Located just 20 miles from the bustling Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Chapel Hill is also home to a significant Southeastern medical system, UNC Health Care, and to health insurance provider Blue Cross Blue Shield. The city comprises one of the three “corners” of North Carolina’s Triangle region. With the world-renowned Research Triangle Park nearby, Chapel Hill attracts some serious business, medical and technical professionals – and the salaries that go along with that talent. This gives Chapel Hill the distinction of being one of the most affluent and best-educated cities in North Carolina.

With its well-to-do population and vibrant college life, Chapel Hill – coined “America’s Foodiest Small Town” by Bon Appetit magazine – has a hunger for popular American cuisine and a casual lifestyle that encourages a sense of community.  But that community also demands a trendy, energetic vibe, and businesses that don’t have it simply fail.

University Mall had long been a beloved fixture in the Chapel Hill community.  Yet despite its longevity and community ties, as the center aged, it quickly found itself losing business to nearby centers like the Streets at Southpoint, which was gaining popularity among University Mall merchants and shoppers alike.

Less than three miles from UNC Chapel Hill, the once bustling University Mall had, by 2013, become nearly devoid of viable tenants – a sad conundrum for a shopping center in the midst of such potential. Despite its promising location, the previously popular University Mall had become a 1970s throwback – an enclosed neighborhood center masquerading as a regional mall.  Its two anchors were an aging, undersized Dillard’s store, which was not driving traffic, and the highly coveted Southern Season – an inspiring gourmet emporium, yet a destination that created few cross-shopping opportunities. As the recession lifted, the property was left with a high vacancy rate and no clear merchandising mix or marketing strategy.  In short, this mall needed dramatic changes just to survive.

The Situation

In 2013, Madison Marquette was tasked with revitalizing the failing University Mall, a 365,000-square-foot enclosed shopping center and area icon for over 40 years. Just minutes away from UNC Chapel Hill and two large healthcare employers, the center was not maximizing its potentially lucrative central location. With more than 130,000 households within a 20-minute drive of the mall, and nearby average household incomes over $105,000, the location was clearly viable, but was not offering the area’s consumers the attractive mix of specialty stores, commodity offerings, and unique dining and entertainment venues they so craved.

The Challenges

University Mall was a tired, outdated center with increasing vacancy rates that had lost its former appeal among a large segment of the population. The mall’s vacancy was itself a double-edged sword, discouraging shoppers from visiting as well as preventing prospective new tenants from embracing the opportunities the location had to offer. Focus groups revealed that previous marketing efforts had failed, with many university students reporting they were not even aware the mall existed.  While aesthetics and marketing were clear obstacles, perhaps the largest issue was a merchandising problem: The tenant mix was simply not resonating with the affluent locals who had very definite ideas about the “lifestyle” destinations they preferred.

The Vision

From aesthetics to branding and leasing, University Mall needed to be transformed into a destination that matched the unique requirements of the area’s varied consumer base. To start, the mall’s weary façade and entryways were renovated and over half of the center was reconfigured to turn interior-only spaces into exterior-facing ones, giving shoppers easier access and a more open, inviting space. The mall’s interior was modernized with new paint, lighting, skylights, and locally sourced furniture – including soft, comfortable seating that made it an inviting space in which to gather and spend time.

To begin drawing people back to the location, the local public library was invited to temporarily use a vacant space while its own renovation was underway, a move which drove significant traffic – and an educated consumer base – to the center.  Leasing also brought in Kidzu Children’s Museum, which attracted a similar caliber of clientele.  Art lovers began frequenting the mall to enjoy the new arts initiative – custom murals created by prominent local artists, iconic Chapel Hill pictures taken by well-known local photographers, and images from acclaimed artist Tama Hochbaum’s book Silver Screen, all of which were showcased to draw attention to the center’s plans for a new theater. These changes, combined with free Wi-Fi, an outdoor farmers market, ongoing community events and year-round concerts all worked in tandem to forge a new, loyal relationship between the community and the center as it underwent its two-year metamorphosis. To underscore these changes, the outdated University Mall was re-branded as “University Place,” a lifestyle destination more fitting of the wide array of tenants Madison Marquette was working to attract.

The Results

The changes paved the way for Madison Marquette’s leasing team to work its magic.  Underperforming retailers were phased out, select retailers were right-sized and revitalized, and the merchandising strategy focused on sourcing best-in-class local and regional concepts.  An emphasis on art, jewelry, housewares, women and children’s fashion, as well as quick-service and eat-in restaurants culminated in a dynamic and viable shopping destination.  The local and national leasing team at Madison Marquette secured boutique tenant offerings including nationally renowned custom jeweler William Travis Jewelry; Fine Feathers, a distinctive women’s apparel provider; Glee Kids, a well-known local children’s clothing and gifting boutique; and Peacock Alley, the state’s exclusive purveyor of high-end linens, china, home décor and decorating services. Leasing efforts also supplemented the merchandising mix with top-name, traffic-driving national tenants from Aveda Institute to Planet Fitness, and in the former Dillard’s space, the crowning jewel: a brand-new 53,000-square-foot, 13-screen luxury Silverspot Cinema featuring Trilogy, a dine-in restaurant and bar operated by The David Burke Group.

Today, University Place has been transformed into a retail destination that excites and attracts Chapel Hill visitors, residents, workers and students alike. A center that once sat quietly in the shadows has been reborn, and now, as the redevelopment of University Place nears its completion, all the hard work is paying off.  University Place, which at the start of its renovation was tired and unappealing, is now vibrant, energetic and 90 percent leased, the direct result of the de-malling of an aged center.

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noted that Naples-Marco Island ranked third in the country for its personal income, with average resident incomes three times that of other counties across the country. With an affluent and discerning population, Naples also boasts low unemployment, skilled labor force, a business-friendly tax structure and a strong pro-business environment. Pristine beaches, world-class golf and recreation amenities and a highly evolved variety of entertainment and cultural offerings have made it one of the fastest-growing resort communities in the United States. Following the recession, however, Naples was hard hit. Many of its second-home “snowbirds” were forced into real estate de-accessioning. A substantial decrease in tourism had a confluent ripple effect that forced restaurants and stores to subsequently close. Launching in the midst of tough times, Mercato was unable to close on key tenant leases. Despite an inviting and beautifully designed village footprint, the center opened with only 25 percent of its retail space leased. In 2011, when Madison Marquette was brought in as an investment and management partner for Mercato, the center was not fully leased and sought to attract robust national chain tenants as well as independent retailers with a strong following in the Naples market. At that time, top center tenants included Sur La Table, Books-A-Million, Ulta and Silverspot Cinema. There was a clear need to move swiftly to add quality tenants and to strengthen marketing and social media outreach in support of Mercato.

The Situation

In 2011, Madison Marquette Real Estate Services (MMRES) was tasked with providing retail leasing, managing and advisory services for Mercato, a mixed-use property with 350,000 square feet of grocery-anchored (Whole Foods) retail space in addition to over 100,000 square feet of office space and a 92-unit luxury condominium. In 2011, the center was only 76 percent leased, condominium sales were lagging and the center lacked energy and excitement. Despite this, MMRES saw compelling upside opportunity for the center — with its convenient location, strong demographics and recession recovery signs on a positive track.

The Challenges

Mercato opened in challenging times and was failing to attract tenants that would drive restaurant and retail traffic to the center. The center was seen as “flat,” with condominium sales well below target levels and diminishing interest from the community. The center was also competing with newly opened mega-center Coconut Point, which became host to a number of popular national retailers and restaurants. Tourism declines during the recession also reduced the number of visitors interested in shopping and dining in the Naples area.

The Vision

Armed with statistical and demographic data, MMRES moved aggressively to transform Mercato into the area’s premier “entertainment” destination rooted in a forward-thinking retail strategy. Twelve leases in as many months brought in ten outstanding restaurant and informal dining tenants, including a wine bar and a specialty coffee shop that had been on the top of the center survey’s wish list. The center was also recast as a dynamic lifestyle experience. It featured a constant round of community and cultural events from film and craft beer festivals to concerts and holiday exhibitions — including a tree lighting for the largest tree in Southwest Florida. With the addition in 2013 of the first Nordstrom Rack on the Gulf Coast, Mercato became one of the most popular and heavily retailed centers in the Naples region.

The Results

Understanding that Mercato needed to be reconfigured as a distinct and sophisticated “entertainment” destination allowed MMRES to focus on top-tier restaurants and appealing specialty dining tenants. With an emphasis on hospitality opportunities, Mercato was also repositioned as a magnet for platinum-level personal service tenants (Aveda, Yoga Loft and Stylista Salon) along with the concierge level Silverspot Cinema. Named the “Best Theater” in the Naples area by the Naples Daily News, Silverspot added significantly to its space in 2013. In early 2014, Mercato was nearly 90 percent leased with an expectation of additional leases being signed later in the year. Benefiting from the renewed excitement at the center, condominium sales rebounded. The residences are nearly sold out, with only two units remaining. The center continues to benefit from collaboration across a variety of retail real estate skill sets — marketing, property management, development and leasing — and Mercato tenants have seen double-digit sales increases. The center is now one of the most popular destinations in the entire Naples area: Nordstrom Rack draws over eleven thousand customers a week; Whole Foods pulls in over ten thousand shoppers a week; and close to 200,000 visitors a week visit Mercato during the months of November through February.

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