The 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park (RTP) in North Carolina, founded in 1959, is the largest research park in the U.S. Nestled near Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill, the park is home to more than 300 companies, 50,000 employees and 10,000 contractors focused on research, biotech, life sciences, and computing.
In March 2019, the Research Triangle Foundation, which owns and manages the park, announced its plans to construct Boxyard RTP, a 15,000-sf development within the park’s Frontier RTP campus made from repurposed shipping containers. Boxyard RTP, which is in the planning stages and is scheduled to open later this year, would be the park’s first food and retail complex. It will have space for up to nine food and beverage vendors, as well as several retailers and service providers.
The food and beverage container spaces will come with partial kitchen equipment upfits. The complex will include covered spaces for seating, special events, and performances.
Performance space will face the courtyard at Boxyard RTP. Rendering: CallisonRTKL
“Boxyard RTP is a workhorse opportunity for RTP and the region,” says Scott Levitan, president and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation, in a prepared statement. “Experimental food, libations and retail, cool programming and event opportunities will flip the energy switch for RTP and our neighborhood communities.”
The Boxyard concept takes its name and inspiration from an existing development of 39 repurposed containers in the East Village district of Tulsa, Okla., developed by Nelson + Stowe Development and opened in December 2016. (The contractor on the Tulsa project was Ross Group, and the fabricator was Cisco Containers.)
The concept aspires to retain as much of the lot's landscaping and trees as possible. Rendering: CallisonRTKL
SHIPPING CONTAINER CONCEPT DESIGN PRESERVES NATURE
At Research Triangle Park, Boxyard RTP’s 38 shipping containers will be situated on a 12-acre wooded lot once dominated by railroad interchanges. CallisonRTKL, which designed the North Carolina concept, is incorporates existing landscaping and trees. The prefabricated shipping containers are modular and can be stacked, so minimal site disturbance will occur during construction.
The modular design is also flexible enough to accommodate the needs of different vendors.
The $7 million Boxyard RTP is organized around a central courtyard, with retail, food, and beverage stalls throughout the public space. The performance stage will face the courtyard, and upper level patios will provide seating and walkways. (Maverick Partners Realty Services is the leasing agent for this project.) As of this morning, Boxyard RTP’s website listed 10 vendors that have committed to leasing space, ranging from a brewery and a virtual-reality game room to a boutique flower shop.
The $7 million Boxyard RTP complex will sit on 12 acres within the park's Frontier campus. Image: WRAL
Related Stories
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HDR, and HOK top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 23, 2014
Architecture Billings Index up nearly a point in June
AIA reported the June ABI score was 53.5, up from a mark of 52.6 in May.
| Jul 21, 2014
16 utility questions to answer during your building project
We need electricity to power our building projects, along with water and gas and a faultless sanitation system. That’s what we think about when we think about utility requirements for our building project, but are we missing something? SPONSORED CONTENT
| Jul 21, 2014
Economists ponder uneven recovery, weigh benefits of big infrastructure [2014 Giants 300 Report]
According to expert forecasters, multifamily projects, the Panama Canal expansion, and the petroleum industry’s “shale gale” could be saving graces for commercial AEC firms seeking growth opportunities in an economy that’s provided its share of recent disappointments.
| Jul 18, 2014
Contractors warm up to new technologies, invent new management schemes [2014 Giants 300 Report]
“UAV.” “LATISTA.” “CMST.” If BD+C Giants 300 contractors have anything to say about it, these new terms may someday be as well known as “BIM” or “LEED.” Here’s a sampling of what Giant GCs and CMs are doing by way of technological and managerial innovation.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Construction Management Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, Barton Malow, Hill International top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest construction management and project management firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Contractors [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Whiting-Turner, Skanska top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest contractors in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Engineering firms look to bolster growth through new services, technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following solid revenue growth in 2013, the majority of U.S.-based engineering and engineering/architecture firms expect more of the same this year, according to BD+C’s 2014 Giants 300 report.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering/Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering/architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Fluor, Arup, Day & Zimmermann top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering firms in the United States.
