Developers of the 1,100+-acre mixed-use Veridea project in Apex say improvements on NC 55 near the development will be completed before the first residents move in.
A spokesperson working on behalf of developer RXR underscored the road upgrades on Tuesday as construction staff and town leaders highlighted the groundbreaking of new industrial space in the Veridea development.
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It will include more than 200,000 square feet of industrial space and comes after recent announcements of 1,000+ homes, retail and a children's hospital elsewhere on the site.
"You can only imagine the sort of support services that're going to be required, and we're one red light away. Getting this out of the ground sooner and up is obviously very important to us," said Executive Vice President of Residential Construction and Development for RXR Joe Graziose.
While construction continues on the sprawling development, town leaders have sights set on roadway improvements, including NC 55, which borders the site.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is overseeing projects along NC 55 that will bring intersection improvements at Technology Drive and widening from US 1 to Olive Chapel Road.
"All of those roadway improvements are going to make things better with regard to this project. RXR invested in those transportation projects...We're looking at around 2030 for some of those projects to come to fruition," Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert said.
The first residents are expected to move in at Veridea near the end of 2027, leaving questions about the timeline of NC 55 improvements.
A spokesperson for the NCDOT did not immediately respond to WRAL's request for a timeline of completion for improvements along NC-55 near Veridea.
"To be real, a lot of those projects are way behind with NCDOT...Often times you need a partner to really support you...Having developers come in, like RXR, and be a part of that collaboration is truly, truly impressive," said Gilbert.
As focus continues on roads around Veridea, construction on the site continues.
"We're getting a lot of inbound, a lot of inquiries from people. With all that's going around this region, and the fact that we have this ramp right off of 540, it becomes a great opportunity," Graziose said of Veridea's industrial space. "This has been going on now for over a year and a half, we've got active construction on all of our sites."
The industrial space at Veridea is being built on the southern portion of the development, just south on NC-540.
