While much of the wide-spread renovation of University Place mall in Chapel Hill is seen outdoors, a very visible step in the process happened indoors this week.

Contractors spent the last week building a protective wall at the entrance of the southern wing, where Wentworth & Sloan Jewelers, Chick-fil-A and Burlington Shoes all previously had locations.

Ram Realty, the ownership and development group for University Place, confirmed to Chapelboro the wall was installed in preparation for the eventual demolition of the southern side of the building as a safety measure for visitors.

The southern wing of University Place’s indoor mall was initially taped off to visitors on Tuesday, January 31.

By Wednesday, February 1, construction had begun on the framework for the protective wall.

By Friday, the wall was largely constructed and reached across the width of the southern wing’s entrance.

Ram Realty initially said it planned to demolish the southern wing — which includes the vacant space left by Southern Season — in the fall of 2022. The work is a major step toward the final vision for the developer’s revitalization of the mall property, as new store fronts, smaller buildings and a central road are expected to be constructed in the space created by the demolition.

In the meantime, many other phases of the redevelopment are already underway elsewhere around University Place. The old Wells Fargo building near the corner of South Estes Drive and Willow Drive was recently demolished to make way for a new Fifth Thirds Bank location. Additionally, contractors fenced off more space in the mall’s parking lot in preparation for an updated parking layout and pavement and work on the 900 Willow apartments complex is continuing.

No businesses at University Place are closed because of the construction — including Wentworth & Sloan, which moved out of its corner interior location before the wall’s construction and into the space previously occupied by the Frame & Print Shop.

 

Editor’s Note: Chapel Hill Media Group is a tenant of University Place, having first moved there in 2016.

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