The RTP 3.0 era officially begins

The RTP 3.0 era officially begins

A new era is officially underway in Research Triangle Park after the companies and landowners based in the 7,000-acre campus gave the final approval to its RTP 3.0 land rules.

Why it matters: The land-use changes, which had already been approved by Wake and Durham counties, could significantly change the built environment of the Triangle's most influential economic engine of the past six decades.

  • Nearly 400 companies are based in RTP, ranging from behemoths like IBM, Lenovo and Biogen to hundreds of startups.

    • Driving the news: The new rules would give landowners much more flexibility on what they can build, like housing, retail and other commercial buildings for the first time.

  • Instead of a building surrounded by a large parking lot, for instance, a land owner can now build much more densely, adding apartments or other amenities. The park is hoping to focus this redevelopment around transit corridors that are coming to N.C. 54.
  • It expands the concept that the Research Triangle Foundation, the nonprofit that manages the park, experimented with through its HUB RTP development.

    • Between the lines: A motivating factor behind the changes is that the leadership of Research Triangle Park worried that the existing concept of RTP — a collection of walled-off corporate fortresses hidden behind trees — worked well for 50 years.

  • They were concerned it was becoming less attractive in the 2020s, as employees and companies sought more urban-feeling developments that were propping up across the country.
  • Leadership from the Research Triangle Foundation studied competing innovation districts like Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass., Eli Lilly's headquarters in Indianapolis and Westbrook Place in Vancouver, Canada, for inspiration.

    • What they're saying: "Starting five years ago, coming out of COVID, our companies had a lot of concerns about talent attraction and retention," Travis Crayton, vice president of planning and public policy at the Research Triangle Foundation, told Axios.

  • "The places we create today look very different than they did in 1959," he added. "And this effort really has been about creating the right land-use framework that will allow the park to organically evolve over time to create more of those environments where talent really wants to be."

    • What's next: Don't expect immediate changes, Crayton said. Landowners are still digesting the possibilities of the new rules.

  • But over the next 10 years, some major projects could get off the ground, creating more nodes of activity across RTP.

    • The intrigue: There already is a lot of curiosity. RTI International previously told Axios it was studying what it could mean for the future of its campus on Cornwallis Road.

  • IBM has begun consolidating its employees and studying the future of its massive campus.
  • It could also give flexibility to redevelop land if a large employer leaves — Lenovo reportedly is considering moving its HQ to the Lenovo Center redevelopment — or if one doesn't arrive at all. (Apple again delayed plans for its RTP campus last year.)