University Place (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)

University Place

Location	Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Opening date	1973
Management	Madison Marquette
Owner	Madison Marquette
No. of anchor tenants	3
Total retail floor area	366,000 square feet (34,000 m2) (GLA)
No. of floors	1
Website	http://www.universityplacenc.com/

Exterior of University Place

University Place (formerly known as University Mall) is the only enclosed shopping mall in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. University Place is owned and operated by Madison Marquette of Washington D.C. ^[1]The mall is anchored by Southern Season. The gross leasable area of the center is 366,000 square feet.^[2] The mall is located about two miles northeast from downtown and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Today the mall has an even mix of national and local stores, with a focus on specialty retailers.

History

The mall originally opened with Ivey's and Belk (Belk-Leggett Horton) in 1973, and Roses Stores as a junior anchor. Ivey's became Dillard's in 1990. In 2002, after The Streets at Southpoint was completed, Belk closed its store at the mall and South Square Mall store in Durham and consolidated both stores into one larger store at Southpoint. Upmarket gourmet retailer Southern Season bought and renovated the former Belk space in 2003.^[3] The mall received an exterior and interior renovation 2010.^[4]

In 2010, the Chapel Hill Public Library was initially going to try to make a permanent move into the mall, taking over Dillard's space, but Dillard's decided to remain in their location and the town rejected the idea of moving the library there,^[5] so the library will move into inline space in the mall instead temporarily while an expansion is completed on the current library.^[6] The Kidzu Children's Museum will be moving from University Square, on Franklin Street, to the mall in 2013, taking the space of the Chapel Hill Library.^[7] In addition to Kidzu Children's Museum, William Travis Jewelry, Fine Feathers, Peacock Alley and Glee Kids are all moving from University Square to the mall in 2013.^[8] Also, TrySports, a specialty fitness retailer, opened in 2013. ^[9]

Fine Feathers, a women’s apparel boutique that had been in University Square since 1976, will be moving next to William Travis Jewelry in a 2,700-square-foot space.^[10] William Travis Jewelry, a custom jewelry design store founded and owned by William Travis Kukovich, opened in 2002 in University Square.^[11] Kukovich's anchor store was 500 square feet, about the third of the size of the store he replaced it with.^[12] His new store at the mall, which replaced the store at University Square, opened on September 2, 2013^[13] and is 3000 square feet.^[14] Kukovich's last store was ranked as one of the JCK top 50 jewelry designer stores in the country ^[15]

Interior of University Place.

In late 2013, it was reported that Dillard's would be closing and would be replaced with a movie theater.^[16] It had been recently converted into a clearance center. ^[17] In April, the closure of the Roses store was announced as well.^[18]

In late 2014, Madison Marquette announced that University Mall would be renamed University Place.^[19][20] By late 2015, the name change was complete, with the website updated to a URL using University Place and language referencing the new name, and the signage and facades at the mall now being named University Place.

References

External links

University Place

Coordinates: 35°55′40″N 79°01′37″W / 35.92778°N 79.02694°W / 35.92778; -79.02694