New University Mall home for library not guaranteed

Though local government is exploring moving a public library to a University Mall space currently occupied by Dillard’s, the retailer is showing no signs of going anywhere.

“At the moment we don’t have an agreement with Dillard’s for any kind of exit for them,” said Peter DeLeon, general manager of the mall. “This whole process is really at its infancy.

“If Dillard’s says no, then it probably won’t move forward.”

The Chapel Hill Public Library was initially slated for an 18-month expansion project, with the facility to be temporarily relocated this month to a vacant storefront in the mall while construction took place.

Those plans were put on hold at a Nov. 22 Chapel Hill Town Council meeting after Madison Marquette, the company that owns the mall, offered to house the library permanently.

The move could bring more foot traffic to the mall but is contingent upon Dillard’s agreeing to leave the space.

Malinda Gormsen, manager of Dillard’s, said she would have expected to hear about a move —should it happen — from the corporate office first.

Gormsen said she has not been contacted by Dillard’s officials about relocating or closing.

“We heard about it through the paper,” she said. “We don’t own the building, so it’s not in our hands.”

The company’s stocks have increased steadily since Aug. 16, indicating that the brand is strong.

But Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward said he had heard the national Dillard’s leadership was not interested in investing in Chapel Hill.

“So that tells me they have some misgivings about the viability of it,” he said.

Madison Marquette started exploring the option of permanently housing the library because of the added benefits it would bring to the other retailers in the mall, wrote Jay Lask, managing director of investments for the company, in a statement. But the concept is only in preliminary stages.

DeLeon said he thought the move would be excellent for the mall and for Chapel Hill.

“The library has 1,200 unique daily visitors,” he said.

“That would create more traffic for the center.”

Town Manager Roger Stancil has formed four teams to determine whether the library proposal is “too good to be true,” he wrote in an e-mail to the town council.

The teams will address the business side, the design side, the economic ramifications of and public participation in the potential move.

Ward asked Stancil in an e-mail to also consider operation and maintenance cost differences, outdoor ambience, parking issues and operational pros and cons for staff and users.

Ward said public feedback about the proposal has been mostly good despite some worries.

“There is some concern about the scenario that the Dillard’s store would be gone, and there will be fewer retail opportunities in Chapel Hill,” he said.

“That’s one of the reasons we are going to take 60 or so days to look at those numbers to compare the negatives and the positives both from a financial and operational standpoint.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.