Scott Rechler’s RXR Has Big Plans for North Carolina

Scott Rechler has no experience in North Carolina, but that isn’t stopping the RXR CEO from betting big on the Tar Heel State.

RXR purchased a 1,000-acre, mixed-use development site in Apex, North Carolina, for $91 million from Trinity Apex Investments, Bloomberg reported. In a press release, the developer said the area, between Raleigh and Durham, fits in with its strategy of investing in “superstar regions.”

The New York developer has a $3 billion plan for the land. RXR is partnering with the Lennar Corporation to build 1,100 single-family homes and townhouses on the site as part of the first phase of development.

Beyond that, RXR will develop 1,000 rental apartments and 750,000 square feet of space for life-sciences research, education and logistics. The education components of the development include an elementary school and a campus for Wake Technical Community College, which will be able to support up to 3,000 students.

In the eyes of RXR, the strength of the site is its position in the state’s so-called Research Triangle; the site, known as Veridea, is at the intersection of three major highways in US 1, Interstate 540 and Highway 55. The Research Triangle is anchored by three prominent research universities: Duke University, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“As knowledge workers increasingly seek these live, work, play communities when choosing where they want to settle, it is towns like Apex, North Carolina, that will thrive,” Rechler predicted in a statement following the acquisition.

While RXR is best known for its developments in the tri-state area and office properties in Manhattan, it has been expanding its reach beyond that region. Last year, the company acquired multifamily properties in Phoenix and Tampa.

RXR recently said it might give two “worn-out offices” back to the bank, though Rechler quickly assured investors that the New York City properties were a small piece of the firm’s portfolio and there was nothing to be concerned about.

— Holden Walter-Warner