The Streets at Southpoint took four years of planning and over two years of construction. It opened on March 8, 2002, with its anchors Hecht's, Sears, JCPenney, Belk, and Nordstrom. The mall had around 300,000 visitors during its first three days of operation. The mall is home to many firsts for the area, including North Carolina's first Nordstrom and Apple Store. Other stores that were new to the Research Triangle area included Aveda, California Pizza Kitchen, Hollister Co., and Pottery Barn Kids. The Streets at Southpoint was the first mall to come to the Durham area in nearly three decades. Its March opening was chosen as the most important story of the year in Durham's Top 10 Business Stories of 2002. On December 28, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 80 stores nationwide. The store closed in March 2019.
Design
The Streets at Southpoint was designed and developed by Urban Retail Properties with an old-fashioned Main Street concept. RTKL Associates Inc. served as the architect and also provided environmental graphic design services, incorporating the logo design throughout the development, reinforcing the shopping center's identity. The mall is a "hybrid mall," combining a traditional enclosed mall with an outdoor pedestrian wing. A 70-foot glass wall separates the two portions of the mall. The main stretch of the enclosed portion of the mall was dubbed Southpoint Boulevard, with each of the shops sporting a signature façade and entryway in an effort to create the Main Street feel. Other details adding to the design include imitation manhole covers, street lights, and bronze statues of children playing. These bronze statues were created specially for the mall by the A.R.T. Design Group of Lancaster, PA. The Streets at Southpoint's developer, Jim Farrell, wanted to add to the Main Street feel by having children permanently playing throughout the mall. He enlisted A.R.T. Design Group to create statues of some of the children of local leaders. There are 23 statues in total throughout the mall and they took three years to create. Many other small details come together in the mall to create the downtown Durham atmosphere. Over 2 million red bricks were used to line both the exterior and interior of the mall. Architects were inspired by downtown Durham and the brick façades of the buildings at UNC and on Franklin Street. Hand rails throughout the mall include pieces of maps of Durham. The food court, entitled "Fork in the Road," was inspired by old tobacco warehouses. The Main Street feel continues to the outdoor portion of the mall, as well. The statues continue outside and are even incorporated into fountains in and outside of the mall. A 70-foot smokestack can be found at the end of the outdoor stretch of the mall in an effort to pay homage to the heritage of downtown Durham. Mature trees and shrubbery were shipped in from other locations in order to make the mall seem as if it has been in Durham for a long time. The outdoor Main Street includes larger retailers and stand-alone restaurants such as The Cheesecake Factory.
Southpoint Cinemas
Southpoint Cinemas is an AMC movie megaplex. It is made up of 56,000 square feet. On May 20, 2011, a 6,240 square foot addition to the theater opened. The cinema is open 365 days a year.
