RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – The groundbreaking is rapidly approaching for Boxyard RTP, the project designed to bring dining, entertaining and shopping to the Research Triangle Park.
The “cargotecture” prject earns that name since it will be built around former cargo containers. And the concept – modeled after the original in Tulsa – is alaready drawing clients ahead of the groundbreaking which is set for Tuesday, Aug. 27.
Boxyard to feature dining, retail, more in RTP.
Morgan Cartier Weston, Marketing and Communications Manager for the Research Triangle Foundation which oversees the Park, tells WRAL TechWire that Boxyard RTP is still on track to open in Spring 2020.
“We continue to be overwhelmed and thankful for the amount of interest we have received in Boxyard RTP,” Weston says.
“It is a truly unique concept and we can’t wait to bring it to life.”
The Foundation announced Boxyard in March. The Boxyard in Tulsa opened in December 2016, fully leased with 20 different tenants.
Boxyard RTP to bring dining, entertainment to heart of Research Triangle Park
The first clients have been signed and are scheduled to be part of the groundbreaking, but Weston won’t disclose any names until the groundbreaking.
The announcement “will be the first of several,” she adds. The mix of clients includes “all of the above” she notes when asked represent a mix of food, drink and retail.
Casey Stowe, the founder of Boxyard Tulsa, will be on hand for the groundbreaking.
Also scheduled to take part are Scott Levitan, the CEO of the Foundation, and Wendy Jacobs, chair of the Durham County Board of Commissioners.
Attendance at the groundbreaking is by invitation only. The event begins at 10 a.m. at the Foundation’s offices located at 700 Park Offices Drive in RTP.
The Boxyard deal followed the announcement in October 2018 that Maryland-based developer, Willard Retail, will build what it calls a new “town center” in the heart of Park.
“Boxyard RTP is an awesome complement to the retail plan in Park Center,” a Foundation spokesperson said at the time.
“Boxyard RTP will be hyper local and will allow small, awesome food and beverage concepts to move from a food truck or a home kitchen affordably. Rent/ leasing in downtown locations can be too expensive for a small entrepreneur. ”
The Park Center will cover 12 acres in the larger area of land designated as Park Center that is adjacent to I-40.
