Southern Durham keeps getting closer to having a new mall.
Construction of the Streets at Southpoint mall-which will rival the size of Raleigh's Crabtree Valley Mall-is nearly 75 percent complete, and is set to be done by March 2002, said Jim Farrell, senior vice president of Urban Retail Properties, the Chicago-based developer.
The developer has already announced its five anchor tenants: Belk, Hecht's, Nordstrom, Sears and JCPenney department stores. The tenants of the remaining 130 shops and restaurants are still up in the air. Farrell declined to discuss other possible occupants, saying that he is in the midst of continued negotiations.
But if a list Farrell released last year to the Durham Herald-Sun gives any indication, Farrell is looking for typical upscale mall fare, including Abercrombie and Fitch, women's clothing store Bebe, Crate & Barrel, Ethan Allen, Gap, Guess and Tommy Hilfiger.
Some of these stores will be entirely new to the Triangle area and welcome additions to the shopping scene.
"I have been waiting years for a Nordstrom's to come down here," said Durham resident Sarah Lillsky.
The mall, located near the intersection of Interstate 40 and Fayetteville Road, will house a multiscreen IMAX theater with an arcade and gourmet cafe. The $15 million theater will seat 266 and show two- and three-dimensional films.
In addition to the mall, a mixed-use project called the Renaissance Center, is being built nearby. The development will include small, upscale shops, three hotels, office buildings and over 400 apartment units, said John Silverman, a managing principal of the Midland Atlantic Development Company.
However, opposition to the mall is strong. In February 2000, the city council heard protests from environmentalists and others when they made zoning changes allowing construction of the new mall. Opponents of the mall distributed results from a poll funded by Chapel Hill's South Square Mall showing nearly 60 percent of Durham residents felt the area did not need a new shopping center.
Pat Bocckino, a founder of Citizens Against Urban Sprawl Everywhere, said she is concerned by several aspects of the mall. The impervious surface of the mall's parking lots would promote runoff into Jordan Lake, she said, so a filtering system needs to be installed. In addition, Bocckino would like to see the heights of hotel and office buildings reduced in order to keep the skyline uncluttered.
"One of our biggest concerns is to minimize the impact on the surrounding area, especially Herndon Farm," she said, referring to a family farm on the outskirts of the development.
And Bocckino refuted boosters' claims that the new mall will bring tax revenue to the city. "The idea that this new mall will bring in more tax money does not wash," she said. "For every new dollar that you're making, you're also losing a dollar because you lose old businesses. This is not a win situation for the city."
One of the losers will be the doomed South Square Mall, located near the Southpoint site. Belk, one of South Square's three anchor tenants, already announced its departure from the mall to go to Southpoint, with other stores expected to follow its lead.
But officials at Northgate Mall, which is in the midst of a long-planned $6 million renovation process, are not concerned. "We're excited about it," said Diane Crossman, director of marketing. "We're excited about the fact that retail is so vibrant in the Durham community that it can support a third mall."
Opposition by anti-development groups has not passed by fully unnoticed. When Lowe's, the nation's second-largest warehouse home improvement chain, announced plans to build a store across from Southpoint, resistance from CAUSE and others included a staged rally and a letter campaign to the mayor. Lowe's subsequently withdrew its plans.
And just as response from activists has varied, so do Durham citizens' opinions. "The new mall will certainly make [traffic] worse," said Emily Ballard, a Duke freshman from Durham who noted that traffic on I-40 and Fayetteville Road is already bad. "But it'll be good to have better stores. I really want the stores, but not the traffic."
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