Colliers Engineering & Design On Why Research Triangle Has 'So Much To Offer'

It’s no wonder that the Research Triangle area of North Carolina is the envy of many other regions’ economic development efforts. Even during the disruption of the pandemic, the population of the area between Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill grew by 5.6%.

Andy Mills, a senior project manager with Colliers Engineering & Design's Raleigh office, has a front-row view of this growth and its impact on commercial real estate development.

“So many people and businesses continue to move to this area because of the job market, lifestyle and major universities,” said Mills, who has nearly four decades of site development experience in North Carolina, including in the Triangle. “The residential growth alone is huge and will continue, and commercial development will continue to follow the residential.”

Mills will be a panelist at Bisnow’s Triangle State of the Market event on May 29 in Raleigh. Register here.

Bisnow spoke with Mills to learn more about CRE trends in the region.

Bisnow: What does the Triangle state of the market look like to you?

Mills: I’ve seen a lot of growth here since the mid-’80s, when I first worked in the Triangle. Commercial growth follows residential growth, and the more that residential moves outward from, say, Raleigh proper and closer to Wake County’s borders, the more commercial grows as well to serve these new neighborhoods. 

A lot of municipalities are requiring master-planned residential communities to include a mix of asset classes. For example, in a multifamily building, they may want to see retail or office space below the residential units in upper floors. This intermixing of the commercial and residential in the same community has picked up a lot of steam here. 

Bisnow: What continues to drive this growth?

Mills: I read not long ago that something like 60 people a day are moving into the Triangle. North Carolina sees a lot of retirees moving to the coast, but people are coming here for everything the Triangle has to offer.

Plus, we're seeing different types of businesses continue to move in and people come here for those jobs as well.

Bisnow: What trends are you noticing in particular asset classes?

Mills: Many commercial developers are looking at doing more flex space to give tenants more options. I met with an industrial developer yesterday who told me that a lot of the work he's doing across the state, and especially in the Triangle, is building with more flex and leasing the spaces out. A tenant might need only 2,500 SF or they might need 15K SF, and so the developer will fix it up in various sizes and dimensions to meet their varying needs. 

Also, with so many people moving here, opportunities are starting to open up for properties outside of places like Raleigh, Durham and Cary. We’re seeing people and businesses move out a little bit more towards Lee and Johnston counties, for instance.

As for office, a lot of space became vacant during the pandemic, but I think we're starting to see a turnaround. Companies are starting to mandate that people come back into the office, and right here, in Colliers Engineering & Design’s own office, we’re full. Like a lot of businesses in the Triangle, we need more space, and we're still hiring. 

Bisnow: Does the region have the infrastructure to support all of this growth?

Mills: Transportationwise, the Triangle has done a lot of work over the years. I recall that back in the ’80s, they were expanding the highways to accommodate growth. Now, it’s 2025, and we're still expanding the transportation infrastructure in the area. 

You’ve got I-95, which is only about 30 minutes down the road from Raleigh, and I-40 that will take you straight to it. I-540 will carry you around the Triangle, and I-85 is about 30 minutes on the west side of Raleigh. The Triangle is in a good, centralized location for business, and having all these major interstates nearby makes it a lot easier if you're trying to get your product out to other locations.

Prior to joining Colliers Engineering & Design in 2024, I worked on a large project in the Holly Springs area, a multi-use property with 1,700 residential units. Eight hundred and fifty of these units were planned as multifamily, along with a large commercial development to include grocery stores, office and retail space, and a business park.

The project all came together and became viable thanks to the new I-540 extension that runs through Holly Springs.

Bisnow: What do you hope people take away from your panel at the Bisnow event?

Mills: I'm hoping that anybody who's looking to find a location for their business will see that the Triangle has got so much to offer in its workforce, environment and lifestyle — and that listening to the panelists will make them consider moving or developing their business here.

Click here to register for Bisnow’s Triangle State of the Market event on May 29.

This article was produced in collaboration between Colliers Engineering & Design and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.