Wesley Hilliard
The Research Triangle Park in North Carolina will still be the home of Apple's new billion-dollar campus — eventually.
Apple's move to North Carolina has been years in the making, as initial plans leaked out in 2018. However, not much has moved since then and Apple is running out of time to claim its state incentives.
According to research from The News & Observer, Apple still plans on building the North Carolina campus, but the timeline is unknown. Deadlines requiring Apple to hire certain numbers of employees are fast approaching, however, so something has to happen soon.
If Apple doesn't create at least 126 new positions by the end of 2023, the company could lose eligibility for state incentives. Apple's Job Development Investment Grant agreement with the state could provide Apple with more than $800 million in payroll tax relief through the year 2061 — if it meets its hiring targets.
"Maybe the most important impact is that Apple is Apple," city planning professor William Rohe said. "Them making the decision to come will boost the reputation of the RTP and the Research Triangle metropolitan area substantially. It's not only about Apple's Apple impacts, it's also about Apple's spillover effects with attracting a different caliber of businesses."
The Research Triangle Park is said to be the largest research park in the United States, comprising of 300 companies across 7,000 acres and employing 65,000 workers. Apple is expected to employ around 2,700 people by 2032 in the sector.
Apple is currently occupying a MetLife office building in Cary until the new campus is complete. It completed 19.3 million in renovations on the building alone.
While Apple will likely want to take advantage of tax breaks and other benefits, there are other issues that have cropped up since its plans for the campus began. Hiring at Apple has become more deliberate in some sectors, the pandemic has caused more people to want to work from home, and the idea of another major campus when Apple Park fights to fill its massive halls all add up to a difficult conundrum Apple must face.
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
4 Comments
The loss of state incentives for not having a hired 126 employees locally really shouldn’t be much of a loss for Apple. In fact, I would look down upon the company if that was the primary reason for locating and Research Triangle Park. It’s just wouldn’t be a good luck for the richest publicly traded company on the face of the planet.
I would be far more interested in news of the building architecture and accompanying landscape design. Of course, $1 billion is modest compared to the $5 billion Apple spent on the Apple Park in Cupertino. Nevertheless, they ought to be able to come up with something very nice.
Though I’d expect remote workers living in the Triangle would fulfill the criteria.
I just Googled to see the status of the Apple 2nd or 3rd headquarters coming to Cary, NC, and came across this article. I hope Apple is PAYING ATTENTION to the North Carolina Republican-controlled General Assembly and the recent number of laws enacted in lightening fast pace-- loosening common sense gun regulations, shifting millions to charter schools which results in continued underfunding of public schools (teachers and lack of $ for counselors/mental health), tightening of abortion limits (with CLEAR messaging from Lt. Governor who is running for Governor (in 2024) that he and others don't want to stop at 12 weeks, but will fight to limit at 6 weeks with NO exception to rape or incest, and not allowing Parents to decide which medical care their children can receive (gender affirming care). Also, the court is now packed 5 to 2 (Republican to Democratic) and they are reworking the districts (gerrymandering)... so this will only increase their ability to push an extremist agenda.
If Apple still wants to come to NC... they may need to look at a state that is turning from purple to red... and with more lax gun laws will be red. Known fact that lax gun regulations makes for increased gun violence.
It is VERY disappointing to say the least. I hope Apple is noticing.