A mystery purchaser has acquired more than 200 undeveloped acres in Research Triangle Park (RTP) for nearly $50 million, according to Wake County property records.
Information is scarce about the buyer, Acute Investments LLC, The News & Observer reports. And the purchaser has been granted additional time to develop the land.
An agreement signed between the Research Triangle Foundation (RTF) and Acute Investments says the new owner will have 10 years to begin construction on the property instead of the standard four years that the park requires, according to Wake County records.
Acute would also have four years to complete construction once the work starts, rather than the standard two years under the park’s covenants. Failure to meet the covenants can result in the RFT fining Acute or repurchasing the property, the records show.
The large plot of land — located off Louis Stephens and Little drives near the campus of Cisco Systems on the Wake County side of RTP — had been controlled by the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and the RTF, the News & Observer reports.
Acute Investments’ address is listed as the Raleigh law firm Parker Poe and one of its lawyers, R. Bruce Thompson. Thompson is a registered lobbyist for Apple and Daimler Trucks, among other companies, according to the North Carolina secretary of state’s website.
Thompson said he didn’t have any comment about the sale.
The deed indicates the transaction occurred on Dec. 21. Acute Investments purchased 123 acres from the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund for around $32 million, and the Research Triangle Foundation sold around 100 acres for $17.6 million, according to Wake County records.
RTP straddles Durham and Wake counties, though most of the park’s remaining undeveloped land is located on the Wake County side.
Hopefully whatever company buys this, they will invest in some green ways / biking opportunities to offset the MTB trails that were located in there. It would be great if TORC (Triangle Off Road Cyclists) and a conservation group paired up to oversee development of a new space using a grant from the new company and the other companies who make up the RTP Foundation (303 companies listed) would be willing to contribute to an endeavor like this; whether that be a formal park or free form green space.