Northgate Mall (Durham)

Northgate Mall

Plaza entrance to the mall.
Location	Durham, North Carolina, USA
Opening date	1960, enclosed 1974
Developer	W. Kenan Rand
Management	Northgate Associates
Owner	Northgate Associates
No. of stores and services	100+
No. of anchor tenants	2
Total retail floor area	900,000 square feet
Parking	5,000+ spaces
No. of floors	1, Macy's and Sears have 2
Website	www.northgatemall.com

Northgate Mall is a regional shopping mall located off Interstate 85 and Gregson Street (exit 176) in northern Durham, North Carolina, United States. The mall is in close proximity to Duke University and downtown Durham, between the Trinity Park and Walltown neighborhoods.

Venetian Carousel at Northgate Mall

Stadium 10 cinema at Northgate Mall.

History

Northgate opened in 1960 as a traditional open air strip shopping center developed by W. Kenan Rand. The original center ran perpendicular to W. Club Blvd. Original tenants included Colonial Stores, Roses, Kerr Drug and eventually a cinema opened in 1962. In 1973 facing increased competition from other enclosed shopping centers, developers decided to add a Sears and Thalhimers department store and build an enclosure connecting the two stores. In 1986, Thalhimers relocated its store, building a new store in front of its original store. ^[1]

After Hecht's took over Thalhimers, a new wing was built where the original section of Northgate shopping center stood. This new wing included a brand new Hecht's department store at one end and a new food court, called the food gallery. The former Hecht's/Thalhimer's building went to Hudson Belk. Hudson Belk left the mall in 2005, and that store was replaced by a Phoenix Theaters, and that part of the mall renovated into an outdoor plaza. Also that year, the Harris Teeter closed, becoming a C&H Cafeteria and Guitar Center and an Office Depot that replaced Office Max. This section was renamed "The Shops at Northgate." The former Old Navy space next to Sears is a Tiger Direct/CompUSA today.

Adjacent to the mall are "The Shops at Northgate" a strip-style plaza on the property's west side which includes Guitar Center, C&H Cafeteria, a regional cafeteria chain, and Office Depot. In recent years, the tenant mix of the mall has shifted from national chains to more mom-and-pop stores. ^[2]

In more recent years, the mall has begun to reinvent itself as a community center, especially focusing on its local ownership. Additionally, the demise of South Square Mall has helped Northgate because competition remains to be farther away now. However, crime at the mall remains to be seen as an issue. Local news reports say that the mall has had five violent incidents in the last five years, including a fatal stabbing in 2007, many of these provoked by fights and teen violence. ^[3]

Northgate Mall's new parking deck.

Anchors

• Sears 175,428 sq ft (16,297.8 m²).
• Macy's (Previously relocated Hecht's) 185,090 sq ft (17,195 m²).
• Phoenix Theaters Stadium 10 (Formerly Hudson Belk, previously Thalhimers and Hecht's)

References

1. ^ "Northgate Mall History". Northgate Associates. http://www.northgatemall.com/about-us. Retrieved 7 October 2011. 
2. ^ Endangered Durham. "Northgate Mall". http://endangereddurham.blogspot.com/2010/07/northgate-mall.html. Retrieved 7 October 2011. 
3. ^ Shropshire, Fred (6 September 2011). "Teens arrested in mall shooting". WTVD-TV. http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8342923. Retrieved 7 October 2011. 

External links

• Northgate Mall