Future blueprint for Research Triangle Park and the selection of a private sector partner to assist with its implementation will be disclosed by the Research Triangle Foundation on Nov. 9.

Four days later, the Foundation will launch a state-wide tour during which officials will discuss those plans.

The Foundation manages the Park, which covers 7,000 acres and is home to more than 170 companies which employ some 40,000 people.

Bob Geolas, the recently hired chief executive officer of the Foundation, has been spearheading development of the new plan. He’s already spelled out the goals of that plan.

“Companies and employees today want an environment and an experience that encourages collaboration and creativity,” Geolas said. “Our new Master Plan is designed to do just that.”

Geolas has said that the plan will give the Park a more “urban design.”

Wake County approved rezoning in October that will help boost the plan’s implementation.

At the Nov. 9 announcement, the Foundation also will disclose the selection of a private sector partner to help implement the redevelopment plans.

A bus tour called “Pathways to Opportunity” will begin on Nov. 13.

“We want to reaffirm the Park’s founding mission, which is to serve all of North Carolina,” Geolas said. “We should begin that process by getting around the state, meeting with people and hearing about the challenges and opportunities they face.”

Geolas, who helped develop Centennial Campus at N.C. State before leaving for a position in South Carolina and then returning to the state, said the tour idea is linked to the Park’s origins.

Geolas pointed out that  Archie Davis of Winston-Salem, a driving force in the Park’s creation, had a similar promotional idea – but a bit more modest.

“Archie Davis traveled across North Carolina in a little white car. He asked people to be part of establishing the RTP as an investment in the state’s future,” Geolas explained. “That investment paid off. It’s time to look again at how we can work together for North Carolina’s future – and it’s time we got behind the wheel again.”

The tour’s first event will take place at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. Bob Ingram, chairman of the Research Triangle Foundation Board, and Geolas will be among the speakers.

The bus tour schedule:

  • Nov. 13: Raleigh, Greensboro
  • Nov. 14: Sanford, Asheboro, Winston-Salem
  • Nov. 15: Boone, Conover, Asheville
  • Nov. 16: Lenoir, Charlotte
  • Nov. 19: Raleigh, Durham
  • Nov. 26: Rocky Mount, Pinetops, Elizabeth City
  • Nov. 27: Washington, Greenville
  • Nov. 28: Kinston
  • Nov. 29: Wilmington, Fayetteville
  • Nov. 30: Pembroke, Pinehurst
  • Dec. 03: RTP Headquarters