Two things opened at University Place in September. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, the UP Social entertainment district went live. One week later, on Sept. 23, Chapel Hill's first traditional Barnes & Noble opened at 201 S. Estes Dr. Add the picnic tables and lawn games headed for The Commons, and University Place is now set up to fill an evening, where it used to be set up for an errand.
Harris Teeter is still the anchor, and the grocery run is still the reason most trips start. What has changed is how long the rest of the property is set up to keep you once the groceries are in the car.
The fence came down before the furniture went in
The open space came first, and it showed up through a delay. Chapelboro reported that University Place has put the next stage of its redevelopment on hold for now. That stage covers the easternmost parcels between the mall building and Fordham Boulevard. Property manager Marni Sawicki of JLL, which manages the mall for owner Ram Realty, said the first step was taking down the temporary construction fencing so people could see into the open area from the road.
Next comes outdoor furniture. Sawicki told Chapelboro that picnic tables, horseshoes, bocce and cornhole are going into that space, with umbrellas and shade sails for The Commons. She has also been clear that the goal is bigger than drinks. In the same Chapelboro interview she said:
"We want this to be where people to go, 'Where are you going tonight? Well, see you there.' And everybody knows this is 'there.'"
Sawicki ran malls in Michigan and Wisconsin before coming to Chapel Hill. As mayor of Cape Coral, Fla., she helped start a social district there, and she expects UP Social to sell a few more drinks while drawing more people to the outdoor spaces, which then sends foot traffic to all the tenants. In that plan, the lawn draws people in and the drinks keep them on it.
UP Social at University Place
UP Social runs under a Common Area Entertainment Permit, the version of a social district for private property, which the state ABC Commission grants instead of the town. Four businesses take part: bartaco, Hawkers Asian Street Fare, Stoney River Steakhouse and Silverspot Cinema.
The working details come from the UP Social page on University Place's site:
What | The posted rule |
|---|---|
District hours | 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week; each restaurant sets its own hours |
Stores that welcome cups | Verizon, The Frame & Print Shop |
Stores that don't | solidcore, Flying Biscuit, CycleBar |
Stores post window stickers showing their policy, so you can check before walking in with a cup. The page also says ID is checked when you buy, and it calls the district family-friendly, with adults drinking while families shop, eat and play.
A bookstore that stays open until 9
The new Barnes & Noble gives the property an indoor place to spend a weeknight. It is open every day from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. in a suite of more than 19,000 square feet. It is the chain's 11th store in North Carolina. Barnes & Noble already runs UNC's Student Stores, but this is its first traditional store inside Chapel Hill town limits.
Store manager Andrea Wilson described the shop the same way Sawicki describes the lawn. "It's not always about buying the book, it's building the community," she told Chapelboro at the ribbon-cutting. She mentioned coffee, story times, author events and two Lego events coming up. From her 15 years with the company, she remembers knitting groups, Dungeons & Dragons groups and a local guitarist playing one night at her earlier stores.
Before this store, the nearest Barnes & Noble options were New Hope Commons, about 10 minutes away by car, and Southpoint, about 20. Wilson told Chapelboro she thinks the Estes Drive store feels "more intimate and cozy" than the two-story Southpoint store. Fantasy author Scott Reintgen, a 2010 UNC English graduate, did the ribbon-cutting. He said some students live near Franklin Street and can stop in at Epilogue, while others live in apartments near University Place and can now "walk across the road" to a bookstore. The new 900 Willow apartments, which University Place describes as steps away, fit that picture.
The store's online calendar lists a Saturday Storytime at 11 a.m. That puts a story time, the Saturday farmers market and the grocery run in the same parking lot on the same morning.
How the rest of the fall looks
Here is what the property and its tenants have posted from late October through December:
- Sunday, Oct. 25, 7 to 9 p.m. Sam Trebing plays live music in The Commons. University Place suggests bringing chairs.
- First and third Mondays, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Mario Kart Night at Hawkers. After the Oct. 19 night, the next ones are Nov. 2 and Nov. 16, and the series is listed through Dec. 28.
- Saturday mornings. The weekly farmers market. Its Dec. 19 listing runs from 9 a.m. to noon.
- Saturdays at 11 a.m. Storytime at Barnes & Noble.
- Any night. Silverspot posts showtimes on a rolling basis, so the movies page is where to check what's playing that week.
On a Sunday with live music, the pieces line up. Dinner at Stoney River or bartaco and chairs from home on the lawn make an evening of it. The Monday game night shows the same thinking applied to a weeknight.
What's still behind the "coming soon" signs
The tenants in the pipeline lean the same way. Postino, the restaurant and wine bar from Arizona-based Upward Projects, was announced for Suite 302 this fall. Plans call for a large patio, wine, North Carolina craft beer and shareable bruschetta boards. The mall's directory still lists it as "coming soon," with no date posted. A second Chapel Hill Bliss Nail Spa, next to Postino, was also aiming for fall, according to Chapelboro's July through September business roundup.
HomeSense, the home decor and furniture store, is set to take 28,000 square feet on the north side of the main building next to Barnes & Noble. It is targeting spring 2027, and its space is under construction. A wine bar with a patio and a big furniture store both reward a slow visit over a quick one. The eastern parcels remain on hold, so for now the lawn by Fordham Boulevard is staying a lawn.
Changes at a gathering spot like this can show up in what nearby homeowners notice and what buyers ask about. If you own a home within walking distance of University Place and wonder how this fall's changes fit into its value, Greenwood Residential can walk you through the numbers. Get your free home valuation and we'll show you what the latest local sales say about your street.
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