The $850M first phase of Hines’s Fenton project, one of the largest retail-driven development projects in the country in the last five years, has opened in Cary in the heart of North Carolina’s Research Triangle.
Marching bands played and dazzlingly dressed women dispensed champagne from cocktail skirts to some 600 invited guests last week on opening day at the mixed-use community that has been under construction for seven years. Phase One presents some 350,000sq ft of specialty and experiential retail, including a high-end Paragon movie theatre.
“It was happiness all around,” said Hines Managing Director Paul Zarian, a key mover of Fenton. “It was great to share our hard work with the people in the local community and create a place where they’ll want to spend a lot of time.”
One of the celebrants at the opening of the 69-acre site was Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, who blew out the candles on a cake for his 66th birthday at the event. Weinbrecht recounted how the state, which owned the land before Hines bought it, was about to turn the site into a storage location for state vehicles unless Cary found a better option.
Fenton’s list of retailers promises to provide a draw. They include Arhaus, Lululemon, Pottery Barn, Sephora, Free People, Madewell, One Medical, and Sports & Social.
