DanRNC

As usual Durham is flying beneath the PR radar. A 100,000+ square foot biotech research center/incubator exists in the heart of downtown Durham although no one would ever know. Link

We tried to get into both Porter's and Fraziers one night and couldn't get into both places as they were packed. We ended up at Mitch's, which I had never been to, and it became one of my favorite bar/grill type place in Raleigh. I still want to try the other two places as I heard the food was outstanding.

What I don't think outsiders (outside of the Triangle) realize is that there are numerous companies in the Triangle, not only in RTP. It is the entire area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all surrounding areas) not just the "office park" people think. The amount of high quality research coming out of Duke, UNC, and NCSU is quite impressive. RTP is not even comparable to the URP (this was doomed from the beginning and never maintained a heavy research or think-tank component like RTP and was never even in the same league). I don't think the Triangle will be Silicon Valley but will be the major player on the east coast with Boston for a long-time.

Is Tex and Shirley's still there?

A couple of articles came out this week about the Triangle finally competing with Silicon Valley. Do you think the Triangle will ever surpass Silicon Valley in the amount of tech businesses headquartered here? I don't, but it is nice being compared to such a powerhouse. N&O Story TBJ Story

One thing about this campus is that it will be successful from a research/economic standpoint-the most impotant thing at this point. It has many acres of land and years to reinvent itself if need be, plus I think its proximity to the Dix campus will allow for closer residential opportunities in the future.

Motricity (a digital media company) as well as another large VC company will also be moving their headquarters there. WUNC radio I believe is also creating a studio there for one of their nationally-aired programs.

] There was a story in TBJ about the renovation of Terminal A as a low-fare carrier terminal. Story

Square 1 Bank, a venture capital firm, has moved its headquarters from California to the American Tobacco Complex in Durham. Durham is becoming a major player in VC with this addition as well as Intersouth Partners. I think Durham is on a good path with these additions. Story

You have to realize that this is the first phase-primarily developing strong businesses in this area which has pretty much been abandoned. The second phase will consist of housing as well as Motricity building their new headquarters. More restaurants are to follow as well. There will also be a performing arts center seating more than 2000 people. I believe another company will announce their move to this facility in the next month or so. Link

Durham is definitely poised for big things to come. I think the American Tobacco project is one of the coolest developments in the area. The Independent Weekly had an article about loft living in an issue 2 weeks ago. Downtown Durham should definitely capitalize on this market. Durham has no place to go but up.

Its amazing that everytime I fly into the Denver I always feel energized no matter how tired I am. There is something about the design of the place that does this.

I've heard that too. This could be that RDU serves the entire eastern part of the state beyond the Triangle. Also people from the Triad and even Charlotte fly out of RDU because of significantly lower fares. Charlotte has the most insane ticket prices-my mother's company had the employees in Charlotte drive all the way to RDU to fly to a conference.

The future will probably see the end of Terminal A completely as the Terminal C will be designed to be expanded in the future.

This terminal will actually be a consolidation of Terminal A and Terminal C once completed essentially creating one terminal. Although it is not a hub, it is a large point to point terminal as far as traffic and continues to grow. Most of this redevelopment was to accomodate new security regulations and tailor it to point to point travel-it was originally set up as a hub type airport but that is an outdated model for this airport.

One of the biggest projects in the Triangle, that no one ever talks about, is the redevelopment of Terminal C at RDU. I always wondered why this area never had a decent airport. The renderings look pretty impressive. RDU Link The architects are Fentress-Bradburn who designed the Denver Airport. Fentress-Bradburn

I think this is a much better plan than what LandDesign pitched. I personally have not been impressed with their work. It seems a little more creative than the cookie-cutter mixed-use projects I've seen.