Apple 'confidential' in building RTP campus

DURHAM – There are signs of construction at the proposed future site of an Apple campus that could house more than 3,000 workers is moving forward. A stormwater-related permit, for example, was filed Friday.

Public records obtained by WRAL News indicate that work to prepare the site, approximately 281 acres located adjacent Louis Stephens Drive and Little Drive in Wake County, is occurring.

A number of permits and documents have been filed with Wake County, according to the documents.

Those include a permit application dated Aug. 26, 2022, to place a “Construction trailer with associated grading and erosion control” as well as a notation stating “Electrical and Plumbing Trades” that another document shows was approved by Wake County officials on Sept. 1, 2022.

Mum’s the word

But just because permitting is underway doesn’t mean Apple’s plans will be announced any time soon.

That’s because Bruce Thompson, an attorney with Parker Poe who is representing Acute Investments, LLC, an entity tied to the site of Apple’s planned campus, noted that it would be “submitting applications and supporting documents” that include “confidential business information” and “trade secrets.”

In the attorney’s letter, also dated August 26, 2022, they state:

“Acute requests that the marked information be treated as “confidential information” pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1.2. The records contain trade secrets, which are recognized and protected as such by law. See N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 66-152(3); 132-1.2. In addition, the enclosed documents contain information, which, if released, would give advantage to Acute’s competitors and serve no public purpose.”

Another document obtained by WRAL News indicates that a permit that would approve a temporary construction entrance was filed between Aug. 26, 2022, and Oct. 21, 2022.

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Permits have been approved – conditionally

A watershed management construction plan approval was granted by Wake County to the applicant, stated as Bruce Thompson/Acute Investments, LLC, on a conditional basis on Nov. 4, 2022, including the note: “LO24 RTP is approved for a temporary construction trailer and the supporting grading and erosion control features. Plans approved limiting the maximum impervious surface of 0 SF (0.0 acres).”

Other conditions apply, including a mandatory preconstruction meeting, the prohibition of grading other than for the installation of soil erosion and sedimentation control measures, and others.

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As of Friday, Acute Investments had submitted eight applications using the Wake County Stormwater Hybrid Tool, which is required for all stormwater submittals. The first is dated August 2022, and the eighth is dated Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.

“Given that the economy is very uncertain, it’s not surprising to me that they haven’t broken ground sooner,” Meredith College economics professor Anne York said.

Economist Mike Walden says the timing could be an issue for Apple with an uncertain economy, but that likely won’t affect the incentives from the state.

“The big incentives kick in when the company, the project is up and done and people are hired and they’re up and running,” Walden said.

The clock may be ticking for Acute Investments and for Apple, however. That’s because a document obtained by WRAL News shows that an “on-site determination” completed on May 23, 2022, for the proposed development expires five years from the date of the letter sent following the determination, dated May 31, 2022.

The land was purchased in late 2018 by Acute Investments LLC, WRAL News previously reported. In the economic development deal announced in April 2021, Thompson was listed as a registered lobbyist for Apple, WRAL News reported. Apple is leasing space in Cary in a building owned by MetLife, and reportedly spent upwards of $19 million to renovate it.