Scott Levitan, President & CEO, Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina

Research Triangle Park is moving forward with its RTP 3.0 vision plan, with final rezoning steps approved and major site repositioning planned for the years ahead. In an interview with Invest:, Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina President and CEO Scott Levitan discussed RTP 3.0, market demand, and expectations for the near to mid-term. “We’ve laid the table for a lot of opportunities, whether in our downtown Hub RTP or through repurposing older campuses,” Levitan said.

What moments from the past year reflect RTP’s transformation into a more urban and connected innovation center?

We are on the cusp of completing a four-year process to re-envision Research Triangle Park (RTP) for the next 50 years. We call it RTP 3.0.

When we started, we had so many milestone dates that they didn’t fit on one page — we needed two. We’ve whittled that list down, worked hard, and now have achieved rezoning in Durham County, in addition to rezoning in Wake County.

With that approval secured, we’ve also changed RTP’s covenants, collaborating and engaging with 100 different property owners and corporate lawyers. We’re excited to move the vision plan into action and start repositioning sites for the future. It is a transformational event for RTP.

How has demand changed as vertical construction increases?

It’s been a challenging market for real estate, but we’ve made major progress. We delivered the Horseshoe project, the town square of our new downtown called Hub RTP, and it’s leasing up well. Retail is about 70% leased, and office is around 40%, which is phenomenal given the market.

Retail remains underserved in the Triangle region, and there’s strong demand for creative, specialized offerings. We’ve also delivered three residential buildings developed by MAA, called MAA Nixie, and it’s attracting strong leasing activity. Having the first-ever residents living in the Park establishes the proof of concept for Hub RTP.

Now, we’re working with build-to-suit tenants looking for a highly amenitized environment right at the center of the Triangle. We’re excited about what’s to come.

What industries are gaining the most momentum in RTP?

We have 385 companies in RTP, each with its own story, but we’re seeing strong growth in financial services. Some companies have recently gone through significant hiring spurts, while biotech is also taking a closer look at RTP. There have been announcements across the region about major investments in advanced manufacturing and biotech. Once some of the early adopters committed, we saw a phenomenal response: multibillion-dollar facilities are going up across the Triangle.

As RTP 3.0 advances, companies are weighing whether to retrofit legacy campuses built 20 to 30 years ago or start fresh under new zoning. That decision is driving a lot of activity. Many companies now understand what a post-pandemic workforce needs and are investing to create those environments in RTP.

How are smaller companies and startups being supported within RTP?

There are amenities in RTP that don’t exist elsewhere. First Flight Venture Center is an incubator, and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center supports both domestic startups and international onshoring.

Our Frontier RTP campus, once an IBM facility, now houses about 145 startups in a flexible, highly amenitized environment. It includes complimentary coworking space, and we invest in over 600 events each year, including lunch-and-learns, after-work programs like RTP 180, Thursday night networking events with gratis beer and wine called Out Of Office, and offerings at Boxyard RTP, which has been voted Durham Magazine’s best live venue for live music for three years.

These community-building efforts make RTP attractive to both companies and talent. They foster aggregation, interaction, and innovation.

How are livability, access, and equity addressed as RTP grows?

RTP 3.0 allows residential development for the first time, limited to 7% of our land, or about 500 acres. That’s a deliberate cap. RTP’s core purpose remains advancing translational research and development. As we worked with companies, universities, and communities on rezoning, everyone agreed not to compromise RTP’s role as an economic engine.

But with rapid regional growth, enabling people to live closer to where they work improves quality of life and reduces transportation needs. A five-minute commute beats 45 minutes. We’re using our land more efficiently. Companies can densify existing campuses and repatriate offshore operations without needing to buy more land, most of which is already sold or committed. 

We’ve also launched an infrastructure study, funded by our organization and RTP landowners and tenants, to assess capacity and plan upgrades over the next 50 years. Few regions are planning this far ahead.

What are the biggest challenges, especially around transportation?

The Triangle is a suburban region. That makes it hard to qualify for public transit funding since we can’t demonstrate the density required for robust systems across 11 counties. Still, about seven to nine years ago, our three core counties passed a transportation sales tax. It now generates $150 million annually and has built up an $800 million reserve. This shows how our residents value long-term planning, even without immediate pressure. That funding now supports serious regional collaboration on transit strategy.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is emerging as our backbone system. It can be developed incrementally, and each county can prioritize its own routes. What’s great for RTP is that all the BRT lines will converge here. We’re the region’s largest employment hub, with 55,000 workers. The North Carolina Department of Transportation is also thinking bigger. Its rail division is exploring an Amtrak station in RTP. Ridership between Raleigh and Charlotte has been so strong that trains often sell out. We’re excited about the possibility of multimodal access to RTP. That’s a major shift for a region that hasn’t always embraced public transportation.

What will define the next three to five years of RTP 3.0?

We’ve set the table for a lot of opportunities, whether that’s in our downtown or through repurposing older campuses. I’m excited to see how the market responds to our vision and how we might adjust that vision based on real-world feedback. Will existing multinational companies densify and bring more operations into RTP? Will we see more high-quality, mixed-use residential, including homeownership in multifamily formats, which are more common in other competitive regions? And will companies commit to building regional headquarters in Hub RTP? That would be a dream realized and a powerful confirmation of everything we’ve planned.