Open Source: Apple’s RTP campus plans are under review
I’m Brian Gordon with The News & Observer, and this is Open Source, a weekly newsletter discussing business, labor and technology in North Carolina.
When will Apple build its Research Triangle Park campus is a $552 million question.
In April 2021, the Cupertino, California, tech giant announced it would bring 3,000 new jobs to the Triangle, turning undeveloped land on the Wake County side of RTP into a massive complex. Yet compared to the state’s four other major incoming economic projects — from Toyota, Boom Supersonic, VinFast and Wolfspeed — few updates have been shared regarding Apple’s construction progress.
That’s Apple’s way. The company is known for keeping quiet. Or silent. Perhaps that’s good for business. After all, Apple is the most valuable company in the world, worth more than Amazon and Google combined.
But being so secretive seems unnecessary to me. I hear community members inquire about the status of Apple in RTP. The curiosity makes sense. It’s a very big deal that Apple is coming.
I asked the company again this week for an update on its construction timeline. Again, I got no comment.
But others did share details on Apple’s campus. .
A Wake County spokesperson said the county is reviewing the location’s site plan and storm water documents for permitting. They added that Wake hasn’t received any building plans for review, nor has Apple indicated when it plans to start construction.
The land, which straddles N.C. Highway 540 between Louis Stephens Drive and Little Drive, is owned by a holding company called Acute Investments. Public documents obtained via a records request show Acute Investments working through site logistics (like filings on soil surveys and Duke Energy easements) over the past year.
And on May 30, an application was filed to the county to build a 73-foot-tall building that would cover 324,000 square feet at the site.
Curious to see any signs of construction myself, I visited the site this week, mindful to stay in front of the copious “No trespassing” signs that line the forested area.
Along the street, utilities contractors were digging up earth to install pipes. Perhaps an early sign of Apple construction? Nope. Wake County said that was a county project to reclaim a water line.
I also spotted the truck of a geospatial data firm called SAM parked along the road. Yellow tripods were set facing the site. Wake County said SAM wasn’t working for them. SAM representatives did not respond to my questions about their work in the area. Perhaps that’s a clue. It’s definitely conjecture.
Under Apple’s Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) agreement with the state, the company can receive more than $845 million in payroll tax relief through the year 2061 if it meets its hiring and investment targets. Those goals start this year with a minimum of 126 employees. The total rises to 378 employees next year. Then 990 people in 2025.
Within a decade, total employment hits 2,700 people.
To accommodate its initial workers, Apple is leasing a building on the MetLife campus in Cary. It’s not clear how long they’ll be there.
By the numbers: Apple’s RTP Campus
Apple did share big news this week. That plus more key figures on its Research Triangle Park campus:
$845,820,750 — The payroll tax break Apple will receive from North Carolina if the company meets and then maintains its minimum investment and job creation targets over 39 years.
$133,520 — The average annual salary of Apple employees at its Wake County site from 2023 to 2025. The average annual pay will then go up to $168,301 for subsequent years.
3 — Number of days per week Apple is reportedly requiring employees to work in person.
$2.84 trillion — Apple’s current market capitalization.
$552 million — Amount in real property construction and improvements Apple has promised to make in Wake County by the end of 2031.
1 million — Square feet Apple’s RTP campus is expected to be once fully built.
$3,499 — Price of Apple’s new Vison Pro VR headset, which the company introduced earlier this week.
Can’t find a bar on 9th Street
9th Street in Durham doesn’t look like a dead zone. It’s a busy commercial corridor near Duke University’s East and Central campuses, lined with restaurants, bars and shops.
But try to pull up a webpage when you’re there and you’ll see. The cell service stinks. And it has for as long as cell phones have been around, local residents and employees say (though one local bar owner likes it that way).
The culprit for the bad signal could be a lack of small cell sites. Verizon and T-Mobile said they’re taking steps to fix it.
Wolfspeed cleared for Chatham construction
Nine months after announcing plans for its new $5 billion plant in Chatham County, the Durham-based semiconductor firm Wolfspeed cleared a key regulatory hurdle on Thursday, as the state issued the company an air quality permit under the federal Clean Air Act.
“The site is fully prepped, and now we can move forward with actual construction of the building,” Wolfspeed spokesperson Melinda Walker told The News & Observer.
Short Stuff: Check in on WeWork
The coworking space WeWork is at risk of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange as its share price sits below 30 cents. The company occupies five floors in the Triangle, three in downtown Raleigh and two in downtown Durham.
Jaggaer, a Morrisville-based software commerce company, named Andy Hovancik as its new chief executive officer.
Auction Direct USA will create 170 jobs in the town of Oxford, north of Raleigh in Granville County.
Whomi, also in Morrisville, was named “Career Development Solution Of The Year” by the group EdTech Breakthrough. The company offers a self-guided platform to help college alumni receive career support.
In a letter this week, more than half the country’s attorneys general, including North Carolina’s Josh Stein, implored the Federal Communications Commission to clarify its rules around how telemarketers can make robocalls and texts. Last year, Robocalls were the top consumer complaint North Carolina residents made to the Department of Justice.
I came across a piece of the Berlin Wall while reporting in Research Triangle Park. Read more about how it got there.
National Tech Happenings
Microsoft will pay the Federal Trade Commission $20 million for gathering personal details on Xbox users under 13 and not properly telling their parents.
Twilio, the main competitor of the Raleigh telecommunications company Bandwidth, will incorporate generative AI from Google into its services.
Several Reddit communities will go dark on June 12 to protest a company proposal to charge for API access. A moderator for the Durham subreddit r/bullcity posted that the local group will participate in the protest.
Thanks for reading!
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.
Open Source
Do you enjoy Triangle tech news? Subscribe to Open Source, The News & Observer's weekly technology newsletter and look for it in your inbox every Friday morning. Sign up here.
