Raleigh-area Mall / Life-Style Center / RTP Redevelopments

[mike]

From WRAL:

In January, Kane Realty broke ground on the six-story Tributary Apartments building, which will feature 332 apartments and 6,000 square feet of ground-level retail space along Hardimont Road, east of North Hills.

[largesevan]

@mike

Tributary Apartments

I meant to post about this the other day when I saw it, good catch - Kane also included a few more details about Tributary and the two high-rises planned behind it as well. Tributary will apparently have two large courtyards, a digital content studio, and an elevated wellness center. The high-rise residential tower behind it will have a rooftop pool and skyline views, and the mixed‑use building could house a hotel, residences, or offices.

[OakCityDrone]

I always get a kick out of how they leave the HVAC units out of the renderings to keep them looking “pretty.”

[Jake]

Oooooo I’m more interested in when those 2 additional towers will begin along 440!!!

[ExSF]

They need to move a veritable mountain of dirt before they can begin construction. This is where they put all of the dirt from the previous projects.

[kjhburg]

Saks 5th Avenue is closing their store at Triangle Town Center and a whole bunch more Saks stores closing too.

On March 6, 2026, Saks Global announced the closure of the fo lowing Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus
locations:
Saks Fifth Avenue Locations Closing:
1.
Beachwood Place (Beachwood, OH)
2. Wisconsin Avenue (Chevy Chase, MD)
3. Michigan Avenue (Chicago, IL)
4. South Coast Plaza (Costa Mesa, CA)
5. Las Vegas Boulevard (Las Vegas, NV)
6. Long Island (Huntington Station, NY)
7.
The Gardens on El Paseo (Palm Desert, CA)
8. Triangle Town Center (Raleigh, NC)
9. North Star Mal (San Antonio, TX)
10. The Mal at University Town Center (Sarasota, FL)
11.
Plaza Frontenac (St. Louis, MO)
12. Tysons Ga leria (Tysons, VA)
Neiman Marcus Locations Closing:
1.
Ala Moana (Honolulu, HI)
2. Topanga (Canyon Park, CA)
3. Westchester (White Plains, NY)

[Yimbyforlife]

Not maybe big maybe huge blow for triangle town center.

[pBeez]

Right? Just another hole in an already sinking ship.

[dbearhugnc]

Malls (as a retail model) have been overbuilt, to nobody’s surprise. Losing Saks is a sign that this market, at that particular location, shows that Northeast Raleigh is not supportive to luxury, high-end big box retail. Triangle Town Center is going to require a major re-think with some significant renovations going forward. And, it may very well be that having Sears, Macy’s and Saks now out of the way will give the current owner a chance to do a clean sheet do-over.

[BoringRaleigh]

Right. Anything will help right now. It’s literally a replica of South Point. However it’s the mall that never could…

[John]

Let’s just call it what it is. It’s the wrong location for a luxury mall. On paper it’s near all of this spending potential. In reality, it’s a mall that sits along a long stretch of big box stores, strip centers, car dealerships, novelty adult shops, gas stations, amusements, auto centers, stand alone chain restaurants, etc. It’s also arguably the least interesting and most traffic clogged part of the entire city. It’s the worst of car dependent suburbia that Raleigh has to offer.

[Yimbyforlife]

That’s why Crabtree is such in a prime location for luxury stores, etc. still praying for the day Gucci comes here. I had a debate with a classmate who thinks we don’t need it and I told him the city should not block a Gucci store from coming here. Even he’s been infected by Nimbyism and xenophobia, and quaint town mentality, it’s got some young Gen Z.

[John]

“Gucci” lives pretty close to Crabtree actually.

I can actually imagine North Hills landing more luxury stores before Crabtree.

Also:

Xenophobia: dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.

[Yimbyforlife]

North Hills is good too there both great locations, I’m just guessing Gucci comes to Crabtree because Bharmin opened up a store there. I just don’t want Tim Niles, the Livable Raleigh klan, and other NIMBY and protectionists blocking luxury stores from coming here. And part of it has to do with xenophobia and lowkey racism also.

[John]

Again, xenophobia is about prejudice against foreigners, not luxury stores. Xenophobia is what’s behind the narrative that Mexico is sending us their “rapists and murderers” as we’ve heard from our government in the past. Xenophobia is also what’s behind ICE taking out more than just the most dangerous criminal non-citizens. Xenophobia isn’t what’s preventing a Gucci Store from coming to Raleigh.

[Yimbyforlife]

Okay not xenophobia but there definitely other factors, I have laid them out racism, Nimbyism, and the quaint town mentality all of it contagious.

[John]

Market research determines which retailers come to Raleigh. Brands want to know that they have a market to buy their products. They want to know about incomes, growth rates, cultural fit, population density, etc. For instance, a surf shop is going to open on the coast in a popular vacation destination (cultural fit, population density, money to spend) and not in a midwest factory town. Raleigh is gradually attracting more and more brands as the city grows and its purchasing power increases. However, Raleigh isn’t a city filled with celebrities and it remains a very casual and laid back place based on its local culture around education, technology, and a more youthful oriented vibe. It’s not a vacation destination like Nashville or heavy with pro athletes and their families like Charlotte. We aren’t a suit and tie dominant city either. These things have nothing to do with NIMBYism. One can argue about your other points, but they are too subjective and ambiguous IMO for me to want to argue them.

[NYCRDU]

I just don’t see Nordstrom at SouthPoint being the only luxury department store in the Triangle. Maybe I am being too hopeful, but I do think Raleigh (and Cary) have the capacity to support a luxury department store. Considering how well Bloomingdale’s has been doing, I would hope one of their Bloomie’s concepts comes to the area to fill the void. It makes sense to either be at North Hills or Fenton, but I could also now see them in the Belk Men’s store at Crabtree.

I also don’t think Nordstrom would be opposed to a second store in the area.

[GucciLittlePig]

@John

Xenophobia: dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.

Yeah I don’t get why this word keeps getting thrown around. There’s obviously racist white people who don’t want to live near black people (and probably the reverse, and other combinations too), but that’s not the same thing as xenophobia. And I don’t think any of that is consciously driving or preventing development either private or city planned at this point.

And the city certainly isn’t blocking luxury stores. Those stores determine for themselves where they think it would be profitable for them to locate. I’m not sure who wants to buy luxury clothes because of a label, but I doubt it’s most of the people shopping at Crabtree. If anything, North Hills probably has the clientele with that kind of extra money to throw away. I usually feel underdressed and under primped when I am over there.

[dbearhugnc]

The pattern with Saks Fifth Avenue closures over the past decade is actually a pretty clear map of how luxury retail geography has changed in the U.S.

It’s less about whether a metro area is prosperous and more about where affluent shoppers concentrate and how they shop now.

Luxury Retail Has Become Hyper-Concentrated

Twenty years ago Saks could succeed in many regional malls because luxury shoppers were more geographically dispersed.

Now the business has concentrated into very specific types of locations:

Tourist luxury corridors

• Bal Harbour Shops

• Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive

Ultra-affluent urban centers

• Hudson Yards

• The Galleria

Destination lifestyle centers

• The Mall at Green Hills

• Scottsdale Fashion Square

These places combine:

• tourism

• very high income density

• experiential shopping

They generate huge sales per square foot, which luxury brands demand.

Department Stores Lost Their Gatekeeper Role

Historically Saks acted as a gatekeeper for luxury brands in secondary cities.

If you wanted Chanel, Prada, or Saint Laurent in a mid-tier metro, Saks was the entry point.

But brands have changed strategy.

Many now prefer:

• flagship boutiques

• direct e-commerce

• high-profile luxury malls only

So instead of 40 Saks stores carrying a brand, you might see 10 flagship boutiques in top markets.

That hollowed out Saks locations in secondary malls.

E-Commerce Hit the Middle Tier Hardest

Luxury shoppers now often:

• browse in a flagship store while traveling

• reorder online later

That means the local luxury department store is no longer necessary.

Places with heavy tourism still work because visitors want the in-person experience.

But suburban luxury stores without tourism traffic struggle.

Raleigh’s Specific Situation

Raleigh is economically strong, but the luxury retail structure looks like this:

Affluent households → Wake Forest / North Raleigh / Cary / Chapel Hill

Luxury retail gravity → Crabtree Valley Mall and The Streets at Southpoint

That leaves Triangle Town Center outside the luxury orbit.

It’s not the region that’s weak — it’s the specific retail node.

Why Nashville Works (Good Comparison)

Nashville has something Raleigh lacks: luxury tourism.

Visitors arriving for music, conventions, and events shop at:

• The Mall at Green Hills

That tourist spending stabilizes luxury stores even when local demand fluctuates.

Raleigh’s economy is strong but business-driven rather than tourist-driven, which changes the retail math.

The Result

Luxury chains like Saks are becoming:

• fewer stores

• bigger flagships

• concentrated in global or tourism markets

Secondary suburban luxury department stores are the ones disappearing.

Which is why the Triangle Town Center store ultimately ended up on the closure list.