Research Triangle Foundation
HR&A has guided Research Triangle Park’s transformation from a traditional research campus into a vibrant mixed-use innovation district through over a decade of strategic planning and implementation support. Our economic analysis, real estate strategy, and development advisory work informed a 50-year master plan that attracted private development partners and positioned RTP to grow as a regional economic engine for North Carolina.
After five decades as the gold standard for research parks, RTP faced national competitive pressures from innovation districts offering mixed-use environments that knowledge workers prefer. In 2010, HR&A joined a multidisciplinary team creating a 50-year master plan. We assessed local real estate markets and company needs, evaluated the financial feasibility of planning alternatives, and recommended implementation strategies. Our market and sectoral analysis identified emerging opportunities while our real estate assessment established financial parameters for new construction and infrastructure investments, enabling informed decisions about development phasing and financing. To support regional discussions, we also conducted a rigorous economic impact assessment quantifying RTP’s historical and projected contributions, documenting high-technology employment generation and calculating direct, indirect, and induced impacts alongside benefits from private investment, entrepreneurship support, and innovation ecosystem development.
HR&A advised RTP on land assemblage strategies, development partner selection, and agreement structuring, culminating in an agreement to advance the first mixed-use hub within the Park. A decade later, amid rapid population growth, shifting office dynamics, and planned transportation improvements, we returned to help plan RTP’s next stage. As part of a multidisciplinary team, HR&A analyzed economic competitiveness and unmet real estate potential, tested value capture approaches, and refined findings to inform regulatory and infrastructure funding strategies, and updated impact analysis findings. In 2025, both Wake and Durham Counties voted to approve zoning changes to enable “RTP 3.0” implementation, continuing RTP’s evolution as a world-class innovation driver.
