Research Triangle Park Inches Closer To Mixed-Use After Key Board Vote

Landowners in Research Triangle Park will soon be able to apply to bring mixed-use communities to North America’s largest research and science park.

The Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina Board of Directors unanimously approved new development standards, paving the way for residential opportunities for the first time since the park opened nearly 70 years ago, according to an RTP press release.

The Monday vote allows the Research Triangle Park Foundation to move forward with RTP 3.0, a 50-year vision plan to become a “live, work, play” space, the Triangle Business Journal reported. Starting July 16, landowners can submit applications for new developments that fall under the following categories: enhanced corporate campuses, residential neighborhood developments and mixed-use nodes.

Those options aim to give companies “greater flexibility to align their real estate assets with evolving business needs,” according to the RTP release.

The introduction of mixed-use properties will mark a significant shift for the research park, which was founded in 1959 and houses labs, data centers, life sciences facilities and corporate offices. The park sits on 7,000 acres in the Piedmont region in Durham County, located between Duke University in Durham, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University in Raleigh. 

Nearly 400 companies are located in RTP, including IBM, Biogen and hundreds of startups, according to Axios. Last October, IBM relocated the majority of its workers out of the park to nearby leased space as it explores options for the campus, TBJ reported.

The RTP 3.0 vision plan says it aims to introduce more walkable residential, commercial and recreational spaces “to create balanced, vibrant communities and to reinforce RTP’s position as a leading innovation hub.”

RTP leaders said in the Monday release that approval of that plan marks the “transformation potential” of the park “from a traditional corporate campus model into a more dynamic, connected innovation community designed to attract talent, accelerate discovery, and drive long-term economic growth.”