Triangle expansions from Apple, others make progress

Triangle expansions from Apple, Wolfspeed and Toyota have all shown signs of progress in recent weeks.

Apple, which has been relatively quiet since announcing in 2021 it would create 3,000 jobs in the region, filed its first applications for office buildings in Research Triangle Park.

• The company currently has sublet space in the MetLife office tower in Cary — but its application shows that it could build 324,000 square feet of space across several buildings on its RTP land off Louis Stephens Drive.

Wolfspeed, the Durham semiconductor company planning a $5 billion chips plant in Chatham County, landed a key permit from the state's Department of Environmental Quality.

• On Thursday, the firm received an air-quality permit that will allow it to proceed with construction, as long as it meets requirements to limit the amount of nitrogen oxides it spews into the air.

And Toyota pledged earlier this month to invest another $2.1 billion into its battery plant for electric vehicles in Randolph County.

• The plant could employ up to 2,100 people, though the state has promised more incentives if it doubles that number.

The big picture: The expansions represent some of the biggest economic development projects in North Carolina history — and they all stand to shape the future of the Triangle's growth, all the way from its core to its growing periphery in Chatham County.

Yes, but: Plenty of job-creating projects are promised every year that ultimately fail to reach their targets.