.
This site will be joined by another commercial component of the property called The Collective, an office and industrial park on 48 acres within Wendell Falls, which is at the intersection of U.S. 64 and Wendell Falls Parkway.
Staff writers Zachery Eanes and Tammy Grubb contributed reporting.
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 6:15 AM.
