Suggested changes are coming in for University Mall in Chapel Hill. But not from any suggestion box.

In the online age, customers are talking to the mall's owners the way younger shoppers talk to one another: on Facebook.

"It's really worth reading," said Jay Lask, managing director of investments for Madison Marquette, who said the company has gone to Facebook before.

Madison Marquette paid partnerships formed by Maurice J. Koury $40 million for University Mall and $13.1 million for the nearby, 25-year-old Rams Plaza last year. Koury is a Burlington textile executive, developer and UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus.

Company officials met with town council members this week. They spoke in broad terms without making specific proposals, Town Manager Roger Stancil said.

But Lask said the company saw the informal meetings as introductory.

"We [want to be] ... very careful to make sure this is something the community will embrace," he said. "Everybody in the community, not just the council."

Lask said he's not too concerned about competition from Buckhorn Village, the 1-million-square-foot shopping center proposed for the Interstate 85 and Buckhorn Road area in western Orange County.

"This [mall] will have a unique tenant base," he said. "I don't find these new ... [regional shopping centers] terribly competitive. People want to be able to stay in the community."

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.