WINSTON-SALEM – The developers of Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter have announced a new master plan for the second phase of development in the city’s innovation district that seeks to boost economic growth in the city.

On a 28-acre site that sits on both sides of Research Parkway, developers are proposing 10 buildings with 2.7 million square feet of space, with a possible 1 million more for clinical, lab, or office space.  The plans call for mixed-use, ground-level activations, which was the original goal of the first phase of the project, which currently comprises 2.1 million square feet, and on which about 3,700 employees are based.

“This new phase of development will create the same feel and aesthetic found in the Innovation Quarter today,” said Graydon Pleasants, head of development for the Innovation Quarter in a statement.  “This mix of science and business, recreation and retail, green spaces and residential will bring even more vibrancy to this section of downtown Winston-Salem.”

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This phase is centered around Fogle Commons, which is a linear park capable of hosting events and activities, and is said to create 15 acres of new green space, providing for additional programs and the extension of the city’s Long Branch Trail, to better connect the district with neighborhoods across the Third Street bridge into east Winston-Salem.

The developers partnered with Perkins and Will, a design firm, and anticipates that Wexford Science + Technology will also play a role in the design and development of Phase II.  Wexford bases its design and development on what it calls “knowledge communities,” and feature research institutions as anchor tenants, and the firm invested $150 million in 2013 in the project.

Atrium Health and Wake Forest Baptist Health will play a role in the district.

“For over 20 years, Innovation Quarter has lead the way in creating integrated spaces that foster collaboration and creativity,” said Eugene A. Woods, president and CEO of Atrium Health.  “This new phase of development continues that effort in a way that will allow Atrium Health and Wake Forest School of Medicine to build upon our scientific and innovation capabilities in a rich, blended environment, while creating new connections and partnerships in order to expand these dynamic spaces to Charlotte.”

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The organizations are partnering to launch Charlotte’s first medical school, which was announced earlier this year.

Additionally, as many as 450 residential units could be included in the plans for the second phase; about 1,100 residential units are a part of the project’s first phase.

“Phase II of Innovation Quarter’s development represents great potential for growing our economy and workforce, both within the district itself and across greater Winston-Salem and Forsyth County,” said Mark Owens, President and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem, Inc., in a statement.