RALEIGH — IBM, one of the Triangle’s largest and oldest employers, is consolidating its Research Triangle Park-based workforce into a single office complex as it weighs the future of its sprawling 400-acre campus on Cornwallis Road.
The move marks a new chapter for the tech giant, whose RTP campus has been a cornerstone of the park since 1965, when IBM became one of the first major technology companies to invest in North Carolina’s emerging research hub. The company helped bring thousands of skilled workers to the region and offered high-tech career paths for local university graduates, cementing its legacy as one of the region’s economic anchors.
IBM confirmed it will move most employees into its RTP 500 office buildings — a multistructure complex it sold to the developer Hines in 2023 for $66 million and now leases back. The Triangle Business Journal first reported the consolidation.
“IBM is focused on identifying real estate opportunities that enhance the employee experience,” spokesperson Carrie Bendsza said, adding that the shift reflects the company’s effort to “optimize our footprint and foster deeper collaboration” among its Triangle-area teams.
The decision comes as leaders of Research Triangle Park advance “RTP 3.0,” a master plan that reimagines the 7,000-acre park across Durham and Wake counties. The initiative aims to modernize aging corporate campuses and expand zoning to allow for mixed-use development — bringing restaurants, apartments and other amenities to an area historically limited to office and lab space.
RTP is home to more than 300 companies, but many of its original corporate campuses lack the social and lifestyle features that have become standard in newer innovation districts. The Research Triangle Foundation’s Hub RTP project — the park’s first mixed-use development — seeks to change that with new office space, dining and residential options.
The renewed push for modernization comes as major employers, including IBM, increase return-to-office requirements and emphasize workplace collaboration.
While IBM has not released updated employment figures, the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce estimates around 8,000 IBM employees remain based in the Triangle. The company continues to operate several labs and its security operations from the Cornwallis Road site, though Bendsza said IBM is “exploring options” for the property’s long-term use.
Scott Levitan, CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation, said IBM remains deeply tied to the park’s evolution.
“We are in discussions with IBM about its long-term future, as we know it remains strongly committed to RTP,” Levitan said.
The consolidation and broader RTP redevelopment efforts signal a period of transformation for one of North Carolina’s most influential corporate landscapes — where the next era of innovation may blend office, community and culture on the same ground where IBM first put the Triangle on the map.
