Suburban Office Parks Begin Adding Housing and Retail to Combat Isolation
Research Triangle Park, the 7,000-acre North Carolina campus home to Cisco, Lenovo, and Novartis, recently adopted zoning changes allowing apartments, townhomes, and mixed-use developments after 65 years as a work-only environment. The park’s managing foundation made the shift in response to changing worker preferences and commutes that often exceed an hour each way. Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, Alabama, implemented similar changes a decade ago and now maintains apartment occupancy above 80 percent.
Travis Crayton, vice president of planning at Research Triangle Park, said the region’s unusual configuration—a low-density office park at the center of a fast-growing metro area—has remained static for five decades while surrounding communities expanded. Lori O’Keefe, CEO of the Triangle Community Foundation, said the park was designed for workers to commute in, complete their day, and drive back to distant suburbs. Post-pandemic work patterns accelerated demand for environments employees are willing to commute to, Crayton said.
An outdoor food hall made from shipping containers has already opened at Research Triangle Park and serves as an after-work gathering spot. More residential and mixed-use construction is expected over the next five years as developers act on the new zoning. Erin Koshut, executive director of Cummings Research Park, said tenant companies requested better pedestrian and bike connections to retail and housing, prompting additional sidewalk construction.
The rezoning follows a broader reconsideration of single-use suburban office parks as employers compete for talent in tight labor markets. Mixed-use districts allow companies to offer live-work-play environments that reduce commute times and increase retention. Similar retrofits are under discussion at older corporate campuses across the Sun Belt, where sprawling layouts and car dependency have become competitive disadvantages in recruiting.
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