Research Triangle Park could soon attract more development under a zoning change
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The Horseshoe building at HUB RTP. Photo: Courtesy of Choate Construction
The Research Triangle Foundation, the nonprofit that manages Research Triangle Park, cleared the final hurdle for an ambitious rezoning of the 7,000-acre research park that straddles Durham and Wake counties.
Why it matters: The change in zoning, dubbed RTP 3.0, will allow for the massive corporate campuses that currently dominate the park to potentially redevelop their land to include housing, retail and other commercial uses for the first time.
Driving the news: The Durham County Board of Commissioners approved the changes on Monday, following a similar decision made by the Wake County Board of Commissioners this summer.
State of play: RTP, founded in the late 1950s, is home to more than 300 companies, but until recently, it was impossible to live inside its boundaries or find a place to eat or shop.
- That began to change in recent years, with the completion of Hub RTP, a massive development in the heart of the park meant to become RTP's central hub.
- It is now home to apartments, new office buildings and restaurants like Drift Coffee, Prime Barbecue and Cheeni.
The big picture: The goal is to make the park more attractive to the way modern companies and employees want to work.
- Some corporate campuses are aging and don't have the amenities that many employers prefer in modern office properties — or they simply have too much space in the era of modern work.
What's next: Before applications for redevelopment begin, Research Triangle Park's internal board will approve some regulations and guidelines that will govern what sort of new developments can form.
- Park leadership wants to encourage new density, but the overall goal of the rules is to protect RTP's overall research-and-economic-development mission, said Travis Crayton, vice president of planning and public policy at the Research Triangle Foundation.
- Ultimately, a landowner would need approvals from the board, the county the land is in and a final design review before beginning construction.
- RTF hopes to begin accepting applications next year, Crayton said.
Between the lines: The first domino that could fall in the park's transformation could be IBM's main campus, which dates back to 1965.
- IBM said this fall that it is consolidating its employees in RTP and is weighing future options for its 400-acre campus there.