Cary, NC – Epic Games, the company best known for its hugely successful Fortnite, announced on Sunday plans to turn the Cary Towne Center into its new campus.
Epic plans to turn the mall into a global 980,000-square-foot headquarters by 2024, and cancel plans announced last year for a combination of office, retail and residential space.
The announcement boiled the community, with the feeling that headquarters will make much better use of the space it has been struggling to stay open over the years. However, some locals are disappointed by the loss of shops and premises for residents.
Epic Games currently operates on Crossroads Boulevard in Cary. Upon passing the mall property, it will house office buildings and recreational spaces.
Not everyone is on board. A viewer on WRAL’s Facebook page intervened and called the announcement “devastating news for those who have been waiting for the Cary Towne Center to become something enjoyable.”
The original plan, scheduled for February, included up to 1.2 million square feet of offices in seven buildings, 360,000 square feet of commercial space, 1,800 residential units of different sizes, a 450-room hotel and 10 acres of parks and squares.
In 2018, the IKEA furniture store planned to take over the mall, but withdrew.
It is already being built across the street by Fenton, a more than 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 shops remain open at the Cary Towne Center, including Belk. Most of the mall is blocked.