Triangle Town Center is on seventh owner and losing anchors. Some see potential
North Raleigh’s Triangle Town Center is shedding major tenants and showing visible decay — but a UNC Kenan-Flagler professor and local CRE analysts say the site still holds redevelopment potential worth watching.
FULL STORY: Triangle Town Center: Location, Competition and Redevelopment Risk
Here are key takeaways:
• The anchor losses are accelerating. Macy’s plans to close, Sears is already gone and Saks Global announced March 6 it would shutter its Triangle Town Center location as part of a 12-store closure tied to the company’s bankruptcy.
• The mall has changed hands seven times since opening in 2002. Current owner Summit Properties USA did not respond to questions. That pace of ownership turnover in roughly two decades signals persistent asset distress.
• Competitors absorbed the same pressures without the same decline. Crabtree Valley and Streets at Southpoint both experienced serious security incidents — including a 2024 shootout at Crabtree that left 20 cars riddled with bullets — yet neither has seen comparable tenant flight.
• Trade-area demographics and North Hills cannibalization undercut the mall from the start. Vijay Shah of Trademark Properties said the original five-mile-radius demographics “weren’t that great,” and North Hills launched a massive walkable retail-restaurant expansion at roughly the same time Triangle Town Center opened.
• The outparcel retail around the mall is still performing. Stores like DSW, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Nordstrom Rack show no apparent dip in traffic, suggesting the broader location supports retail demand even as the enclosed mall struggles.
• A UNC Kenan-Flagler professor projects repositioning, not death. Jim Spaeth cited the site’s transportation infrastructure and Raleigh’s growth, saying he expects “either more of a hybrid, open-air retail center or maybe transformed into mixed-use.”
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
