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I think it's a bit more than a call center. Word is it's supposed to be similar to what's in Austin. If it really happens of course.
6000 jobs call center or not bring it on!
I would be both shocked if RDU got amazon or if they didn’t get Apple. I think Raleigh area is a worthy contender of HQ2 but I don’t think it was ever going to come true. Not for lack of talent but just I think Amazon’s goal was DC, ATL or BOS. Apple on the other hand. IMO, the writing is on the wall for the triangle. From the Duke commencement speech, to the local ties leadership has, the fact Austin has an Apple presence. NC has data centers for Apple, the talks going on... Sounds like it’s in the bag
Apple has a server location in the Charlotte Metro. It is off 321 North near Maiden. You can see the solar farm from US 321.
So Apple has some experience in doing business in NC
Multiple sources say Silicon Valley electronics giant Apple is zeroing in on Research Triangle Park for a new jobs-heavy campus.
The company has been looking at sites across the country and, according to people with knowledge of the project, the Triangle area is a top contender.
Sources in the real estate and legal communities, as well as people inside North Carolina government say discussions are underway to build a customer center with room for future expansion on the Wake County side of RTP. Gov. Roy Cooper and state Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland are negotiating an incentive package with state Senate leader Phil Berger and House leader Tim Moore before presenting it to the General Assembly.
Cooper and Copeland met with Apple CEO Tim Cook on May 11 while Cook was in town to speak at Duke University's commencement May 13, according to sources.
In January, Apple announced that it expects to invest more than $30 billion in capital expenditures in the U.S. in the next five years and create more than 20,000 new jobs through hiring at existing campuses, and opening a new one. "The company plans to establish an Apple campus in a new location, which will initially house technical support for customers. The location of this new facility will be announced later in the year," Apple said at the time.
Sources add that the deal is not finalized, including the size of the project and the location. But North Carolina officials are hopeful that they will be able to secure one of the biggest economic development prizes in the country. "There's always a chance we lose out," says a source close to the project. "For now, we are comfortable with where we stand."
State officials are keeping quiet.
"Unfortunately, we don't share information about economic development projects before they are final," Cooper spokesman Jamal Little said in an email when asked if Cooper and Cook met. "Because of Apple’s search for a new [East Coast] headquarters this would be considered economic development, but I will be happy to share more if or when an announcement is made," Little said in a followup email.
If a deal is finalized, it could be one of the largest economic development wins in state history, eclipsing other recent announcements such as Infosys' 2,000-job Raleigh hub and Credit Suisse's 1,200 job expansion in RTP.
To put in perspective, Apple has a similar facility in Austin, Texas. In 2012, Apple promised to more than double its then more than 3,000-person headcount around the Texas capital, and was approved for incentives worth up to $35 million from local and state sources. The company promised to spend $282.5 million on the Austin campus by the end of 2021, and has already met that milestone. With 6,500 employees at the campus, Apple is now the second biggest tech employer in Austin, paying average salaries of $73,500 plus benefits.
John Boyd, a site selection consultant with the Boyd Company in New Jersey, has no direct knowledge of Apple’s plans. But should a North Carolina win be announced, it would be “huge,” he says, calling it “one of the largest IT projects in economic development.”
“The average salary could approach $75,000 to $100,000 annually,” he predicts. “The multiplier effects are enormous, everything from the region’s housing market to retail to the construction industry to real estate … it all gets an enormous lift.”
And, with the taxes Apple and its employees would invest in the state, the school system could also get a boost. “All of it gets an enormous lift: police, fire, sewer budgets,” Boyd says. “It’s just a humongous win for North Carolina.”
Mike Walden, economist and professor at N.C. State University, says in an email that an announcement would also expand the region's reputation as a tech center, "meaning a better ability to attract other tech firms."
But it's a win that would come with some growing pains, too, like higher housing prices and more traffic congestion, he cautions.
Walden recommends that, the day after an Apple announcement, public and private leaders in the Triangle meet to develop a mitigation plan. "Included in the plan would be ideas for expansion of the local housing supply – where, how much, price levels, and any needed zoning changes – and ideas on containing traffic issues," he writes. "My point is, we shouldn't wait for things to happen – we should have a public-private plan for dealing with the 'downsides of Apple' – and also Amazon."
Apple has several smaller offices across the U.S., in large and small metros from Los Angeles to Cambridge, Massachusetts. It also has multiple data centers, including Prineville, Oregon, and Maiden, North Carolina.
Apple has been secretive about its short list of possible sites. That's as opposed to Amazon, which revealed its 20 finalists, including the Triangle, in January.
And Apple has historically been successful at stealth. When Apple picked Maiden for a data center, it was able to keep public records to a minimum, as it never applied for incentives from the state.
This time, however, incentives are likely to come into play in a big way. In an interview in January, Commerce's Copeland said that, to lure a company like Apple, the state's recently passed "transformative" incentives could come into play. That transformative provision extends the Job Development Investment Grant term for certain companies planning to invest more than $4 billion and create at least 5,000 jobs in the state. Grants for those firms could run up to 25 years as opposed to a normal JDIG term of 12 years.
Apple is expected to develop its own campus if it finalizes a deal to come to RTP, according to sources. Building for Apple is a notoriously tricky task, given the company's obsession with detail.
But if the company finalizes plans to move here, there are developers in the region well versed in building large campuses for company expansions and headquarters, including Highwoods Properties. The Raleigh-based real estate and development company has built more than 400,000 square feet for MetLife’s expansion in Cary and is working on a 224,000-square-foot headquarters for Mars Petcare in Nashville, among other recent campus projects.
Within RTP, Apple has been focused on land around the intersection of Interstate 540 and Davis Drive, according to sources. There are bigger tracts along that stretch that may interest Apple. The Research Triangle Foundation owns several large, undeveloped parcels visible from I-540, including a 69-acre tract that the organization received in a 2015 land swap with Fidelity Investments.
Just last year, Apple finished construction on its new, $5 billion headquarters in Cupertino, California, also known as the Apple Spaceship. The 2.8 million-square-foot, ring-shaped building is prominently visible from the highway.
The RTP land is supposed to be used by the foundation to lure companies to the Triangle. “Our responsibility is to convey land to companies that meet the covenants of the park and encourage them to move to North Carolina," says Scott Levitan, CEO of RTF.
Levitan wouldn't talk specifics or name companies, citing nondisclosure agreements. But generally, he said "interest" in RTP is increasing.
“There have been a lot more inquiries about companies who are thinking about Research Triangle Park,” he says. "There's just a lot more market activity."
Apple did not return requests to comment for this story.
Apple already employs 84,000 people in all 50 states, with its two largest campuses in California and in Texas.
Apple, which had $267.2 billion in cash on hand at the end of March, reported $61.1 billion in its most recent quarter.
Wow seems like a strong possibility. If Apple moves in, even with a large office park, I imagine the development in both downtown Raleigh and Durham will truly explode. No doubt other companies will want to relocate to the Triangle as well. At that point I can see a huge residential boom in downtown Raleigh similiar to Austin.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,688,469 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atowwn
Fingers crossed!!
Multiple sources say Silicon Valley electronics giant Apple is zeroing in on Research Triangle Park for a new jobs-heavy campus.
The company has been looking at sites across the country and, according to people with knowledge of the project, the Triangle area is a top contender.
Sources in the real estate and legal communities, as well as people inside North Carolina government say discussions are underway to build a customer center with room for future expansion on the Wake County side of RTP. Gov. Roy Cooper and state Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland are negotiating an incentive package with state Senate leader Phil Berger and House leader Tim Moore before presenting it to the General Assembly.
Cooper and Copeland met with Apple CEO Tim Cook on May 11 while Cook was in town to speak at Duke University's commencement May 13, according to sources.
In January, Apple announced that it expects to invest more than $30 billion in capital expenditures in the U.S. in the next five years and create more than 20,000 new jobs through hiring at existing campuses, and opening a new one. "The company plans to establish an Apple campus in a new location, which will initially house technical support for customers. The location of this new facility will be announced later in the year," Apple said at the time.
Sources add that the deal is not finalized, including the size of the project and the location. But North Carolina officials are hopeful that they will be able to secure one of the biggest economic development prizes in the country. "There's always a chance we lose out," says a source close to the project. "For now, we are comfortable with where we stand."
State officials are keeping quiet.
"Unfortunately, we don't share information about economic development projects before they are final," Cooper spokesman Jamal Little said in an email when asked if Cooper and Cook met. "Because of Apple’s search for a new [East Coast] headquarters this would be considered economic development, but I will be happy to share more if or when an announcement is made," Little said in a followup email.
If a deal is finalized, it could be one of the largest economic development wins in state history, eclipsing other recent announcements such as Infosys' 2,000-job Raleigh hub and Credit Suisse's 1,200 job expansion in RTP.
To put in perspective, Apple has a similar facility in Austin, Texas. In 2012, Apple promised to more than double its then more than 3,000-person headcount around the Texas capital, and was approved for incentives worth up to $35 million from local and state sources. The company promised to spend $282.5 million on the Austin campus by the end of 2021, and has already met that milestone. With 6,500 employees at the campus, Apple is now the second biggest tech employer in Austin, paying average salaries of $73,500 plus benefits.
John Boyd, a site selection consultant with the Boyd Company in New Jersey, has no direct knowledge of Apple’s plans. But should a North Carolina win be announced, it would be “huge,” he says, calling it “one of the largest IT projects in economic development.”
“The average salary could approach $75,000 to $100,000 annually,” he predicts. “The multiplier effects are enormous, everything from the region’s housing market to retail to the construction industry to real estate … it all gets an enormous lift.”
And, with the taxes Apple and its employees would invest in the state, the school system could also get a boost. “All of it gets an enormous lift: police, fire, sewer budgets,” Boyd says. “It’s just a humongous win for North Carolina.”
Mike Walden, economist and professor at N.C. State University, says in an email that an announcement would also expand the region's reputation as a tech center, "meaning a better ability to attract other tech firms."
But it's a win that would come with some growing pains, too, like higher housing prices and more traffic congestion, he cautions.
Walden recommends that, the day after an Apple announcement, public and private leaders in the Triangle meet to develop a mitigation plan. "Included in the plan would be ideas for expansion of the local housing supply – where, how much, price levels, and any needed zoning changes – and ideas on containing traffic issues," he writes. "My point is, we shouldn't wait for things to happen – we should have a public-private plan for dealing with the 'downsides of Apple' – and also Amazon."
Apple has several smaller offices across the U.S., in large and small metros from Los Angeles to Cambridge, Massachusetts. It also has multiple data centers, including Prineville, Oregon, and Maiden, North Carolina.
Apple has been secretive about its short list of possible sites. That's as opposed to Amazon, which revealed its 20 finalists, including the Triangle, in January.
And Apple has historically been successful at stealth. When Apple picked Maiden for a data center, it was able to keep public records to a minimum, as it never applied for incentives from the state.
This time, however, incentives are likely to come into play in a big way. In an interview in January, Commerce's Copeland said that, to lure a company like Apple, the state's recently passed "transformative" incentives could come into play. That transformative provision extends the Job Development Investment Grant term for certain companies planning to invest more than $4 billion and create at least 5,000 jobs in the state. Grants for those firms could run up to 25 years as opposed to a normal JDIG term of 12 years.
Apple is expected to develop its own campus if it finalizes a deal to come to RTP, according to sources. Building for Apple is a notoriously tricky task, given the company's obsession with detail.
But if the company finalizes plans to move here, there are developers in the region well versed in building large campuses for company expansions and headquarters, including Highwoods Properties. The Raleigh-based real estate and development company has built more than 400,000 square feet for MetLife’s expansion in Cary and is working on a 224,000-square-foot headquarters for Mars Petcare in Nashville, among other recent campus projects.
Within RTP, Apple has been focused on land around the intersection of Interstate 540 and Davis Drive, according to sources. There are bigger tracts along that stretch that may interest Apple. The Research Triangle Foundation owns several large, undeveloped parcels visible from I-540, including a 69-acre tract that the organization received in a 2015 land swap with Fidelity Investments.
Just last year, Apple finished construction on its new, $5 billion headquarters in Cupertino, California, also known as the Apple Spaceship. The 2.8 million-square-foot, ring-shaped building is prominently visible from the highway.
The RTP land is supposed to be used by the foundation to lure companies to the Triangle. “Our responsibility is to convey land to companies that meet the covenants of the park and encourage them to move to North Carolina," says Scott Levitan, CEO of RTF.
Levitan wouldn't talk specifics or name companies, citing nondisclosure agreements. But generally, he said "interest" in RTP is increasing.
“There have been a lot more inquiries about companies who are thinking about Research Triangle Park,” he says. "There's just a lot more market activity."
Apple did not return requests to comment for this story.
Apple already employs 84,000 people in all 50 states, with its two largest campuses in California and in Texas.
Apple, which had $267.2 billion in cash on hand at the end of March, reported $61.1 billion in its most recent quarter.
When Maiden got the Apple data center Maiden got it over Kings Mountain because Catawba County offered incentives & Cleveland County refused to be involved.
WRAL reports that the Apple deal will likely happen and Apple is in open negotiations with local government officials. This will probably lower the Triangle's chances at getting Amazon. Good for the area, bad for Downtown Raleigh as Amazon would have wanted to build in Downtown near public transportation and Apple likes old school car commuting.
New development could be coming to downtown Greensboro. Paul Talley who owns several nightclubs downtown and throughout the city plans for an upscale bowling alley with a restaurant and bar. It would be located on the corner of Lewis St and South Elm Street less than a block away from Boxcar Barcade. Downtown south of the tracks has seen a lot of activity over the past several years extending downtown's restaurant and entertainment district further south. Also nearby is Mello Mushroom and Fat Tuesday, a "destination" frozen daiquiri bar.
Talley owns a similar bowling venue in Greenville, SC called Stone Pin.
Bainbridge exec talks plans for newly acquired property near light-rail line
The apartment boom in Charlotte continues to chug along as another multifamily developer has closed on its purchase of a high-traffic site near the Lynx Blue Line's northeast corridor.
The Bainbridge Cos., a multifamily firm based in Wellington, Fla., this week acquired about 3.2 acres of vacant land at the southwest corner of North Davidson Street and Jordan Place for about $8 million, according to Mecklenburg County real estate records. Bainbridge will develop a 273-unit apartment project on the site, said Ron Perera, vice president of development at the firm.
This will be Bainbridge's second apartment project in Charlotte. The company is building 200 apartments in South End, at the corner of South Boulevard and Poindexter Drive, a project that will start delivering later this year, Perera said.
Bainbridge has two additional projects in the pipeline locally — one in University Research Park, a site that Bainbridge rezoned late last year, and one in Matthews.
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