In a changing Triangle, these are 5 places to keep an eye on in 2026
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh will relocate Red Hat Amphitheater as convention center expansion begins.
- West Raleigh arena area starts $1 billion redevelopment and arena renovations.
- RDU launches $2.5 billion upgrades and parking expansions to meet 2050 demand.
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Five Places to Watch in 2026
The last few years may have had some economic challenges nationally, but the Triangle remains one of the fastest-growing regions in the country (and North Carolina one of the fastest-growing states). Here are five locations around that Triangle that will look significantly different, thanks to that growth, by the end of 2026.
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For decades, the Triangle has been one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, as a strong economy and good quality of life draw people and companies from around the world.
With that growth comes change. Every year, The News & Observer highlights five places that are expected to change noticeably in the coming year, as symbols of our evolving region.
This year’s Five Places to Watch include four tied to the Triangle’s growing economy and population. The fifth will become the state’s largest gas station and convenience store, built more for people passing through the region than local residents (though it will draw plenty of both).
Here are the five:
Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh Convention Center and new downtown hotel
Raleigh has long planned to expand its downtown convention center by bridging McDowell Street. To make room, it is moving the popular Red Hat Amphitheater a block south. 2026 will be the last for shows in the current space, as the steel frame of the new amphitheater begins to rise this summer.
Nearby, construction will begin on a new 27-story Omni hotel on a city-owned parking lot across from the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts.
Lenovo Center sports and entertainment district
This is the year the surface parking lots around the Lenovo Center will begin to be transformed into a $1 billion mixed-use development. A decade from now, the west Raleigh arena is expected to be surrounded by an outdoor concert venue, offices and restaurants and the parking garages to accommodate them. Meanwhile, inside the arena, $300 million in renovation work will become more noticeable this year to fans of Carolina Hurricanes hockey and N.C. State Wolfpack basketball.
A mega development in Apex
Veridea, the ZIP code-size project first conceived nearly two decades ago, becomes tangible this year. The 1,100-acre town-within-a-town in southern Apex is expected to have 8,000 residents by 2035, as well as office buildings, retail, restaurants, public spaces and an elementary school. It will also be home to the planned North Carolina Children’s Hospital and a new Wake Technical Community College campus.
RDU airport expansion
Raleigh-Durham International Airport expects to handle twice as many travelers in 2050 as it does now. To get ready, RDU has $2.5 billion in construction projects planned over the coming decade.
That includes tripling the number of parking spaces in the airport’s largest remote lot by the end of this year and the beginning of a multi-year effort to expand Terminal 2, with more ticketing counters, baggage carousels and security lanes. Work will also begin this year to widen and reconfigure the airport’s main street, John Brantley Boulevard.
Buc-ee’s travel center
Then there’s Buc-ee’s, the much-hyped Texas-size gas station that will have 120 pumps in front of a big box store with all sorts of food and merchandise, much of it bearing the likeness of the chain’s mascot beaver. Workers began preparing the site off Interstate 40/85 in Mebane in late 2025, and the building’s walls are expected to begin going up this summer.
This story was originally published December 31, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
