FedEx-Occupied Building Delivered in NC’s Research Triangle Park

A partnership of Samet Corp., Lee-Moore Capital and a Denver-based family office completed the first building at Triangle Innovation Point in New Hill, N.C., within the state’s Research Triangle. The developers delivered a 340,000-square-foot industrial facility that is fully leased to FedEx Ground.

JLL is the leasing agent in charge of the industrial development at Triangle Innovation Point—a master-planned life sciences, manufacturing and industrial campus. The completed facility is part of the campus’ first phase at TIP West, a 450-acre section that can accommodate up to 2 million square feet of new space.

TIP West now includes a 1 million-square-foot pad with heavy power available for occupancy. Buildings can range from 100,000 to 1 million square feet, with features such as 50- by 54-foot column spacing, 26- to 34-foot clear heights, drive-in doors, office space, among others.

A life sciences and manufacturing hub coming to Raleigh

Triangle Innovation Point encompasses more than 2,150 acres, according to a marketing brochure from 2020. Plans call for 47 potential buildings totaling 12.6 million square feet of space, out of which 4.2 million square feet are designated for office users and 8.4 million square feet are for industrial tenants—either manufacturing or logistics space.

TIP’s location offers easy access to multiple interchanges on U.S. Highway 1, while being close to U.S. State Route 540 and less than 25 miles of interstates 440 and 40. The campus is also rail-served with CSX railway services and offers development pads for sale, ranging starting from 10 acres. Raleigh-Durham International Airport is within a 30 minute drive, Raleigh Executive Jetport is 7 miles from the industrial park, while multiple ports such as Port of Wilmington, Port of Charleston or Port of Savannah are accessible by road and rail.

The TIP project team includes O’Brien Atkins Associates, Kimley-Horn, RKA Transportation, Chatham Economic Development Corp. and Chatham County. JLL’s Managing Directors Matt Winters and Al Williams, together with Samet Corp.’s President of Real Estate Brian Hall are handling marketing and leasing efforts at Triangle Innovation Point.

The need for large industrial spaces

The Raleigh-Durham industrial market saw stability throughout 2023, despite fewer construction projects starting in the second half of 2023, as opposed to the first half, according to an Avison Young report. A similar trend occurred in 2022 in terms of construction starts, while the newly occupied industrial space consisted of larger spaces, reflecting the on-going demand for large block space.

Recent projects in the area includes FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’s 1 million-square-foot biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Holy Springs, N.C., where, in late 2023, it welcomed its first tenant, Johnson & Johnson’s Jansen Supply Group.

Welcome Group broke ground in early 2023 on Welcome Venture Park, a 1.3 million-square-foot industrial campus in Durham, N.C. The 16-acre master-planned development will host a variety of businesses, such as logistics, warehousing, technology and life science users.