An inside look at RTP’s biggest projects, and what Apple’s arrival means for the future

When Scott Levitan was named the leader of Research Triangle Park in 2017, his goal was to rejuvenate the six-decade-old research park and keep it relevant for the companies of the 21st century.

In the past year, his vision has started to crystallize.

In September, The Research Triangle Foundation broke ground on an ambitious $1.5 billion project called Hub RTP that will bring the first high-rise towers to the Park. It’s part of an effort to build an urban-like center in a research park that traditionally has been closed off to the outside public.

The Frontier, a flexible coworking space aimed at startups, now has 120 tenants.

And on June 5, RTP will open The Boxyard, a collection of shipping containers that will create a center of restaurants, cafes and breweries next to the Frontier.

To cap it all off, Apple just picked RTP as the home of an East Coast campus that eventually will house 3,000 employees.

The News & Observer talked with Levitan while getting a tour of the nearly-finished Boxyard project, which will include tenants like Fullsteam Brewery, Beyu Caffe and Lawrence Barbeque.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for space and clarity.

Q. Do you think the opening of the Boxyard will be a chance to re-introduce a more public-facing RTP to a post-pandemic Triangle?

Levitan: We would have liked to finished it earlier, but the timing couldn’t be better. People really want to get out, and they want to experience something different. The Park has never had this kind of casual, experiential kind of retail space.

We’re doing extra work to have events three days a week from the start. There’s a lot of people who are going to be in the office during the day, but in the evenings on the weekends, we really want it to be an attractive place.

Q. Has RTP gained a sense of momentum in the past year?

Levitan: What’s really an amazing statistic is that since the beginning of COVID last March, $4.5 billion of investment has been announced inside RTP. That’s about 5,000 jobs announced in a period when you would expect nothing to happen.

We think there’s a correlation between the investments we’re making, the marketing we’re doing, changing the perception of the Park. It’s starting to get people’s attention and make them want to think about being in North Carolina.

Q. Has the fact that Apple has given RTP a vote of confidence made you more confident in your decision to create the $1.5 billion Hub RTP project?

Levitan: We’ve bet the farm on (Hub RTP). I feel more confident than I ever have. But confidence only goes so far as when the lease gets signed. But that’s the mantra of real estate. If you are not going to dream in real estate, then you shouldn’t be in real estate. It’s always a bet on the future.

Q. Do you think Apple could have as big of an impact on RTP as IBM’s arrival did in the 1960s?

Levitan: When I got here (in 2017), the perception of our state was still confused by some of the legislative actions that had happened. (House Bill 2, also known as the bathroom bill, was repealed in 2017.)

We have been hoping that Apple would make this decision for a number of years, and everyone was pulling either overtly or covertly to make sure that they felt comfortable coming.

But, you know, Fidelity announced a huge expansion recently. Red Hat and IBM are thinking about their presence in the Park and how that’s going to look going forward. Biogen just announced an expansion. (Eli) Lilly has decided to build their plant here. ApiJect will be a societal transformational project.

Let’s let their actions speak for the perception of RTP and North Carolina. Because if there were issues five years ago, whatever we’ve done at the state to demonstrate that legislation and those messages are not valid in the Triangle, then, I think, we’re seeing the proof.

Q. With all of those expansions taking place, is traffic going to become a big obstacle to getting people to RTP?

Levitan: Traffic will be back. Regional mobility needs to stay on our front burner, whether we are in a pandemic or we are in a peak.

One thing isn’t going to solve this. Our road system needs to be robust, so there’s additional investment into (Interstate) 540’s completion around Raleigh. That’s a high priority. Some alternative mass transit needs to be part of the strategy, and, right now, at least two of the counties are committed to (bus rapid transit). Durham is revisiting its transportation plan because the light rail stopped and they have to reenvision what they want to do.

What I’m hearing is that all of those are going to connect at RTP because they have to connect somewhere. If RTP’s at 60,000 employees in two years, then that’s a lot of people that need to get to work. Not everybody wants to, or can afford to, drive a car to work. It’s just the reality. And that’s why we’re building housing at the Hub. Housing and affordable housing ties into a regional mobility strategy.

We’re on the cusp of, I think, really powerful conversations about regional transportation.

Q. If apartments at Hub RTP are successful, will there be more housing built going forward?

Levitan: There’s going to be more housing.



I don’t know what it looks like, but I think we’re fortunate to be able to phase this project and test out how the market responds to so many different product types, like retail and hospitality. But I think it might not only be rental housing. We would like to think that we’ve created enough of a place that maybe there’s an opportunity for condominium development.

There is tremendous development occurring right up to the edge (of RTP). Go out Davis Drive, down N.C. 54, Slater Road or Page Road — a lot of housing is going on out there. So I don’t think it’s at all a risk to build housing here.

Inside The Boxyard

The Boxyard will open on June 5. It will have 13 permanent vendors, and several pop-up retailers. The opening tenants are:

• Beyu Caffe
• Bulkogi
• Buzzy Bakes
• Carrburritos
• Fullsteam Brewery
• Game On Escapes & More
• Lagoon tiki bar
• Lawrence Barbecue
• Meat and Graze
• Medicine Mama’s Farmacy
• RTP Uncorked wine bar
• Trellis Beauty
• Wonderpuff

This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate.

This story was originally published May 28, 2021 at 5:55 AM with the headline "An inside look at RTP’s biggest projects, and what Apple’s arrival means for the future."