Every storefront at The Streets at Southpoint was filled ahead of Black Friday 2025, a rare position for a large regional mall in the current retail market.
The Durham property still has Nordstrom, Macy's, Belk, JCPenney, AMC Theatres, Apple, restaurants, and newer names such as Aritzia, Alo Yoga, Vuori, and Gorjana.
The mall sits at 6910 Fayetteville Road in southern Durham, near Interstate 40 at Exit 276 and Renaissance Parkway. It serves Durham, Chapel Hill, South Durham, Research Triangle Park, and the wider Triangle area.
Southpoint's question is not whether it still matters. The harder question is how long a 2002 mall can stay on top while shopping habits change, newer mixed-use centers such as Fenton and Raleigh Iron Works compete for attention, and Brookfield prepares the surrounding land for a much larger future.
The Streets at Southpoint Opens to Crowds in Durham
On March 8, 2002, cars poured toward 6910 Fayetteville Road until the new mall felt less like a store opening than a civic test.
The Streets at Southpoint drew about 300,000 visitors in its first three days.
Durham had not received a major new mall in nearly three decades. The first shoppers entered a 1.3 million-square-foot property built to feel rooted in the region from day one.
Red brick covered the walls, storefronts faced an outdoor pedestrian street, and a 70-foot glass wall divided the enclosed mall from the open-air section.
The anchor stores were Hecht's, Sears, JCPenney, Belk, and Nordstrom. Southpoint became home to North Carolina's first Nordstrom and one of Apple's earliest retail stores.
Aveda, California Pizza Kitchen, Hollister Co., and Pottery Barn Kids brought names that were new to the Research Triangle.
The opening became Durham's top business story of 2002.
The Streets at Southpoint Took Years to Become Real
Four years of planning came before the first full shopping bags left Southpoint. Construction took more than two years. Groundbreaking began in June 2000.
Urban Retail Properties developed the mall, and RTKL Associates designed it.
The project used a hybrid format at a moment when older enclosed malls were already losing ground to lifestyle centers and town-center projects.
Southpoint tried to keep the climate-controlled mall while adding the outdoor street that newer retail projects were using to pull people out of traditional corridors.
In January 2002, The Rouse Company entered a deal with Simon Property Group and Westfield Group to acquire Rodamco's North American assets, including The Streets at Southpoint.
The deal placed Southpoint inside a larger national mall-ownership structure shortly before its opening.
The site sat between Durham, Chapel Hill, Research Triangle Park, and the wider Triangle region. Its access from Interstate 40 gave it reach beyond a single city.
Near its opening, the mall was expected to draw 12 million to 15 million visitors a year.
Southpoint's Main Street Design Echoed Durham's Brick Heritage
More than 2 million red bricks went into the exterior and interior of the mall, giving a new retail complex the surface language of older Durham streets.
The brickwork echoed downtown Durham, the buildings at UNC, and Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
The Streets at Southpoint was not planned as one long indoor corridor.
It paired a two-level enclosed mall with an outdoor street where restaurants such as The Cheesecake Factory, larger retailers, seating areas, and pedestrian space shared the same path.
The food court carried the name "Fork in the Road." Its brick surfaces, industrial cues, and warehouse-style references pointed back to Durham's old tobacco buildings.
Handrails throughout the mall included pieces of Durham maps. Mature trees and shrubs arrived before opening, so the property did not look newly scraped from a construction site.
The design also gave the mall one of its most recognizable details: 23 statues based on the children of local leaders. A.R.T. Design Group created them over three years.
First Stores Made Southpoint a Triangle Destination
Southpoint's first store lineup gave shoppers reasons to cross county lines.
Nordstrom, Apple, Aveda, California Pizza Kitchen, Hollister Co., and Pottery Barn Kids made the mall more than a South Durham shopping stop.
Hecht's later became Macy's during department-store consolidation.
Sears continued operating for years before its national retreat reached Southpoint.
JCPenney, Belk, and Nordstrom remained key anchor stores.
The mall also offered more than shopping. AMC Theatres and IMAX brought evening visitors to the outdoor section.
Barnes & Noble and full-service restaurants kept people on the property after quick errands ended.
South Square Mall, once a leading Durham retail center, declined after Southpoint opened and was eventually demolished.
Southpoint had newer stores, a larger site, Interstate 40 access, and the hybrid format that older local malls lacked.
By 2023, the mall had averaged more than 1 million visitors per month since it opened.
Brookfield Took Over a Mall That Still Had Strong Numbers
General Growth Properties became one of the main companies connected to Southpoint during the 2000s. It owned many large regional malls across the United States.
In 2009, General Growth Properties filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during the financial crisis after years of expansion built on heavy debt.
The company came out of bankruptcy in 2010 and kept running major retail properties.
Brookfield later became the controlling owner after acquiring and restructuring the companies that followed General Growth.
The Streets at Southpoint became part of Brookfield's retail portfolio.
The mall's operating numbers stayed strong for a regional shopping center. Total gross leasable area sat near 1.3 million square feet.
Retail occupancy was 99.2 percent in 2014, 98.7 percent in 2015, 99.6 percent in 2016, and 99 percent in 2019.
By 2025, Southpoint had an asset value of $667 million, an equity value of $382 million, and sales of $818 per square foot.
The sales figure measured store productivity, not total mall revenue.
Sears Closed, and the Old Box Became a Test
Sears included its Southpoint store in a larger retreat from traditional brick-and-mortar retail on December 28, 2018.
The former anchor space soon became one of the clearest tests of what Southpoint could do with an old department-store box.
By February 1, 2019, the Sears space was part of discussions about a future enhanced development for the property. It did not remain only a leftover shell from a shrinking chain.
In October 2025, Dick's House of Sport opened in the old Sears space.
The mall replaced a conventional anchor with an interactive sports store carrying athletic gear, a climbing wall, golf areas, and a multi-sport cage for baseball, softball, lacrosse, and soccer.
It was the second Dick's House of Sport location in North Carolina. Grant Hill attended the opening event. Julius Peppers was also scheduled to make grand-opening appearances.
The former Sears property at 6930 Fayetteville Road sold for $17.65 million on November 17, 2025.
Southpoint's Tenant Mix Kept Changing After 2020
By 2023, Southpoint had added Peloton, Warby Parker, Offline by Aerie, Evereve, LoveSac, Lovisa, and a much larger Apple store format.
The tenant mix moved away from the old department-store model and toward lifestyle, technology, and digitally born brands.
The reshuffling continued in 2025. Vuori took the former Peloton space near Lululemon, while Aritzia moved into the former Victoria's Secret space as its first Triangle location and second North Carolina store.
Victoria's Secret shifted into the former J.Crew space, J.Crew reopened across from Madewell, and Alo Yoga became the brand's third North Carolina location.
Gorjana opened on September 8, 2025, as the jewelry brand's second North Carolina store; by Black Friday, every storefront at Southpoint was filled.
That full-storefront moment answered the usual mall question about vacancy.
The next question was whether Southpoint could keep drawing new tenants while shoppers had more places to spend a day outside a traditional mall.
Rezoning Opened the Door to a Larger Southpoint
The next development site was not inside the mall. It was the parking lots.
Brookfield sought zoning changes for seven parcels near Renaissance Parkway and Fayetteville Road.
Together, they covered about 132.6 acres. The plan allowed up to 1,945,000 square feet of total non-residential floor area.
That included commercial space, offices, hotel space, up to 200 hotel rooms, and up to 1,382 apartments. The goal was not just to add buildings.
It was to turn a mall surrounded by parking into a mixed-use district that could compete with newer places built around shopping, dining, housing, and outdoor public space.
The proposal drew objections over the lack of on-site affordable housing commitments.
Critics also raised concerns about design details, parking, pedestrian and trail areas, electric vehicle charging stations, and the long timeline for completion.
In March 2023, the Durham Planning Commission voted 10 to 3 against the rezoning. In June 2023, the Durham City Council approved it by a 5 to 2 vote.
The vote did not build apartments, a hotel, offices, or new retail space. It gave Brookfield the legal framework to pursue those pieces in phases.
Capital One Cafe, Pop Mart, and Southpoint's Next Test
The former California Pizza Kitchen space had a new use by April 10, 2026.
Capital One Cafe opened at 6910 Fayetteville Road, Suite 154, near Altar'd State and across from Pottery Barn. The space combined coffee with banking services.
Pop Mart was coming to The Streets at Southpoint as of April 15, 2026.
An opening date and exact mall location had not been released. The store would join The Lego Store and other newer tenants at the property.
Pop Mart had Robo Shop vending machines in Fayetteville and Concord, but no permanent brick-and-mortar store in North Carolina at that time.
Loft closed at Southpoint in 2026 after the landlord did not renew the lease.
Fogo de Chao planned to open at 8030 Renaissance Parkway in the former Uncle Julio's space. The location was planned as the chain's first North Carolina restaurant.
Southpoint now has two jobs. It has to keep the mall full, and it has to prove that the land around it can become more than parking.
The approved zoning allows up to 1,382 apartments, 200 hotel rooms, 300,000 square feet of offices, and more than 1 million square feet of commercial space.
Notable Milestones
2000 - Groundbreaking began after four years of planning.
March 8, 2002 - The Streets at Southpoint opened with Hecht's, Sears, JCPenney, Belk, and Nordstrom.
2002 - The mall drew about 300,000 visitors in its first three days.
2002 - North Carolina's first Nordstrom and Apple Store opened at Southpoint.
2006 - Hecht's converted to Macy's during department-store consolidation.
2009 - General Growth Properties entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
2010 - General Growth Properties emerged from bankruptcy.
December 28, 2018 - Sears included the Southpoint store in a national closure round.
June 2023 - Durham City Council approved rezoning for a major mixed-use redevelopment plan.
2024 - A social district launched at the mall.
October 2025 - Dick's House of Sport opened in the former Sears space.
November 17, 2025 - The former Sears-related parcel at 6930 Fayetteville Road sold for $17.65 million.
April 2026 - Capital One Cafe opened in the former California Pizza Kitchen space.
April 15, 2026 - Pop Mart was announced for The Streets at Southpoint.
