Plans for Chinatown in Morrisville slowed
Plans to turn a struggling outlet mall into North Carolina’s first Chinatown are being slowed by debates among investors.
Initial plans for the complex called for a five-star hotel, a cultural center and a number of Chinese retail businesses to transform the Prime Outlets mall on Airport Boulevard in Morrisville, with renovations beginning in late 2013.
But to date the new owners have only moved forward with a North American Chinese Folk Art Center, which they’re unveiling Thursday at an event co-sponsored by the Beijing-based China Literature and Arts Association and the San Francisco-based North American Chinese Culture and Arts Association.
Debate among investors about the overall vision for the center has slowed progress, said Lian Xie, president of the Carolina China Council, which has been closely involved in the complex’s development.
“I know that some of the stakeholders want to have a really good, first-class facility and others want to get something going,” he said.
A group featuring investors from the U.S., Hong Kong and mainland China paid $12 million for the 192,000-square-foot mall in June 2013. The price was high, considering the previous owners had paid just $6.2 million for the property in 2006.
At the time of the purchase, Xie said the new investors planned to move forward with an ambitious $130 million project for the 24-acre site that had been unveiled the previous year.
In addition to plans for a hotel and conference rooms, the project was to include retail space anchored by an Asian grocery store. But little progress on that vision has been made. .
The property still contains the remnants of the old outlet mall. It has a food court – with a Subway, Greek Fiesta, Asian Cafe and Philly Steak Factory – and a few smaller retailers, according to the center’s website.
Xie said the owners are open to short-term leases for some spaces, but they’re not actively seeking them.
A local church and a UNC Health Care location are among the tenants now on short-term leases.
Some investors want to establish Chinatown quickly and then build it out later, Xie said. Others would rather spend more time refining their ideas to make sure they get it right the first time.
Xie said the company’s largest stakeholder, Hoi Saung Young, a Florida businessman whose management group operates hundreds of restaurants, is in the latter group.
“Mr. Yeung doesn’t like the idea of a half-baked potato,” Xie said.
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This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Plans for Chinatown in Morrisville slowed."