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Store owners, shoppers worry about future of Raleigh shopping mall

The owners of Triangle Town Center and the Triangle Town Place shopping center in north Raleigh reached an agreement to sell majority ownership of the property.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — The owners of Triangle Town Center mall and the Triangle Town Place shopping center in north Raleigh reached an agreement to sell majority ownership of the property. 

Triangle Town Center, off Capital Boulevard near Interstate 540, was designed to attract high-end shoppers but has instead been buried in debt. 

Anna Holm often makes trips to the mall to look at things, but she says window shopping is an experience she does not always get when visiting Triangle Town Center. 

The mall houses the area's only Saks Fifth Avenue, but store owners are worried the area may not be attracting enough of the right customers. 

"Nobody knows what's going to happen tomorrow," said Dean Sadarangani, owner of Dean's Jewels and Gifts in the mall. "I am a little nervous about the whole situation. I think I'm just taking it one step at a time." 

CBL and its joint venture partner, The R.E. Jacobs Group, executed a contract to sell the property to a new partnership between CBL and an unnamed investor. The new investor will own 85 percent of the assets and CBL will retain 15 percent.

According to officials, the sale is an alternative to bankruptcy or foreclosure. 

Michael Walden, an economist with North Carolina State University, said the mall's future hinges on catering to shopper's demands for the "experience."

"Over time, I think the mall will be successful simply because there will be growth, but they may want to look at some of the stores they have, maybe downsizing some of the high-end stores," Walden said. 

The $181 million deal is expected to close later this year. 

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