AC Repair in North Hills, NC

North Hills Mall originally opened in 1960 and was converted to an enclosed mall in 1967. It was not only the first enclosed mall in Raleigh, it was also the first two-story, air-conditioned indoor mall between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. It originally opened a few years earlier as a small strip center before being redeveloped into a mall. It had a simple rectangular design with two floors, the upper level opening onto Six Forks Road and the lower level facing a parking deck on Lassiter Mill Road. Anchors at that time were JCPenney, Ivey’s, and Woolworth. At the opposite end of the mall from Penney, there was originally a large fountain, although this was torn down and the space became part of a restaurant, “Ragamuffin’s”, in 1979. A K&W Cafeteria was a popular destination at the south end of the mall for more than three decades.

North Hills Plaza, a strip center across Lassiter Mill Road, featured The Cardinal movie theater and a Winn-Dixie grocery store. Five years after North Hills was enclosed, the larger Crabtree Valley Mall opened two miles away, and began to draw shoppers. In 1984, North Hills Mall underwent extensive renovations, with several new stores brought in to fill vacant spaces. In 1990, Ivey’s became Dillard’s. In 1999, local developer Kane Realty Corporation purchased the deteriorating North Hills Plaza, renovating it in 2001 to create an upscale shopping and dining area now called The Lassiter at North Hills. Harris Teeter was the new anchor for The Lassiter (later replaced by Total Wine), surrounded by Starbucks, Panera Bread and a variety of local shops and services.

In 2001, Kane Realty also purchased North Hills Mall from Nags Head Properties, with the intention of creating a new low-rise, pedestrian-friendly urban development that would make the area Raleigh’s new midtown. At the same time, Dillard’s moved to . The mall was closed in January 2003, with Kane Realty auctioning off everything from parking signs to benches and fixtures to storefronts to the public. The response to the one-day event was so great that it was extended for several additional weekends. In April, the mall was torn down shortly after, except for JCPenney and the existing parking deck, to create a mixed-use development featuring a new open air shopping center.