Mixed-Use Campus Coming to Raleigh Area

St. John Properties plans to wrap up work on Wake Forest Exchange by 2027. Image courtesy of St. John Properties

St. John Properties has purchased a 30-acre lot in Wake Forest, N.C., with plans to develop a 165,000-square-foot mixed-use project. Plans call for six single-story buildings with flex, office and retail space that are expected to support approximately 500 jobs when fully completed and leased.

This marks the developer’s first land acquisition in the state. SVN Tar Heel Commercial Realty Inc.’s Managing Director Jay Taylor worked on behalf of the seller.

Plans for a business community

Wake Forest Exchange will be developed in phases, with the first including two flex buildings totaling 95,040 square feet, a 25,000-square-foot office structure and a 10,725-square-foot retail component. The flex buildings will include clear heights between 16 and 18 feet, dock and drive-in doors and suites from 2,400 to 59,760 square feet.

The full development plan will include an additional flex building as well as another retail one. The first phase is expected to start in early 2024 and the entire campus is scheduled for completion by 2027. St. John Properties’ Regional Partner Dustin Atkielski will be leading leasing efforts.

The 30-acre site is close to Star Road and South Main Street, and the project will rise less than 5 miles from Interstate 540 and 13 miles from Raleigh, N.C. The land represents one of the last remaining tracts north of Interstate 540 while Wake Forest Exchange will be a high-quality product in the area, added St. John Properties’ Atkielski, in prepared remarks.

The Raleigh-Durham area is not falling short of large-scale, mixed-use developments, one of the biggest being RXR’sVeridea, a mixed-use project worth $3 billion in Apex, N.C. RXR purchased the 1,000-acre site for $91 million and plans of the first phase include multifamily and single-family units, as well as more than 750,000 square feet of life science, logistics and education space.