property. The submitted mixed use proposal included retail (352,000 SF), residential (800 dwelling units), office (600,000 SF), hotel (600 rooms) and community spaces. However, in late May 2018, IKEA reversed its earlier plans and publicly announced the retailer was no longer coming to Cary because of the retail apocalypse. As a result, CBL announced that it had defaulted on the mall's mortgage and was going to sell the mall. On January 31, 2019, Turnbridge Equities and Denali Properties announced they had purchased the mall. Turnbridge and Denali announced plans in October 2020 to close and demolish Cary Towne Mall to transform it into a mixed-use project called Carolina Yards, which would include retail, hotel, residential, and office space, along with plenty of open outdoor space for gatherings, recreation, and events. However, it was announced in January 2021 that Epic Games had acquired Cary Towne Center for $95 million from Turnbridge and Denali, with the goal of transforming the property into its new headquarters campus by 2024, including facilities for both office buildings and recreational spaces. The mall closed permanently on January 31, 2021 with the exception of Dave & Buster's, which planned to remain in the new Epic headquarters campus, relocating to a new site. As of January 17, 2022, Dave and Busters opened in its relocated site in the former JumpStreet trampoline park at 1111 Walnut Street. The demolition of Cary Towne Center began in March 2022. Reference External links Official website (archived) CBL Properties Shopping malls in North Carolina Defunct shopping malls in the United States Demolished shopping malls in the United States Shopping malls established in 1979 Shopping malls disestablished in 2021 Buildings and structures in Cary, North Carolina Tourist attractions in Wake County, North Carolina