The new owners of University Place mall in Chapel Hill are planning a “multi-phase” effort to “modernize the property and create a true town center for Chapel Hill.”
That’s the vision put forward in an email from Ashley Saulpaugh of Ram Realty Advisors. Ram Realty bought the mall from Madison Marquette just before the end of 2018.
Saulpaugh said the initial focus from Ram Realty would be to build on what the previous ownership had started “in converting some of the interior spaces to exterior facing.”
That focus will begin on the spaces adjacent to Bartaco, which opened on the Estes Drive side of the mall in 2018 and utilizes a large patio space for outdoor dining.
Renderings from Ram Realty show two more exterior facing shops available for tenants.
Saulpaugh noted that converting these spaces to be exterior facing would be carried out “in conjunction with a cosmetic façade renovation of some of the exterior facing spaces.”
He added that Ram would be looking to bring in “some new tenants and different uses of the property that compliment the existing mix of tenants.”
This work will be the first phase of what Saulpaugh described as a “multi-phase” plan to modernize the property.
Chapel Hill Economic Development director Dwight Bassett said via email last week that the town was “thrilled to have Ram Development to own and manage University Place. They were a good partner in 140 West and we believe that their ownership of University Place will bring good things for Chapel Hill’s future.”
Ram Development is a branch of Ram Realty, which owns Elliot Square in Chapel Hill, just up Fordham Boulevard from University Place, and is developing the Fordham Boulevard Apartment project currently under construction adjacent to Elliot Square.
WCHL moved its studios to University Place in October 2016.
University Place rendering via Ram Realty
Good luck to the new owners of the old mall. The place seems anything but vibrant – lots of empty store fronts, with many of the occupied ones being dark, spartan-looking fitness centers. When traffic clogged Eastgate Shopping Center becomes the hottest shopping area in town, you know that earlier management strategies for the mall have failed miserably.