One year on from the demolition of the Southern Season space at University Place, new construction at the Chapel Hill mall is taking place within and around its footprint.
New buildings at the shopping mall off South Estes Drive and Fordham Boulevard are progressing in their construction and mall owners Ram Realty have finalized more tenants, according to a release shared on Tuesday. The national brands of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and Chick-fil-A will have locations on the east side of the mall, firming up plans University Place had shared in its visioning for the project in prior years.
Chick-fil-A will re-join the mall after having a previous franchise on the interior of the main building until 2021, with the fast-food chicken chain moving into the space formerly occupied by K&W Cafeteria. Demolition of the existing K&W building began in the last two weeks, as Chick-fil-A will construct a building that accommodates a drive-thru lane and smaller restaurant space.
Meanwhile, the exterior of the future Jeni’s building is already largely built on the other end of the property. The popular ice cream brand, which features creative flavors made with Direct Trade ingredients, will fill the 1,000-square-foot space and will be on one end of a green space University Place is calling “The Commons.” The 15,000-square-foot green space will be open to the public, featuring different programming during the year and being a main element of the mall’s redesigned entrance for foot traffic.
“The team has been very deliberate in selecting the right brands to bring the redevelopment of University Place to life,” said Jeff Kurtz, the Vice President of Development for Ram Realty. “Jeni’s is the perfect addition to The Commons to energize that space year-round. Ram continues to work with national and local concepts to create a fun destination for the Chapel Hill community.”
The new building where Jeni’s Ice Cream will be located is on the end of an area University Place is calling “The Commons”: a public green space set for the east side of the mall property.
A rendering of The Commons green space and new storefronts for University Place in the footprint of where Southern Season previously stood. (Photo via Ram Realty.)
Additionally, University Place confirmed a WakeMed MyCare 365 urgent care clinic will become a new tenant of the mall in its Tuesday release. The message did not include whether WakeMed will join an available space in the main mall building or in one of the free-standing buildings under construction. University Place also reaffirmed plans to bring the San Francisco-based restaurant Curry Up Now to one of its new buildings and a branch of Chase Bank to a new building set for the South Estes side of the property.
In its effort to turn the existing mall building “inside-out,” Ram Realty’s vision for the redevelopment includes new retail and business storefronts at the edge of where Southern Season once stood. Construction on those new spaces are also taking shape, and could add seven new business spaces facing Fordham Boulevard.
Tuesday’s release also said that redevelopment will soon extend further down the existing building on the Estes Drive side of the mall. The entrance to the mall’s interior will close for renovations in the coming weeks. The University Place visioning website shows the area, which currently includes the hallway and atrium to the businesses with interior-only entrances, will eventually become a retail space with only an exterior entrance. Ram Realty said in its release, though, the interior-only businesses will remain open and can be accessed on the north side of the mall by Alfredo’s Pizza Villa or through a door next to CycleBar and Hawkers.
New storefronts in the space created by Southern Season’s demolition are under construction at University Place.
The master plan for University Place’s redevelopment and tenants, as of November 2023. (Photo via RAM REALTY.)
A rendering of the 900 Willow apartment complex’s southern corner. In addition to apartments, incubator retail space will line the ground floor near the mall. (Photo via Ram Realty.)
On the other side of the mall property, construction is continuing on the 900 Willow apartment complex, which has largely finished its exterior and attached parking deck. In its release, Ram Realty said pre-leasing for the 253-unit community will begin this spring, and residents are expected to begin moving in this fall. While the complex is largely residential, there are some retail elements on the ground floor: eight incubator spaces, ranging from 600 to 800 square feet, will offer short-term leases for small businesses. Ram Realty said those spaces are expected to begin being leased in the fall as well.
The University Place update also featured details on its partnership with the Town of Chapel Hill’s Community Arts & Culture Division, as the mall teamed up with the local government to commission a mural for the parking deck. Durham-based artist Gabriel Eng-Goetz designed and will paint a massive piece across the side facing the existing mall building, featuring a figure seen often in town branding.
“Public art allows us to reflect on our shared culture and values in a particular place,” said Steve Wright, of the Community Arts & Culture division. “Gabe’s mural design combines the goddess Athena from Chapel Hill’s Town seal with textile patterns from countries around the world to give this reinvigorated development a striking and impactful identity. We were thrilled by Ram Realty’s invitation to partner on a public art project that will showcase the creativity and talent of our local artist community.”
In University Place’s call for submissions about the parking deck mural, the mall gave an early timeline for the artwork to be finished by August.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines