New era for Raleigh mall? Triangle Town Center changes hands (again).
Once saddled with debt and facing foreclosure, Triangle Town Center could be getting a new lease on life under new ownership in northeast Raleigh.
New York-based Summit Properties USA has purchased the 70-acre property at 5959 Triangle Town Blvd. as part of a larger strategy to expand its retail center portfolio across the United States, the company said in a news release on Dec. 4.
In total, the subsidiary of UK-based Summit Properties purchased seven properties on the East Coast and Midwest for $700 million. Two are in North Carolina (the other is Asheville Mall in Asheville), along with Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico and Washington.
“This marks a key milestone,” the firm said, as it shifts to direct management instead of using a third-party firm.
The Triangle Business Journal first reported the transaction, though it’s unclear how much the company paid for Triangle Town Center. Wake County has not yet recorded a deed.
Looking ahead, Summit Properties said it plans to invest “hundreds of millions more” to develop and reposition its new assets, spanning 13 million square feet of leaseable area across 1,400 acres.
These investments will focus on “capital improvements, redevelopment projects, and attracting strategic tenants,” including leading retail chains and lifestyle brands.
A new era for Raleigh mall
For the one-time embattled Triangle Town Center, it’s a positive sign.
Developed by Jacobs/CBL Properties, it opened in 2002, initially featuring anchors Sears, Hudson Belk, Dillard’s and Hecht’s.
But over the years, it faced challenges.
In 2016, DRA and CBL bought the mall for $174 million, with DRA Advisors becoming the new majority owner with a 90% stake and CBL owning the remaining 10%, The News & Observer reported. But it also included the assumption of $171 million in debt, which eventually became too much.
In July 2019, the mall was purchased out of foreclosure by the U.S. National Bank Association for nearly $120.4 million, WRAL reported.
Two years later, it changed hands again. Kohan Retail Investment Group, headquartered in Great Neck, New York, purchased the mall for $33.25 million, a fraction of the previous price, in 2021, TBJ reported. Sears also closed that year.
Neither Kohan nor Summit Properties responded to requests for comment.
Today, the mall remains a mix of retail and restaurants with a total assessed value of $70.9 million, according to Wake County records.
The remaining department stores are Belk, Dillard’s, Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. Barnes & Noble serves as a junior anchor with a two-level store.
For many long-time tenants, the mall’s sale is not a surprise.
“It’s been under multiple managements since it opened,” said Devon Manzanares, who has a jewelry cart called A Don’s Drip on the lower level. He’s been at this spot for six months but has operated other businesses, off and on, inside the mall since 2013. “My lease hasn’t changed, which is the [most] important,” he said.
But he also hopes the new owners revitalize the mall.
“Hopefully they have a vision to attract more foot traffic to the mall, which gives us more opportunity,” he said. “For us, that’s why we’re here in the first place.”
The future of Triangle malls
Once a fixture of American culture, traditional enclosed malls continue to struggle amid the rise of online shopping and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Northgate Mall in Durham closed in 2020 and is now being redeveloped. In 2021, Cary-based Epic Games bought Cary Towne Center for $95 million, then demolished it to make room for its new headquarters. That project has stalled.
In 2022, Raleigh’s Crabtree Valley Mall went up for sale, TBJ reported. Almost three years later, it’s unclear whether it’s still on the market.. Global real estate investment bank EastDil Secured, which represents long-time owners, CVM Holdings, declined to comment.
Meanwhile, the owners of University Place in Chapel Hill and The Streets at Southpoint in southern Durham are hoping to defy trends by transforming their malls into mixed-use developments with residential, office and retail components.
This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 8:00 AM with the headline "New era for Raleigh mall? Triangle Town Center changes hands (again).."
