Ram Realty Advisors has entered the final stages of a $135 million project to reimagine a more than 50-year-old shopping mall in the heart of Chapel Hill, N.C.

Begun in 2018, the extensive redevelopment has turned the mall inside-out by tearing down a third of the space and creating an open-air shopping center with 350,000 square feet of retail space and a large public lawn, called The Commons, to host public events and activities. The 40-acre project also includes constructing a 253-unit apartment building and a 422-space parking garage on what had been the surface parking lot. In September, a standalone drive-thru Chick-fil-A opened on the site of a demolished cafeteria and by spring a variety of new businesses are set to open. “The project represents the first time Ram has acquired an enclosed mall and repositioned it as a mixed-use property, including multifamily rental and open-air retail,” said Jim Stine, president of Ram Realty Advisors and a member of UF Bergstrom Real Estate Center’s advisory board. He noted University Place is the company’s fourth development project in Chapel Hill “and a great example of our commitment to this vibrant and growing submarket of North Carolina.”

Based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Ram Realty Advisors was founded in 1978. The company teams up with private equity and institutional investors to buy and develop retail, multifamily and mixed-use properties in the Southeast.

Photo credit: Ram Realty Advisors