Rick's Diner planning move to Hope Valley Square on Shannon Rd.

It's not every day that a one-time strip mall shopping center makes you turn your head. The tired Shannon Plaza at the corner of Shannon Rd. and Old Chapel Hill Rd. did -- if only to avert your eyes from the painful glare of worn Carolina-blue paint and rundown storefronts.

It's now a head-turner for a different reason, having fallen under the renovation skill of Charlotte-based Hawthorne Retail Partners, which upfitted the Post Office-anchored strip center and rechristened it Hope Valley Square. (Hawthorne has performed similar sleight of hand at North Raleigh's Brennan Station -- and, economy and financing willing, plans a major transformation of South Square's old Kroger plaza into University Marketplace.)

Now comes word that South Square-area staple Rick's Diner is gearing up to move into the newly renovated center.

Rick's Diner will make the jump from further south at Shannon/University (where they're in the center housing Neo-China and other businesses), opening up at Hope Valley Square in the summer of 2010.

The restaurant, located in Durham since 1998, is known for their all-day breakfast and their pancakes -- the latter of which a Carpe Durham reviewer called "cloud-like but lined with a thin crust of heaven."

Rick's also operated an eatery on Duke's West Campus for some time, at the base of the castle-like McClendon Tower.

Hawthorne's Shoff Allison adds that the retail center developer is working on signing a number of other new tenants to the smartly-redone neighborhood shopping center. More on those developments as we learn them.

Comments

[Jeremy T]

I recently visited the PO here and it's astounding what a difference the new facade makes. Very nice work on this strip mall.

[Steve Bocckino]

Hawthorne did an astonishing job at Hope Valley Square—I saw it for the first time on the weekend. I hope they apply their skills to other Durham strip malls.

[ACW]

Yes! YES!!
You can't see it, but I am doing a gigantic happy dance. I love Rick's, and I love this plaza.
WOOHOO! :)

[Bull City Rising]

I said as much in the article, but yeah, this plaza is an absolutely beautiful example of what you can do with retail when you think it through and care about the outcome.

I visited Raleigh's Brennan Station on the way to get some paint this summer, and knew from the moment I drove in that Hawthorne had done the center.

Some BCR readers were skeptical when University Marketplace got delayed in the economy, but I have to say that with their track record on these strip mall projects, I'm thrilled for them to take the time they need to do this larger project right.

[Chris]

Nobody's pointed out that all the tenants (except the hair salon) left after the renovation, and the storefronts have been sitting empty for about a year.

[G Wolf]

Wait, what? Is Hope Valley Square going to be where Sitar used to be before they moved? Or is that something else entirely?

[Rob Gillespie]

@G Wolf-
Hope Valley Square is something else different. HVS is on Shannon Road if you continue south past MLK about half a mile (I think Shannon Rd and Old Chapel Hill Rd).

Where Sitar used to be will be University Marketplace. That development has been on hold for about a year, presumably because Hawthorne is having trouble financing the place.

[Rock Star]

Marlene Spritzer and Spritzer Commercial Properties represented Hawthorne Retail in the leasing. Great job getting Rick's to this beautiful center!

[Brynn]

Roughton Nickelson De Luca Architects designed the renovation for Hawthorne Retail Partners. Great job guys! www.rndpa.com

[Rob Gillespie]

I'm sure this will get more coverage later, but it looks like Hawthorne is saying they need incentives to make University Marketplace happen:

http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story_news_durham/push?id=5017330-University+Marketplace+seeks+incentives+from+city-+county

I wonder about Hawthorne's math. They state that finishing University Marketplace will net $652k a year in increased property taxes. I wonder whether this figure is an increase over what was there before (the Kroger's shopping center), or over the cleared lot. Hawthorne is the one who bulldozed it, so their tax revenue projections should be made in comparison to what was previously on the lot.

I guess the bubble popped in Durham, too.

[ACW]

With the new townhomes opening up on Old Chapel Hill Rd and the apartments in between them and this plaza, shops would do well to open here. This is where the old Habitat Hand Me Up store was, and it's my understanding they just outgrew the space. I don't know about zoning or whether the owners would allow it, but with all the tenants in the apartments within walking distance, a pub would do well here.