How University Place Turned Its Unbuilt Acres Into a Chapel Hill Evening Plan

New signs went up along the south side of University Place in September. Each one has a QR code that opens a map showing where you can carry a drink. On September 16 the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro and the property's owners held a ribbon-cutting for UPSocial, the mall's new entertainment district. It covers The Commons and also the grassy land set aside for a later phase of construction.

That last detail matters most. For years, the redevelopment at 201 S. Estes Drive was described in terms of buildings: apartments, a hotel, new storefronts. This fall the center got more useful in a quicker way. It added a permit, a lawn and a reason to stay after dinner.

A state permit instead of a town ordinance

Most people in the Triangle now know about social districts, the downtown zones where you can carry a to-go drink between bars. University Place used a different tool. As Chapelboro reported in August, an entertainment district is permitted directly by the North Carolina ABC Commission rather than created by a local government ordinance. It also stays on a single private property, while a social district can cross public rights-of-way.

Marni Sawicki, University Place's general manager with JLL Property Management, explained it this way: "Everything has to be on our property, it has to be with our tenants." Since every participating tenant already holds its own liquor license, she said, approval "camps right at the state level." In her view, going through the state was faster than waiting for the Town of Chapel Hill to write and pass its own social-district ordinance. Before joining JLL, Sawicki was mayor of Cape Coral, Florida, where she helped bring in a social district.

Chapel Hill already had a model nearby. Town Economic Development Director David Putnam pointed to the entertainment district at Cedar Falls Courtyard off Weaver Dairy Road as a blueprint. He tied the University Place version to the town's Complete Communities strategy, which encourages business activity in walkable areas close to where people live. The original plan was a soft opening on September 1, followed by the ribbon-cutting.

The route, as management describes it

A walkable district needs a path, and Sawicki has already laid one out. In her own sequence, an evening at UPSocial goes like this:

1. Start at Stoney River at the west end.
2. Stop at the bar inside Silverspot Cinema.
3. Continue to bartaco, which will also run a mobile margarita stand.
4. Hear music in the pocket park out front of bartaco.
5. Pass Hawkers.
6. Finish at Postino, once it opens, on its own patio.
7. Cross toward Jeni's and into the green space called The Commons.

"You want to make a sense of place where [when] you say, 'I'll see you there,' they know exactly where 'there' is. That's what we want to be." Marni Sawicki, speaking to 97.9 The Hill

The official UPSocial page describes the boundary as running from Stoney River through The Commons and Pop-Up Park to Solidcore, and the district operates daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sawicki has said the larger goal is to "connect both sides" of the property, with the boundary reaching east toward the parcels along Fordham Boulevard.

What the cup has to look like

Since the district is a private permit, the rules are set out on the UPSocial page and enforced by property security, who patrol the common areas.

• Where you buy: Only from a participating, ABC-permitted restaurant on the property. Outside alcohol is not allowed.
• Where you drink: Only inside the posted boundary during posted hours. Finish or toss your drink before you leave the district or walk into a business that doesn't allow outside cups.
• How many: The posted rule says that, under state law, one guest may be served up to two beer or wine drinks, or one drink containing liquor, at a time. The page's guidance on how many you can carry isn't fully consistent, so the signs on site are the best reference.
• The cup: Non-glass, 16 fluid ounces at most, printed with both the UPSocial logo and the restaurant's logo plus the words "Drink responsibly. Be 21."
• Vehicles: Drinks stay out of cars, bikes and scooters.

As of the September launch, the five licensed sellers were Stoney River Steakhouse & Grill, the Silverspot Cinema bar, bartaco, Hawkers and the future Postino.

Programming on land that's still waiting

A permit only matters if there's a reason to stand outside, and University Place has been creating those reasons on the open ground. The UP L!VE fall series brings free music to The Commons every other Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. The listing on Visit Chapel Hill asks guests to bring their own chairs. The series ends next Friday, October 16, with PushPlay, a four-piece band that plays variety and Top 40 sets. Earlier dates this season featured Cam Brown and The Back Roads.

The eastern land is where the plan becomes most visible. Ram Realty's Phase 3 on the parcels closest to Fordham Boulevard has been delayed, and in the meantime Sawicki said the land will be turned into a park. "We're going to have picnic tables and all kinds of games. We're looking at possibly having a cornhole league," she said. She added that music and movies in the park will continue and that management is working on "some really cool fall festival things." When Chapelboro reported this in August, no dates had been set.

Taken together, the lawn, the Saturday market and the Friday concerts mean the common areas get used on both weekend mornings and weeknight evenings, even while a large piece of the property sits unbuilt.

A bookstore where the gym used to be

Indoors, a tenant mix that once leaned on errands now has more places to browse. Barnes & Noble opened on September 23, about seven months after it was announced. It took over the former Planet Fitness space, and the manager is company veteran Andrea Wilson. Local author Scott Reintgen signed books and helped cut the ribbon.

Several other tenants are on the way, at different stages:

• Postino, the restaurant and wine bar, has announced Suite 302 with a 4,485-square-foot interior and a 1,888-square-foot patio, and is targeting this fall. As of the News & Observer's July report, the company had not announced an opening date.
• Bliss Nail Spa has been announced for the space next to Postino. It will be the business's second Chapel Hill location, after Elliott Square.
• HomeSense is building out 28,000 square feet on the north side of the main building, near Barnes & Noble, and is targeting spring 2027.
• Whataburger filed a development application with the Town for a location with a drive-thru, according to the News & Observer. A JLL spokesperson declined to comment on where tenant talks stand.

The unit at the opposite end of The Commons from Jeni's is still open. JLL confirmed that an earlier deal with The Salty, a Florida-based doughnut and coffee shop, fell through, and said it is looking for another business for the space. Whoever takes it will be on a green that now has concerts, a carry-a-drink permit and a farmers market.

The smaller rooms at 900 Willow

The new layout also helps the property's smallest tenants. The 900 Willow building offers studio retail spaces, and Putnam called them "more attainable for entrepreneurs locally that want to test their concepts in town, but can't afford something in downtown [or] Franklin Street." He said he hopes some of those businesses grow into larger spaces downtown, in Timberlyne or in Meadowmont. Palette & Parlor and The Soap and Shine opened at 900 Willow in winter 2025. Alfredo's Pizza Villa moved within the property and opened in its new space there in November 2025.

Ram Realty bought the 43-acre site in 2018. Eight years later, the eastern edge it hasn't built on yet is the stretch where picnic tables, a cornhole league and fall festival events are planned.

A place's energy can change the value of the homes around it in ways a spec sheet doesn't show. At Hodge & Kittrell Sotheby's International Realty, we follow changes like the new life at University Place closely, because they affect how homes near Estes Drive and Fordham Boulevard are valued. If you live nearby and want to see how your home measures up this fall, request your instant home valuation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.