As the arm of the demolition vehicle reached into the wall of Southern Season’s former clock tower, dozens of people from the Town of Chapel Hill and University Place community gathered with their phones.
That included Chapel Hill’s Interim Town Manager Chris Blue, who’s lived in the area his whole life.
“When I was in middle school, I worked in this mall,” said Blue. “In fact, I worked at a store in this mall all the way through college.”
Many Chapel Hill residents have stories about University Place, which opened in 1973 — as well as tales of the Southern Season store, which operated for more than four decades. But in recent years, the mall’s seen foot traffic decrease and businesses close. With the mall’s ownership, Ram Realty Advisors, set to overhaul the property, Blue described it as one part bittersweet because of his history at the former University Mall.
“On the other hand,” he added, “when I see the opportunity to rejuvenate and bring more energy back to this area that’s had so much of an impact for so long, it’s really exciting.”
A demolition vehicle tears into the side of the former Southern Season store at University Place in Chapel Hill on March 6, 2023.
“Opportunity” was used frequently on Monday, and the demolition marks the start of perhaps the most drastic opportunity for change at the Chapel Hill mall. Ram Realty Vice President for Development Jeff Kurtz said the entire demolition process, which will extend past Southern Season’s space, will take about eight weeks.
Once construction is finished the area will be transformed.
“Where we are right now,” Kurtz described, “there’s going to be two mixed-use buildings that will contain 60,000 square feet of office [space] and another 30,000 square feet of ground floor retail [space]. They will be fronting the main street, which will have a central lawn area called The Commons. It will be flanked on either end by two small retail buildings that will be focused toward food and beverage and will offer activities for families and guests.”
This project comes as University Place already has several additional construction projects happening right now. A new apartment complex is being built along Willow Drive, two new bank branches are being constructed, and parking lot improvements. By the end of it all, University Place is expected to have 350,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, more than 250 new apartments and potentially a hotel.
An aerial map with the businesses and buildings planned for University Place’s completed redevelopment, circa March 2023. (Photo via Ram Realty Advisors/Foundry Commercial.)
Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said she and town staff are appreciative of University Place completing these projects at once – to help quickly change the property, and to help others see those changes together. Hemminger also voiced her excitement about how the mall aims to improve connectivity so residents can have “more options to stay within their own community.”
“We’re standing here on the side of town where we have even more people working, living and wanting other things to do – and [they will] not have to travel to other communities to do those things,” said Hemminger, as she pointed out how that fits with Chapel Hill’s climate action and transit goals.
“This is going to provide more dining, more family experiences,” the mayor added. “You’ve got the movie theater, there will be music, there will be art, there will even be an ice cream kiosk over here.”
(From right to left) Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger, Ram Realty’s David Klepser and Ram Realty’s Reagan Thomas watch the beginning of demolition to the Southern Season building.
Kurtz added that he believes the Southern Season demolition provides visitors a “tangible thing to see” when it comes to Ram Realty’s ultimate vision for the property. Visitors may soon see changes to the mall’s surrounding roads to improve pedestrian and bicycle access. They will soon see structures of buildings that will house start-up businesses and job opportunities.
But Kurtz said he thinks people seeing that Southern Season space being demolished will also bring some closure to a period of uncertainty and history for the Chapel Hill community.
“When this starts to come down, it really begins to feel real,” he said. “I think some of the other work out here is not as easy for the public to get excited by, but this is really a big step. I think Southern Season was something everyone in the community could really relate to and understood, and I think that the demolition of this is really emblematic of the next stage and what the property will become.”
More information about University Place’s redevelopment can be found on the mall’s vision website.
Editor’s Note: Chapel Hill Media Group is a tenant of University Place, having first moved there in 2016.
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