Officials at Northgate Mall announced a $13-million renovation project last week to redevelop and expand the oldest mall in Durham over the next year.
Anchor tenant Hudson Belk is scheduled to close its Northgate store in February. In the eight months to follow, the 102,000-square-foot department store will be split into two parts, with the top floor being renovated into a 10 to 12-screen cinema. The lower level will also be renovated and leased to one or two “junior anchor” tenants. In an effort to “turn shopping inside-out” the plan calls for the creation of a 33,000-square-foot outdoor plaza and the reconstruction of the parking lot in that area. The proposed changes will allow Northgate, located off of Club Boulevard near East Campus, to develop their indoor and outdoor venues to attract more customers, from both local communities and neighboring Duke.
Talk of expansion started before Belk’s April announcement that it was leaving, said Gerry Boyle, the mall manager at Northgate. The new Northgate and other malls, including The Streets at Southpoint in southern Durham and Triangle Town Center in Raleigh, all reflect the new national trend to offer a more attractive outdoor setting.
“We had been working on it for quite some time because of Belk’s departure,” said Ginny Bowman, the owner of Northgate Mall. “But [if Belk did not decide to leave] we would have made the changes anyway.”
About 31,000 square feet of current indoor shopping space that include smaller stores leading up to Belk will be converted into outdoor space as a part of the proposal.
One major difference Northgate will offer is a venue for entertainment, special events for families and special community programs, among other activities and events. The plaza will also feature themed restaurants with outdoor seating, convenient store front parking and new specialty stores.
Change is commonplace at Northgate Mall. Built in 1960 by Bowman’s father, W. Kenan Rand, Jr., Northgate started out as a strip center. It was enclosed in 1974 due to the growing popularity of a more enclosed shopping environment: the mall. Since then, Northgate Mall has expanded several more times. But none was as ambitious as the plans released last Thursday.
“There has been so much retail added to the Triangle area,” Bowman said. “There’s a lot more competition and every property has to constantly change to keep up their competitive edge.”
Several Northgate officials addressed the growing competition. “I think this center has maintained its market share and position considering the Rand family has constantly reinvented the center,” Boyle said. “We are primarily trying to meet the wants and needs of the customers while staying with the trend of the industry.”
Demolition has already begun with the parking lot between Belk’s and the food court entrance. It will be replaced with a smaller surface parking lot and a pedestrian walkway in front of the mall and next to the plaza. According to Northgate’s official announcement, the parking lot will be easier to navigate and new architectural features will make the façade more “aesthetically pleasing” to the public.
Mall officials plan to make the construction period as convenient as possible for their customers. Security will be present to direct traffic to other parking lots during this time. The only disruption is the razing of Deck No. 1, Bowman said. The deck is expected to be reopened by Nov. 1.
Furthermore, because of current road construction on Interstate 85, the traffic is expected to more than double. “We want to be prepared for the increase in travelers,” Bowman said. “We’d also like to think that these changes will attract more of the Duke student, faculty and staff population.”
Next year will also mark the 45th year of Northgate. The renovation project is expected to be completed in October 2005, during which a grand opening ceremony is scheduled to take place.
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