By Caleb Harshberger  – Staff Writer, Triangle Business Journal

Plans for a 100-acre development in Research Triangle Park took a big leap forward this week with the launch of a new partnership set to build up to 1 million square feet of new office space in what will be the first high-rise buildings in RTP.

The Research Triangle Foundation announced Tuesday its partnership with Dallas-based KDC to develop Hub RTP, a 43-acre multi-use urban district in Research Triangle Park with buildings up to 300 feet tall.

“This is the long-anticipated opportunity to retool RTP. With the support of Durham County, the companies in RTP and private partners including KDC, we can do this in 2020,” says Scott Levitan, President and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation. “Today’s companies and workforce are looking for an integrated live, work and play environment. We are creating that kind of energy in the heart of RTP.”

Plans for the project call for up to 1 million square feet of office space, at least one hotel with up to 375 rooms, 850 residential units and 150,000 square feet of retail space.

“KDC is honored to be chosen by the Research Triangle Park Foundation as the office developer of Hub RTP,” says Larry Wilson, Division President, KDC. “The project is transformative for Research Triangle Park and will create the integrated mixed-use environment desired by today’s workforce.”

Wilson says the total cost of the project is expected to be around $140 million and construction is expected to begin in 2021. Site plans have yet to be finalized, but depending on the final size of the buildings, construction is expected to take 30 to 36 months, Wilson says. Infrastructure work is expected to be done this year.

That phase will make up 43 acres on the eastern portion of the property, and future phases could bring as much as 6 million additional square feet of space.

Those first 43 acres make up a part of a 100-acre swath of land that the Research Triangle Foundation has slated for development in the park. Wilson says future phases are expected to expand west from the initial 43 acre buildout to meet up with The Frontier portion of the project on the other side of the property.

On that side, the park is also planning for the upcoming opening of Boxyard RTP, a 15,000 square foot retail destination built out of shipping containers and anchored by Fullsteam Brewery.

Boxyard RTP is set to open later this year and feature up to nine food and beverage vendors, as well as several retailers and service providers.

KDC is a nationally-known developer of corporate build-to-suit campuses with previous work done for companies such as JPMorgan Chase, State Farm and Toyota. It has worked on projects in RTP since 2006, Wilson says, and in that time has built a relationship with the Research Triangle Foundation.

In addition to its work in the park, KDC is also working on several other large mixed-use office projects around the country, including Broadway Station in Denver, Colorado, Park Heritage in Dallas, Texas and Aureum in Nashville, Tennessee, to name a few. The company recently worked on an expansion project for Credit Suisse in the Triangle.

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