Design
The Streets at Southpoint was designed and developed by Urban Retail Properties with an old-fashioned Main Street concept. 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. 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.
Within 2012, Southpoint has turned into a more upscale-type mall with tenants including Nordstrom, Sperry Top-Sider, Cole Haan, Crate & Barrel, Michael Kors, Urban Outfitters and Vera Bradley.
Read more about this topic: The Streets At Southpoint
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