Newly released records hint at timing for Apple’s RTP campus, and the traffic it’ll bring
Newly released documents from Wake County shed additional light on Apple’s future campus in Research Triangle Park, including recommended road work to ease traffic and a hint about when the company expects construction to begin.
Among the records released Monday was a Traffic Impact Analysis conducted by the Raleigh-based engineering firm Kimley-Horn, which examined existing traffic volumes around the RTP site as well as projected traffic conditions for what the firm called an anticipated “build-out” in 2026.
The analysis, submitted in May, estimated the campus could add “5,500 new daily vehicular trips.” Kimley-Horn recommended a series of “vehicular mitigation” measures to prepare for “Phase 1 build-out” at the Apple site, including constructing additional turn lanes, lanes going into and out of the site, and traffic signals.
Traffic impact analyses are required in North Carolina for projects expected to add more than 3,000 daily vehicular trips. Applicants hire the engineering firms to conduct these studies.
In April 2021, Apple announced it would eventually employ more than 3,000 workers at a site that straddles N.C. 540 near Cary and Morrisville. The company has made no public statements about the project since.
However, documents obtained this week by The News & Observer via a public records request display the campus’s latest scope.
According to site plans dated Sept. 8, the complex will include three main office buildings, three accessory structures and a parking deck. Each office building is listed at 73 feet, or roughly five to six stories. In all, the plans call for approximately 702,000 square feet of offices and nearly 900,000 square feet of space overall.
The maximum building height is listed at 120 feet, though no currently proposed building reaches that elevation.
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Apple did not technically submit these site plans; the vacant land is owned by a holding company called Acute Investments. Most of the plan’s 154 pages were redacted. Wake County said this information was concealed as it contained trade secrets.
Commenting on Acute’s plans, Wake County noted a “final zoning and site improvement inspection” must still occur before it issues a building permit.
In November, a county official told The N&O that they felt Apple has been unhurried in its RTP campus efforts. “It’s really slow rolling on the applicant side,” they said. “I thought it would be much further along.”
Apple, which is known to be secretive about its plans, has not responded to questions about its pace of progress in the Triangle.
Stormwater design is strong, NC State team says
Besides a building permit, the company needs a county permit for its stormwater control plan, which the Durham engineering firm McAdams has designed. In September, the design was endorsed by NC State University’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
In September, McAdams also informed Wake County that permits “are in the works” with the state Department of Transportation concerning the RTP site.
For now, Apple has invested in two smaller Triangle locations. The tech giant leases a seven-floor building on MetLife’s Global Technology Campus in Cary.
And the company is currently renovating a four-story, 139,000-square-foot building in Durham near Raleigh-Durham International Airport. In February, the City of Durham issued an “upfit” permit for this Slater Road building. While no signs indicate Apple’s presence, two sources in local real estate familiar with the project confirmed Apple is the tenant.
To comply with its state economic incentive agreement, Apple has to have added at least 126 workers in the area by the end of this year. This hiring threshold then rises to 378 total jobs next year, 990 in 2025, and ultimately at least 2,700 new positions overall by the end of 2032.
While its hiring commitments are more immediate, Apple has a longer runway to meet its property investment goals. Under the terms of its Job Development Investment Grant, Apple must spend a minimum of around $500 million on local property by the end of 2031. The company’s current spending on the MetLife and Slater Road locations may count toward this total.
This story was originally published December 11, 2023 at 2:25 PM.
