WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Innovation Quarter (iQ), an entity that controls a 2.1 million-square-foot life sciences and higher education campus of the same name, has revealed plans for its second phase. The upcoming project will expand the mixed-use development in downtown Winston-Salem by 2.7 million square feet across 10 buildings.
Set on a 28-acre site straddling Research Parkway, Phase II of iQ will include 1 million square feet of clinical, office and laboratory spaces, as well as up to 450 residential units and 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant spaces.
The second phase will also include 15 acres of green space headlined by Fogle Commons, a linear park that is anticipated to host outdoor events, as well as a half-mile extension of Long Branch Trail.
“This new phase of development will create the same feel and aesthetic found in the Innovation Quarter today,” says Graydon Pleasants, head of development for iQ. “This mix of science and business, recreation and retail, green spaces and residential will bring even more vibrancy to this section of downtown Winston-Salem.”
Chicago-based architectural firm Perkins + Will developed the master plan for the second phase with iQ. Wexford Science + Technology was a development partner for the first phase, and iQ expects the Baltimore-based developer to play a major role in bringing Phase II to fruition. Atrium Health, a healthcare system based in Charlotte with 900 facilities in its network, will also be a project partner on the iQ expansion.
Additionally, iQ plans to form public-private partnerships with city, state and federal government departments for the second phase. No construction timeline or financing details were disclosed.
Established in 2010 in downtown Winston-Salem near Wake Forest University, iQ is anchored by Wake Forest School of Medicine and IQ Labs, as well as community spaces and more than 1,000 residences. The property houses 3,700 workers from various life sciences and technology firms such as Inmar Inc., as well as more than 1,600 degree-seeking students. Total public-private investment in the district to date is more than $841 million.
The first phase of iQ represents the largest adaptive reuse project in the history of North Carolina, according to nonprofit organization Preservation NC. The property reconfigured former Reynolds tobacco warehouses and facilities, as well as the former Bailey Power Plant, into creative office, research and development and higher education facilities.
Innovation Quarter is an enterprise of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and its School of Medicine.
— John Nelson