Research Triangle Park (RTP) & the Triangle Biotech Cluster

[avery]

If they do locate in Holly Springs, look for this area to explode and the sprawl to continue. Oh, the traffic.....

[DanRNC]

Is 55 the only way to get into Holly Springs? I don't see more than a couple of hundred people working in this plant so I don't know if that area will grow any more than it is now.

[orulz]

And (by the way) Holly Springs is already exploding - the difference is that it's all residential growth. They have next to nothing in the way of retail, commercial, or industrial. The town wants to diversify the economy, develop a sense of place, and make a quaint little downtown (their from-scratch downtown plan is pretty similar to Morrisville's). The Holly Springs market is already covered pretty well by the retail centers on NC55 in Fuquay-Varina and Apex, so they might even get away without any Super Wal-Marts or Home Depots.

[Leads2Starts]

If they do locate in Holly Springs, look for this area to explode and the sprawl to continue. Oh, the traffic.....

The info I read indicated over a billion dollars in research from this Roche Tamiflu plant, which equates to around 32,000 jobs. They obviously won't all be in Holly Springs, and most won't even be jobs working FOR Roche, but don't make the mistake of thinking that this won't make that town blow up. They've (Wake County) already misteriously halted the landfill decision about 8-10 days after Roche started talks with Holly Springs officials.

[DanRNC]

I don't think the Holly Springs location is a done deal yet. I think RTP is still in the mix as well as Morrisville possibly. It will most likely be in Wake rather than Durham County.

[waynehead]

Did you just say 32,000 jobs? That would turn Holly Springs into another Cary.

[Leads2Starts]

Did you just say 32,000 jobs? That would turn Holly Springs into another Cary.

Sure would. Again, those jobs wouldn't all be in HS. Lot's of them wouldn't even be in NC. But, there's no doubt that HS would start to look a lot like Cary. Good news for residents' property value, I guess. They are also entertaining a proposal to turn the current proposed landfill site into a Southpointe-like shopping mall.

[DanRNC]

I don't think the jobs will even closely approach 32,000. I would say maybe 500-1000 at most at this facility. The large capital expenditures would be for automation/facilities for production/research. Bayer has a giant production facility in Clayton off 70 but not much development has sprung up around it.

[Leads2Starts]

I don't think the jobs will even closely approach 32,000. I would say maybe 500-1000 at most at this facility. The large capital expenditures would be for automation/facilities for production/research. Bayer has a giant production facility in Clayton off 70 but not much development has sprung up around it.

Here's the quote that led me to this statement.

From ABC 11's report on the potential deal: "[They] are planning to do a Billion dollars in research...For every $1 million of research that creates 32 jobs," he said. "A billion [dollars] creates 32000."

Regardless, it would be awesome news for the triangle.

[DanRNC]

There was a story today in the N&O about still another possible pharma plant in Wake County. If this occurs that would put two large manufacturing plants in that area. I am starting to agree that traffic would be heinous in HS.

Story

[DCMetroRaleigh]

Fidelity Investments

[avery]

Very cool announcement...but why RTP? It seems as though Credit Suisse and Fidelity would want to be downtown.

[willrusso]

Cool article. Everyone needs to hurry up and read this before the moderator deletes it!!!!

[DanRNC]

RTP is the frontrunner for this but not a lock at this point.

Story

Edited March 8, 2006 by DanRNC

[DanRNC]

And another. The Roche deal is still cooking as well and I have heard that there may be another large production facility as well in the works.

Still Another Story

[avery]

It is great to hear. Hopefully, they will call RTP home.

[BoylanHghts]

All of this talk about the growth in RTP has gotten me thinking about its relationship to the urban centers around it. We all know that the vast majority of the workers in RTP drive from the surrounding cities and towns to work in RTP and then back home at night (I use to be one of them, and I have to say I don't miss the commute).

My question is in regards to Austin, TX. We always hear how the Triangle and Austin compare to each other in regards to metro area size, research center, universities, biotech, quality of life, etc. Is the main research center located outside of the city? Is it essentially a vast office park like RTP? Do they have the same traffic and growth problems associated with this type of separation? Do they have a rail system?

Just curious if Austin has experienced any of the same issues and is there anything we can learn their experience.

Edited March 9, 2006 by BoylanHghts

[RaleighLover]

My cousin's long time boyfriends is from Austin and when he first moved up here with her he once remarked to me how much Raleigh and Austin are alike.

[DanRNC]

Austin's R&D sector is actually more spread out than RTP's. They have a series of office parks whereas ours tends to be centered around RTP/Morrisville although many more operations seem to be popping up around Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill and elsewhere in the Triangle. Traffic is much worse. The movie "Office Space" was based on Austin.

[BoylanHghts]

Austin's R&D sector is actually more spread out than RTP's. They have a series of office parks whereas ours tends to be centered around RTP/Morrisville although many more operations seem to be popping up around Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill and elsewhere in the Triangle. Traffic is much worse. The movie "Office Space" was based on Austin.

The opening scene in Office Space where they are all crawling to work on the interstate cracks me up.

"Damn it feels good to be a gangsta"

[avery]

The opening scene in Office Space where they are all crawling to work on the interstate cracks me up.

"Damn it feels good to be a gangsta"

That is one of my top 5 movies of all time. Yeah, I like when he locks the doors while driving to work.

[Subway Scoundrel]

All of this talk about the growth in RTP has gotten me thinking about its relationship to the urban centers around it. We all know that the vast majority of the workers in RTP drive from the surrounding cities and towns to work in RTP and then back home at night (I use to be one of them, and I have to say I don't miss the commute).

My question is in regards to Austin, TX. We always hear how the Triangle and Austin compare to each other in regards to metro area size, research center, universities, biotech, quality of life, etc. Is the main research center located outside of the city? Is it essentially a vast office park like RTP? Do they have the same traffic and growth problems associated with this type of separation? Do they have a rail system?

Just curious if Austin has experienced any of the same issues and is there anything we can learn their experience.

I have never been to austin but go a few steps up in stature to place like San Jose and the offices and companies are part of the fabric of the city. You drive down a street like Wake Forest/Falls of th Nuese and there sits Nortel, Palm, Net Apps, Brocade. Go down the interstate and you see Intel or Oracle or 3Com. The companies are not sitting outside but built into the city. In DT, there are 2 buildings for Adobe and just off DT, Ebay and others are there.

[jaxpalmer]

http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/416026.html

nothing is final as of yet, but if the triangle lands this, then

[guy4charlotte]

"Four states are under consideration: Massachusetts; New York; North Carolina and Rhode Island. The final choice will depend on several factors including the available work force and economic incentives, said Bristol-Myers spokesman Tony Plohoros."

yeh...especially those "economic incentives"......in other words, it's time to start ponying up the bling-bling boys. BMC says it will make the announcement at the end of Q2.

[guy4charlotte]

"Four states are under consideration: Massachusetts; New York; North Carolina and Rhode Island. The final choice will depend on several factors including the available work force and economic incentives....

Actually the work force issue could be almost as important as the $$$.....NC has a "right to work" law....see NCGS

Edited March 9, 2006 by guy4charlotte