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Northward Bound: Struever Bros. chosen for expansion of park
Plans call for 60-acre project over 5 to 6 years
Journal Graphic by Nicholas Weir (see bottom of article for full version)
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Published: June 21, 2008
A deal in the works since last November should quicken the long-awaited northern expansion of Piedmont Triad Research Park.
Piedmont Triad Research Park said yesterday that it has awarded the exclusive rights to develop 60 acres to Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, a Baltimore company that specializes in adaptive reuse of historic buildings.
The 60 acres would be developed in two phases over five to six years -- the 40-acre area south of Seventh Street and west of the railroad tracks, and in the future, an additional 20 acres extending northeast to the east side of the tracks.
The project is expected to represent an investment "in the hundreds of millions of dollars," said Kenneth Reiter, a senior development director for Struever who is based in Durham. There are plans for Struever to open an office in Winston-Salem by the fall. The company has, among its work, done a $720 million redevelopment of Baltimore's harbor area and a $100 million renovation of Boston's Fenway Park.
Yesterday's announcement comes more than seven months after park officials acknowledged that they were talking with Struever about reusing buildings left vacant years ago as part of a reorganization by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
"The terms of the master-development agreement are done, so now it's a matter of getting legal contracts completed, which we believe will happen by Labor Day," said Doug Edgeton, the president of the research park. "We believe the marketing and the work on the buildings will begin in earnest in the fall, and space will be occupied within 18 months."
The research park has been at the forefront of Winston-Salem's push to transform its economy from one based on tobacco and textiles to one based on genes and science.
Plans to broadly expand the research park were announced in August 2002, with officials saying at the time that the project could create more than 10,000 jobs, generate more than $5 million in property-tax revenue a year and contribute $2.5 billion a year to the local economy.
Today, about 859 people work at the research park, which has 39 tenants. Among the companies are 31 that are not affiliated with Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which owns the research park. There are eight Wake Forest programs at the park, including the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Struever officials said that job projections are in the thousands for its project.
Edgeton said that there is about 1.28 million square feet of space that can be renovated, with the goal of one-third for residential units, one-third for retail and one-third for biomedical labs.
The first phase would include 16 acres and the renovation of some of the old buildings.
Edgeton said that a 190,000-square-foot building would be dedicated to laboratory research space, and an 80,000-square-foot building would contain research offices without laboratory space.
The first phase also has plans for as many as 180 housing units.
"The goal is to be very market competitive with those units," Edgeton said. "Struever recognizes that there is more of a need for housing units affordable to the middle-income worker rather than more $400,000 and $500,000 condos."
The old Bailey Power Plant -- a landmark that sends smokestacks over the block bounded by Chestnut, Patterson, Fourth and Fifth streets -- would be a converted into a center for entertainment and retail shops.
"It has the possibility to be the marquee building for the city," Reiter said. "We have done a number of power plants in the past. They are terribly inefficient, terribly contaminated, but they have tons of potential. People were surprised that we wanted to keep that power plant and develop it as something unique. It is kind of a beacon that brings in people."
Another component is a hotel that would rise on the block bordered by Main, Church, Fifth and Sixth streets, now a parking lot. An open area could be the place where people gather to hear music.
Struever said it will stress its work-live-play strategy with the project, and also commit to a sustainable and green building environment.
The company said it expects that "predevelopment activities" will take 90 days, which includes a "community-planning process."
"Our master plan has worked well for us in these types of projects," Reiter said. "But we want to learn what the local community believes it will need from this project before getting fully started, such as a grocery store, a day care, a fitness center."
Reiter said that Struever is likely to request local, state and federal financial assistance as it proceeds.
"We're pretty resourceful with financing these projects, finding sources of money through government, foundations and grants, and other sources." Reiter said.
The mayor of Winston-Salem, Allen Joines, has said that the city council expects to get a request for support with public-works aspects, such as sidewalks and roads.
Struever said that process will involve Urban Strategies, a nonprofit affiliate of McCormack Baron Salazar of St. Louis. That company focuses on the development and management of mixed-income communities, with an emphasis on large-scale redevelopment projects in central city locations. According to McCormack's Web site, the park project would be its first in North Carolina. Design Collective, an architectural company based in Baltimore, will also work on the project.
Gayle Anderson, the president and chief executive of the Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, said that the agreement represents "national affirmation that the concept of having a mixed-uses research park in downtown Winston-Salem is sound."
"The development of what today are vacant properties should add significantly to the tax base and spur other development nearby, particularly Goler and the arts district," she said.
Reiter said that Struever typically tries to use as many local contractors as possible on its projects.
Edgeton said that Struever had already been in contact with several groups before reaching the agreement.
"They want to be a welcome participant of this community for the long haul," Edgeton said.
■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.
■ Journal reporter Wesley Young contributed to this article.
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