$100M development underway in Apex is part of NC-Minnesota ‘industrial pipeline’
Construction workers broke ground this week on a $100 million development that will add 845,000 square feet of industrial and warehouse space to a rapidly growing part of southern Wake County.
Apex Commerce Center is a joint venture partnership between Oppidan Investment Company, a Minnesota-based development firm, and Rockpoint, a private equity firm headquartered in Boston.
Real estate records show LLCs affiliated with the companies bought up 110 acres of vacant land in Apex last summer for $4.7 million.
The Apex Commerce Center is the second development site Oppidan and Rockpoint have started in an “industrial pipeline” connecting North Carolina and Minnesota. The first, in Chaska, Minnesota, broke ground in October.
Oppidan has yet to name any tenants being courted for either property.
The Apex site — the first phase of which Oppidan projects to complete later this year — will be built south of U.S. 1, on vacant land off Pristine Water Drive. It will include four buildings.
Tim Brent, Oppidan’s executive vice president for the southeast, said in a news release that this was the first of several projects in the Triangle.
“The Apex Commerce Center is well located to draw from a highly talented labor pool and will attract a variety of businesses, tenant and users who are looking for employees of all skill sets,” Brent said.
Oppidan has also asked Orange County for permission to build an industrial park in Efland, where Texas-based Buc-ee’s once hoped to place a gas station.
That plan called for 886,240 square feet of light industrial and warehouse space on a 100-acre site located just off overlapping interstates 85 and 40. An application for a zoning compliance permit the company began in September remains under review.
Oppidan has a wide portfolio and has announced construction timelines for two other projects in Wake County:
- The Highline: A 32,000-square-foot mixed-use development is nearing completion in downtown Apex. It will have office space, retail and a private balcony overlooking Salem Street. Check out the live construction view.
- The Pines at Peach Road: Construction will kick off this summer at a 119-unit affordable apartment complex in south Raleigh. There will be five buildings and a mix of floor plans with one to three bedrooms. The project is expected to be move in-ready in winter 2024.
This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 9:12 AM.
