The newest gathering space at University Place this fall sits on land that was set aside for the next phase of construction. The owner, Ram Realty, has delayed Phase 3 of the redevelopment on the parcels that run east from the mall building toward Fordham Boulevard. In the meantime, management is turning that land into a park with picnic tables and games, and it may add a cornhole league. That delay explains a lot about how 201 S. Estes Drive works on a fall weekend. The new drink rules, the bookstore, the farmers' market layout and the open lawn by Fordham all assume people will stay at the property for a while.
The Fence Came Down First
The plans for the east end have changed several times. In 2021, Chapelboro described the owners' original master plan for what the headline called a "dying mall." That plan proposed up to 300 apartments, 150 hotel rooms and office space, built in three phases, with hotel space as Phase 3. By March 2025, Chapelboro described the next redevelopment area, directly east of The Commons, as more storefronts with office space on the upper floors. Then that phase was put on hold, and Chapelboro's August 2026 coverage gave no restart date.
Property manager Marni Sawicki of JLL started by removing the temporary construction fencing so drivers on the road could see into the open area, according to Chapelboro's coverage of the September ribbon-cutting. She described what is coming: "We will have picnic tables, horseshoes, bocci ball, [and] cornhole that will be going in that space. Lots of shade with umbrellas and sails for [The Commons]."
Her stated goal had little to do with retail. "We want this to be where people to go, 'Where are you going tonight? Well, see you there.' And everybody knows this is 'there,'" she told Chapelboro. An open lawn helps with that goal more than a construction site does.
One Cup Connects Both Ends of the Property
The lawn only works as a destination if people can carry something to it, and that's what the UP Social entertainment district allows. After a soft opening in early September, University Place held a ribbon-cutting with the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro on Wednesday, September 16.
The state ABC Commission grants entertainment districts through permits on private property. Social districts work the same way for patrons but are created through local government zoning. Chapel Hill already has one entertainment district, at the Cedar Falls Courtyard shopping center off Weaver Dairy Road. Town Economic Development Director David Putnam pointed to it as a blueprint, Chapelboro reported in August.
The boundary is the important part. Sawicki said in August that the district would run from Stoney River on the west to the parcels bordering Fordham Boulevard on the east, to help "connect both sides" of the property. She described the route on foot. You start at Stoney River, stop at the bar in Silverspot, then go to bartaco, where the pocket park out front hosts music. From there you pass Hawkers, reach Postino at the end, and cross toward Jeni's and The Commons green. The plan is to extend the district onto the east-side land that isn't under construction.
The posted UP Social rules currently describe a marked area running from Stoney River Steakhouse through The Commons greenspace and Pop-UP Park, down to solidcore. Signs mark the edges. These are the main rules:
- Drinks have to come from a participating restaurant: bartaco, Hawkers Asian Street Fare, Stoney River Steakhouse & Grill or Silverspot.
- District hours are 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. These hours are separate from each restaurant's own serving hours.
- Cups must be non-glass, hold no more than 16 ounces, and carry the UP Social and restaurant logos.
- You must be 21 or older with a valid ID. Drinks from outside aren't allowed, and open containers can't go into vehicles.
- Finish or throw out your drink before entering a business that doesn't allow cups.
The rules page covers per-person limits in more than one place, so check it directly before you order a second round. Sawicki also told Chapelboro, "this is not about drinking," and described the cups as a way to tie the tenants into the shared space.
A Bookstore and a Market Fill the Daylight Hours
A drinks district mostly brings people in the evening. The two biggest daytime draws this fall come from the same strategy of keeping people on site.
Barnes & Noble opened on September 23 at 201 S. Estes Drive, Suite 200A. It's open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. A bookstore is the kind of place where people spend an hour, and it sits on the same property as the lawn, the ice cream shop and the restaurants with patios.
The Chapel Hill Farmers' Market is the other daytime anchor. Farmers of Orange, a nonprofit set up for local farmers, started it in April 2008, and every farmer and artisan lives within 60 miles of Chapel Hill. The market now sets up in front of Stoney River Steakhouse and Silverspot Cinema. That puts the Saturday market inside the same stretch the UP Social boundary starts from.
The market is moving to winter hours. Saturdays run 9 a.m. to noon from November through March, and University Place's listing gives Saturday, November 7 as the first winter-hours market. The market's 2026 events calendar lists live music for the weeks ahead:
- Saturday, November 7, 10 a.m. to noon: Ladies of the Lake
- Saturday, November 14, 10 a.m. to noon: Keith Sawyer
- Saturday, November 21, 10 a.m. to noon: Rob Nelson & friends
- Tuesday, November 24, 3 to 5 p.m.: Sentimental Johnny, at the Thanksgiving-week market
Weeknights have one recurring event. Hawkers hosts Mario Kart Night from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on the first and third Mondays through December, which puts the next ones on November 2 and November 16. When the district launched, Sawicki said University Place would keep running its own live music and movies in the park and hoped to add fall festival events. The University Place events page is the place to check for those dates once they're announced.
What Still Isn't Open
The open space is ready ahead of several tenants. The mall's own directory lists 31 businesses. A few of the labels are behind, and Barnes & Noble was still marked "coming in September" after it had opened. Here are the announced tenants that haven't opened yet:
- Postino, a restaurant and wine bar, will take Suite 302 with a 4,485-square-foot interior and a 1,888-square-foot patio. It announced a fall 2026 opening, and the directory still lists it as coming soon.
- Bliss Nail Spa will be next to Postino. It's the business's second Chapel Hill location, after Elliott Square.
- HomeSense is building a 28,000-square-foot store on the north side of the main building, next to Barnes & Noble, with a spring 2027 target.
- Teaspoon is listed in the directory as coming in 2027.
- Whataburger filed a development application with the Town of Chapel Hill for a location with a drive-thru on the mall property, according to the News & Observer, as Chapelboro reported. A JLL spokesperson declined to comment on the status of those talks.
One spot on The Commons is still open. The Salty, a Florida-based donut and coffee shop, had been announced for the unit at the opposite end of The Commons from Jeni's. JLL confirmed that deal fell through and said it's looking for another business for the space.
Several of the businesses that came out of the 2025 leasing round are already part of the routine there. The Daily Tar Heel reported in March that H&H Bagels, VEG Emergency Vet and SWTHZ were open. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams soft-opened at 223 South Estes Drive in February 2025, and WakeMed MyCare 365 opened at 237 South Estes Drive that same month.
The Smaller Spaces on the Willow Drive Side
The 900 Willow building, on the Willow Drive side, adds a local element to a roster made up mostly of national names. The Daily Tar Heel described the overall redevelopment as including 253 new apartments and two acres of public green space. Alfredo's Pizza Villa moved there from inside the mall and soft-opened on November 20, 2025.
Putnam told Chapelboro that the town is most excited about the building's studio retail spaces. He said they are more attainable for local entrepreneurs who want to test a concept but can't afford a space downtown or on Franklin Street. He said he hopes some of those businesses "graduate" to spaces downtown, in Timberlyne or in Meadowmont. The town ties this to its Complete Communities strategy, which encourages business in walkable areas near where people live.
So the construction pause gives University Place a lawn now. The bookstore, the market and the drinks district bring people to it in the meantime, and the small storefronts on Willow Drive give local businesses an affordable place to start. When Phase 3 does move forward, the open area by Fordham Boulevard is the part that will change.
If you're watching how places like University Place are changing the parts of Chapel Hill you use every week, I'm always glad to talk them through. Karen Tehrani offers personalized Triangle community consultations, and a free home valuation whenever you'd like a clear read on your own corner of town.
