Research Triangle Park (RTP) is the largest
research park
The following is a list of science park, technology parks and biomedical parks of the world, organized by continent.
Asia
ASEAN Economic Community
Report listing all the Economic Zones in the ASEAN Economic Community froUNIDO Viet Nam China
...
in the United States,
occupying in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
and hosting more than 300 companies and 65,000 workers.
The facility is named for its location relative to the three surrounding cities of
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
,
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
, and
Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia
*Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
*Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area
Canada
* Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...
, or more properly, for the three major research universities in them:
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...
,
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
and
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
respectively. The
Research Triangle
The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to ...
region of North Carolina received its name as an extension of the name of the park. Aside from the three anchor cities, the park is also bounded by the communities of
Morrisville and
Cary
Cary may refer to:
Places
;United States
* Cary, Illinois, part of the Chicago metropolitan area
* Cary, Indiana, part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area
* Cary, Miami County, Indiana
* Cary, Maine
* Cary, Mississippi
* Cary, North Carolina ...
. Approximately one fourth of the Park's territory lies in
Wake County
Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...
, but the majority of its land is in
Durham County.
Overview
Research Triangle Park is one of the most prominent
high-tech
High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...
research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
parks in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It was created in 1959 by state and local governments, nearby
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, and local business interests.
Karl Robbins bought the land where the park is now built.
The park covers and is situated in a
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
with of built space.
The park is traversed by
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
, the
Durham Freeway The Durham Freeway is a freeway located entirely within Durham County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It follows:
*Interstate 885
Interstate 885 (I-885) and North Carolina Highway 885 (NC 885) is an auxiliary Interstate High ...
, and
NC 540
Interstate 540 (I-540) and North Carolina Highway 540 (NC 540) are part of a partially completed beltway around the city of Raleigh in the US state of North Carolina, forming the Raleigh Outer Loop. When complete, the route will c ...
.
The park is home to more than 300 companies that employ 55,000 workers and an additional 10,000 contractors.
The park hosts one of
GlaxoSmithKline
GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...
's largest R&D centers with approximately 5,000 employees.
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develo ...
' campus in the park, with approximately 5,000 employees, is the second highest concentration of its employees outside its Silicon Valley corporate headquarters. The
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
has its
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) conducts research into the effects of the environment on human disease, as one of the 27 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is located in the Rese ...
located in the park and the city of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
.
Research Triangle Park is owned and managed by the
Research Triangle Foundation
Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
, a private non-profit organization. In August 2017, Scott Levitan was named the organization's new President and CEO, making him the 9th leader since the foundation was established.
History
![IBM Research Triangle Park Raleigh North Carolina panorama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/IBM_Research_Triangle_Park_Raleigh_North_Carolina_panorama.jpg)
Following World War II, North Carolina's economy could no longer depend upon their traditional industries of agriculture, textiles, and furniture; their market share was in decline with jobs disappearing. Academics at N.C. State and Duke University came up with the idea of creating the park so that the universities could do research together, leverage the area's strengths, and keep graduates in the state.
Established in 1959, Research Triangle Park was created to increase innovation in the area. It is central to Duke University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At first, the park struggled to recruit innovators, but in 1965, Research Triangle Park had its largest surge of growth thanks to heavy recruiting by the state's government and Archibald "Archie" Davis. In their article "The Growth of Research Triangle Park," Link and Scott posit that entrepreneurial culture and leadership contributed the most to its success as a cluster. Archie Davis promoted a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship by locating the park near universities, actively recruiting organizations (like the American Academy of Arts and Sciences), and used his vision to raise funding for the park.
Davis strongly believed that profits could not be the only driver for creating the park and that the betterment of the community should be the key goal. "The love of this state … was the motivation for the Research Triangle idea," he said. "Research Triangle is a manifestation of what North Carolina is all about." Research Triangle Park remains a nonprofit.
Local government
The park is an
unincorporated area
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
, and state law prohibits municipalities from annexing areas within the park. Some local government functions are served by the Durham-Wake Counties Research and Production Service District, a special tax district created in 1986 that is conterminous with the park, wherein the property tax rate is limited to 10 cents per $100 valuation.
The park has special zoning as a Research Applications District in the Wake County portion, and a Scientific Research Park in the Durham County portion. As of October 2012, both zoning areas are in the process of being revised to allow higher density development. The zoning changes are coupled with legislative changes allowing for Urban Research Service Districts (URSD) within the Park, which can include a mix of retail and residential usages. These newly permitted URSDs could levy taxes at the same rate as a neighboring city.
Redevelopment
On October 1, 2015, former President and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation, Bob Geolas, announced RTP's plans for a $50,000,000 redevelopment involving the formation of "Park Center." $20,000,000 will be allocated from Durham County, $10,000,000 from the Durham-Wake Counties Research and Production Service District, and $20,000,000 as a result of land purchases and site work provided by the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina.
The redevelopment plans also include exploring partnerships with regional transit groups. The hope of the Research Triangle Foundation is to broaden public transportation to and from the area.
In 2019, the Research Triangle Foundation announced a re-brand of the site to "Hub RTP." The 100-acre site broke ground in September 2020 and will include 125,000 SF of office over retail, 1200 residential apartments, 16 acres of green space, at least one hotel, and 1M SF of the first high rise office towers in RTP.
Subsidiaries of The Research Triangle Foundation
The Research Triangle Foundation operates several subsidiaries within the park. These include: the Frontier RTP startup campus, Boxyard RTP, and Hub RTP. Frontier RTP first opened as a free coworking space in a single building in January 2015. Since its inception, the Foundation has expanded the Frontier RTP concept to three additional buildings, creating an affordable campus for growing tech, life science and nonprofit organizations; as of 2021, 100 of the Park's 300 companies are housed in the Frontier campus.
Boxyard RTP
In March 2019, RTF announced plans to construct Boxyard RTP, an 15,000-square-foot shipping container complex of retail, dining, and other amenities.
The $9M project, which is set on 12 acres of the Frontier RTP campus, delayed its launch for a year because of the impacts of the pandemic and soft-launched in June 2021 with a few of the planned tenants opening for business in the days following.
The complex held its grand opening on November 18, 2021, with several anchor tenants open for business. Tenants include restaurants, a brewery, a cocktail bar, a coffee shop, a beauty shop, a CBD vendor, and an escape room.
The complex also features a dog park named the Barkyard RTP,
pop-up yoga classes, live music, and both standalone and roof-mounted heaters in the outdoor pavilion.
Boxyard RTP is inspired by a similar development called The Boxyard Tulsa, located in downtown
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
's
East Village district.
See also
*
Megasite
References
Bibliography
*
*
* McCorkle, Mac. "History and the 'New Economy' Narrative: The Case of Research Triangle Park and North Carolina's Economic Development." ''Journal of the Historical Society'' 12.4 (2012): 479-525. Argues the old industries in the state promoted the Park
online
External links
Research Triangle Park Web siteResearch Triangle Regional PartnershipNorth Carolina's Research Triangle Park: An Investment in the FutureUNC-TV documentary commemorating RTP's 40th anniversary, produced by John Wilson and narrated by Carl Kasell of NPR News
{{Authority control
1959 establishments in North Carolina
Business parks of the United States
Buildings and structures in Durham County, North Carolina
Economy of North Carolina
High-technology business districts in the United States
National Institutes of Health
Science parks in the United States
Research Triangle
Buildings and structures in Wake County, North Carolina