RXR Realty’s $3B Project Moves Ahead With Land Deal

Veridea conceptual master plan. Image courtesy of RXR

RXR Realty has acquired Veridea, a more than 1,000-acre mixed-use development site in Apex, N.C. The company purchased the land for $91 million. Hudson Realty Capital was previously attached to the project, CommercialEdge data shows.

The project aligns with RXR’s national strategy of investing in Superstar Regions. The company expects a total investment of $3 billion.

The first phase will include 1,000 multifamily units, 1,100 single-family residences developed by Lennar, while more than 750,000 square feet will be allocated for life science research, logistics and education. RXR also partnered with Wake Technical Community College for the construction of a 340,000-square-foot campus across 34 acres. Plans also call for the development of a new elementary school on a 21-acre site.

The initial focus will be on East Village and will set the tone for the project. The 460-acre East Village Neighborhood Center is situated on the eastern part of the Veridea development, accessed through the intersection of Highway 55 and Technology Drive.

The zoning of the site allows for the development of as many as 8,000 residential units, 12 million square feet of commercial space including life science, industrial and warehouse properties, and 3.5 million square feet of retail, hospitality and civic uses.

Veridea is located at the intersection of three major highways: US 1, Interstate 540 and Highway 55, 19.4 miles from Raleigh, N.C., and 26 miles from Durham, N.C. The development site is roughly 20 miles south from the Research Triangle Park, a major employment hub in the area.

Foundry Commercial brokered the transaction. CEO & Principal Moss Withers of Lee & Associates brokered the sale of the site where Wake Technical will relocate the new campus.

Mixed-use projects in the Research Triangle

Veridea marks RXR’s first acquisition and development in North Carolina, situated within the Research Triangle area of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, the largest scientific research center in the U.S.

Major developments in the area include The Exchange Raleigh, a $1 billion, 40-acre mixed-use project, developed by DeWitt Carolinas Inc. In September 2022, construction began on 1000 Social, the first of the mixed-use property’s two 12-story office towers totaling 330,000 square feet.

Raleigh had another mixed-use building completed in the spring of 2022, a 19-story tower totaling 292,500 square feet of office and retail space developed by Barings and The Fallon Co.

Earlier in February, Trammell Crow Co., in partnership with High Street Residential, topped out 400H, another Raleigh mixed-use project, slated for completion in the summer of 2023.