Aurelia Vo, a sophomore in AI and business analytics, said there was “not a lot going on” when she went to University Mall with her friends last semester.

“You’re kind of just walking around, but there’s not a lot of shopping space so it was boring, it was almost like a ghost town,” Vo said.

But the mall area is set on a path for revival. 

University Mall on Fowler Avenue is being remodeled into “Rithm,” a new vision for the mall as a “mixed-use village.”

Still in its early stages of construction, Rithm is estimated to cost $4 billion and be completed within the next 10 years.

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Barely a five minute drive from the southwest corner of the USF Tampa campus, Rithm could have the advantage of student attention – but some have mixed feelings about the upcoming changes. 

Rithm is a project developed by RD Management to “reimagine” the space and identity of University Mall into a modernized neighborhood, said Christopher Bowen, RD Management’s chief development strategist. 

RD Management is a “privately held real-estate development and management organization,” according to their website.

Bowen said the renovations for University Mall will “bring life and soul” back to the “dying” area. 

“Malls all over America lose their relevance,” Bowen said. “It’s about activating your space to work with human people, with their aspirations and needs, with their visions and dreams.” 

Angelina Knox, a Tampa local and freshman in microbiology, said she is “skeptical” about the impact of the mall renovations because of direct competition from other malls in the area.

“It really depends on what they invest into it,” Knox said. “They’re going to have to compete within Tampa and against other malls, like [The Shops at] Wiregrass or Citrus Park [Town Center], which are usually pretty busy.”

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In December 2014, RD Management acquired its first part of the mall — the Macy’s and JCPenney property — and started developing a plan to “reimagine” University Mall, Bowen said. 

University Mall’s JCPenney had been closed since 2005, when it relocated to The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel. 

In 2019, the former JCPenney building in University Mall was demolished to open space for new development.

Knox said University Mall “felt different” when anchor stores closed, such as Macy’s and Sears.

“I used to go fairly often when I was a kid, but I don’t really go there anymore,” Knox said. “As time went on, I remember more and more stores kind of being abandoned.”

About a year ago, RD Management acquired the Burlington building, its final piece for securing ownership of University Mall’s 100-acre area. 

Bowen said Rithm was designed in an effort to create a “walkable” space for people to “live, work, and play in.”

“Rithm is a large parcel,” said Bowen. “This is going to be the exact template and blueprint for the rest of Fowler [Avenue].”

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Angel Pacheco, a freshman in mechanical engineering, said although he hasn’t visited University Mall recently, he is “interested” to see what it will look like once it’s redone.

“I think a walkable village would be especially appealing to students, including myself,” Pacheco said.

Instead of University Mall, Pacheco goes to The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel, which is roughly a 25 minute drive from the USF Tampa campus.

But he could start exploring University Mall more often depending on its renovations.

“Overall I’m excited to see what changes [will be] made, considering that the mall isn’t very popular right now,” Pacheco said. 

Bowen said Rithm at Uptown aims to cater to people’s “needs or experiences” by integrating housing, research and food facilities. 

“If we’re going to rebuild and reimagine Fowler Avenue, we have to have major players,” Bowen said. 

Vo said she feels the marketing for the new Rithm space will be “key” for how the remodels are received. 

“Depending on if it’s marketed right, I think it will attract a lot of people, a lot of students, to come back,” Vo said. “It’s not far [from campus] so it’s convenient, and…even easier for students.”