RALEIGH – A 130-acre site known as Spring Hill that is part of N.C. State’s Centennial Campus is reportedly a leading contender as the site where Amazon would build the mammoth HQ2 project should North Carolina be chosen.

WRAL TechWire was told by a source with knowledge of negotiations between Amazon and local officials that the Spring Hill property, which is adjacent to Centennial Boulevard, the state Farmers’ Market and Dix Park, is on the Amazon list.

Dix Park is not.

WRAL.com

Possible Amazon HQ2 site in Raleigh

“I wanted to clear this up” about Dix, said the source, who also is aware of continuing development ideas for Dix. Because the properties adjoin each other, the person who spoke on the condition of anonymity said there is ongoing communication between the City of Raleigh, owner of the Dix tract, and NCSU officials about the Spring Hill property.

“There have been discussions” about Spring Hill, WRAL TechWire was told. The site would be “just unbelievable” for Amazon, the source added.

NCSU acquired the Spring Hill property in 2000. It formerly had been part of the Dorthea Dix Hospital campus. [A portion of the property is featured in the photo featured at the beginning of this post.]

Negotiations between Amazon and North Carolina officials have been cloaked in secrecy, and Cooper administration have refused to talk about the project. Amazon also has refrained from comment after identifying the 20 metro areas that are finalists for the new HQ and adding that a decision will be announced sometime this year.

‘Perfect’ HQ2 site

Dennis Kekas, an an associate vice chancellor who oversees Centennial Campus for NCSU, said he was “not aware” of any talks between Amazon or other officials and NCSU about the land.

“I would not be surprised” if there have been talks, he added, because the property would be “perfect” as an HQ2 location.

Kekas described Spring Hill as “a very interesting piece of property” and that “a lot of people drool over it” as a site for development.

NCSU has no immediate plans for the land, given that NCSU “has its hands full” with ongoing development of  Centennial Campus property on the other side Centennial Boulevard from Spring Hill, Kekas added.

Discussion about possible HQ2 sites continues as the North Carolina awaits a decision about whether Apple will build a campus and eventually hire several thousand people in the Triangle.

Some media speculation about HQ2 locations has focused on the City of Raleigh-owned Dix Park, which covers more than 300 acres. However, Dix is viewed for development as a recreation and natural site. The City of Raleigh labels the former state-operated hospital complex as “one of the most exciting new park projects in America.”

Last week, WRAL TechWire reported sources as saying that Amazon is focusing its attention on downtown Raleigh as a site, having selected it over other possible locations in Durham and Research Triangle Park. What downtown properties are being considered have remained a matter of speculation, although a “Prime Corridor” proposal linking a number of downtown properties assembled by developer John Kane has reportedly 

Given the size of the HQ2 project, the skyline of Raleigh would certainly change with buildings having to be built so Amazon’s desire to “go urban” could be satisfied, sources have told WRAL TechWire.

“Bet on Spring Hill”

The Spring Hill property is largely undeveloped and overlooks downtown Raleigh. The source WRAL TechWire Monday, “I’d bet on it” as the locale should Amazon choose the City of Oaks.
“The question is: Could you do the Amazon project on that amount of land?” the source wondered.

Amazon has said it would require some 8.5 million square feet of office space to accommodate some 50,000 workers.

The timeline to build out HQ2 is expected to be 10 years.

NCSU on Spring Hill development

A photo of NCSU’s Japan Center from its Facebook page.

The history of NCSU, Centennial Campus and Dix are intertwined by a history of agreements dating back to 1984. The first 385 acres of land for Centennial Campus was transferred from Dix to NCSU in December 1984.

In a “Centennial Campus Precinct Development and Design Guidelines” published by NCSU, a plan updated in 2008 said Spring Hill “will be an intimate, human-scaled environment that blends seamlessly with surrounding land uses. The intersection of Barbour Drive and Blair Drive will be developed as a Gateway and Hub of Interaction, unifying the campus with the NC Department of Agriculture and Dorothea Dix campuses.

“Spring Hill will be a location for model university sustainability projects.”

The land currently includes the NCSU Japan Center and the Wake County STEM Early College High School, which is focused on science, technology, engineering, math.

Spring Hill House, a separate building on Barbour Drive, is on the National Register of Historic Places, the NCSU report noted.