Texas tech firm is moving 45 jobs to Wake Forest Exchange

An Austin, Texas networking hardware company is moving its East Coast headquarters and about 45 employees to Wake Forest Exchange, the St. John Properties business park off Capital Boulevard in Wake Forest. St. John announced on September 21, 2026, that Equal Optics LLC signed a lease for 12,120 square feet at 920 Timberline View Drive, according to the developer’s September 21 release.

The same release says North State Pools, a 40-person fiberglass pool builder that had been based on Capcom Avenue in Wake Forest, signed a 2,790 square foot lease in the same building and has already moved in. Together the two deals add nearly 15,000 square feet of leased space to a 60,240 square foot building that already holds an indoor play center and a fitness franchise.

What Equal Optics does and who is moving

Equal Optics sells optical transceivers, network cabling and server memory to customers in AI, data center, telecommunications and enterprise IT, according to the St. John release. The company’s website lists Austin as its headquarters and describes a product line that runs from fiber and copper patch cables to memory upgrades, servers and storage, sold with a lifetime warranty. The release adds that Equal Optics runs a West Coast distribution center in Orange County, California.

The Wake Forest lease is a consolidation. St. John says Equal Optics expects to move approximately 45 professionals now working in Pennsylvania, New York and other locations into the new East Coast headquarters, which will include an engineering, testing and validation lab. The release does not give a move-in date, and the company’s website did not mention Wake Forest as of September 24, 2026.

Dan Hennen, president of Equal Optics, said in the release that the area’s quality of life, airport access and technology talent drew the company, and that the single-story building can hold office, research, testing and warehouse uses under one roof. Curt Britt of Phoenix Commercial Properties represented Equal Optics in the deal, and St. John regional partner Dustin Atkielski represented the landlord in both leases.

The Town of Wake Forest’s list of new business permits shows Equal Optics was issued a building permit for Suite 124 at 920 Timberline View Drive in March 2026, six months before the lease was announced.

North State Pools adds a water testing division

North State Pools installs, maintains and repairs in-ground residential and commercial pools across the Triangle and the North Carolina coast, selling Imagine fiberglass pools, spas and tanning ledges, according to the St. John release. The company’s website says it has nearly 20 years in the pool business and lists service areas from Apex and Cary to Wilmington and Sunset Beach.

Owner Adam Mills said in the release that the company always wanted to start a water testing subsidiary, but its former offices were not visible from the road and few people walked past. He said the new building works as a commercial office but can also support retail, and that Happy Feet Planet, the indoor amusement center in the same building, consistently draws crowds. “It is extremely difficult to find new office space in the Wake Forest region,” Mills said.

The town’s permit list shows North State Pools received a building permit for Suite 112 in June 2026. The same list shows Blue Stone Development LLC was issued a permit that month for 203 Capcom Ave., Suite 100, the address North State Pools’ website still listed on September 24, 2026. The company’s website lists hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday, and a phone number of 919-263-9534.

The building and the rest of Wake Forest Exchange

The building at 920 Timberline View Drive is a single-story flex and research building with 18-foot ceilings, rear dock and drive-in loading and surface parking, according to St. John. It was the first building finished at Wake Forest Exchange, which the developer describes as a 30-acre site adjacent to Capital Boulevard (US-1) and South Main Street. The Wake Forest Business and Industry Partnership, which covered the May 14, 2026 ribbon cutting for the first phase, puts the site at 27 acres on Star Road and the developer’s investment at $40 million.

The first tenants in the building were announced in a February 2, 2026 lease announcement: Happy Feet Planet took 15,120 square feet and D1 Training took 5,580 square feet. D1 Training held its Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting at noon on September 11, 2026, in Suites 108 through 110, and its website lists it as open seven days a week. The town’s permit list adds a fourth tenant, VAD HVAC, with a permit for Suite 120 in August 2026.

St. John’s September release lays out what the developer plans for the full site:

• Wake Forest Exchange will hold more than 180,000 square feet of flex and research, single-story medical and retail space when complete.
• The developer expects the park to support more than 650 jobs at final build-out, up from the 640 jobs it projected in February.
• The February announcement set a goal of finishing the entire development by 2027, with construction phased to match leasing.

Youngsville is next

St. John Properties is already building its second Triangle park about five miles north. The developer said in a February 12, 2026 release that it bought nearly 25 acres along Park Avenue (US 1 Alternate) near N.C. 96 in Youngsville for three flex and research buildings totaling about 120,000 square feet. The first two buildings, nearly 85,000 square feet combined, were scheduled to break ground in spring 2026 with delivery expected by the end of the year.

The town’s permit list shows St. John itself runs its Raleigh-area office from 1752 Heritage Center Drive, Suite 203, in Wake Forest, under a permit issued in August 2026.