Cary, NC – Epic Games, the company best known for its powerful Fortnite success, announced on Sunday that it intends to turn the Cary Towne Center into its new campus.
Epic intends to turn the mall into a global headquarters of 980,000 square meters by 2024, canceling the plans announced last year for a combination of office, retail and residential space.
The announcement caused a stir in the community, with some believing that headquarters will be a much better use of the space that is struggling to stay open over the years. However, some locals are disappointed with the loss of shops and places for residents.
Epic Games currently operates on Crossroads Boulevard in Cary. By moving to the mall property, it will house office buildings and recreation spaces.
Not everyone is on board. A viewer on WRAL’s Facebook page intervened, calling the announcement “devastating news for those waiting for the Cary Towne Center to be turned into something beautiful.”
The initial plan, with a revolutionary scheduled for February, includes up to 1.2 million square meters of office space in seven buildings, 360,000 square meters of commercial space, 1,800 residential units of various sizes, a 450-room hotel and 10 acres of parks and squares.
In 2018, the IKEA furniture store intended to take over the mall, but it came out.
Construction is already underway across the road for Fenton, a 90-acre development along Cary Towne Boulevard that will open later in 2021 with a combination of shops, offices and apartments.
Currently, only a few stores remain open at the Cary Towne Center, including Belk. Most of the mall is blocked.