Apple announced back in January that it was planning to grow its US operations with a new campus.
Since then, there has been much speculation on where it might be located …
Bloomberg attempted its own analysis in March, using Moody’s data to correlated the various factors it thought likely to influence Apple’s decision. North Carolina was one of the picks, and now the Triangle Business Journal says it believes this is the leading contender.
Research Triangle Park, or RTP, is so-called because it is close to three major research universities: Duke University, NC State University and the University of North Carolina. It describes itself as one of the largest research parks in the world, covering more than 22 million square feet of buildings, and says that it is ‘one of the smartest areas in the country.’
The RTP is owned by a non-profit, the Research Triangle Foundation, whose mission statement seems well aligned with Apple.
The TBJ reports that North Carolina governor Roy Cooper and commerce secretary Tony Copeland met with Tim Cook while he was in town to give the commencement address at Duke University, the college from which he graduated.
Citing government, legal and real-estate sources, the journal says that discussions are underway to build the campus on the Wake County side of the RTP.
It should be cautioned that the high-level discussions would indicate only that the RTP is a serious contender, rather than necessarily the favorite.
