The Crossroads site comprises and was originally developed by NCNB (now
Bank of America), acting as trustee for the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio, as a commercial development with an enclosed shopping mall plus of non-retail space including a
corporate park and hotel. NCNB enlisted
LJ Hooker Corporation, who was embarking on an ill-fated plan to build malls across the United States, to develop the mall on at the northern end of the site. Hooker filed plans in 1988 for a $240 million regional mall with of retail space on two levels, five department stores ranging from to , a tall glass-roofed center court enclosing , and 6,853 parking spaces. The planned development would have increased Cary's tax base by 18%. Site clearance and road work began, but construction was halted when a national recession forced the company to declare bankruptcy in late 1989. The Crossroads Mall site was soon purchased by New Market Development. In 1990, they filed drastically changed plans. Instead of an enclosed mall at the center of the site, they proposed a
power center with 11
big-box anchors and a few smaller shops lining the edge of the site and 3,458 parking spaces at the center. Although the new proposal had half as much retail space, it was very large for an outdoor retail center at the time. The plaza opened in 1991 with anchors including
Toys "R" Us,
Uptons department store,
Stein Mart,
Bookstar, Pet Depot,
Marshalls,
REI,
OfficeMax,
Home Quarters Warehouse, and
Phar-Mor.
Service Merchandise opened after the grand opening. Several of the original anchors have changed. Bookstar shut after acquisition by
Barnes & Noble, and others have gone bankrupt: Home Quarters was replaced with
Dick's Sporting Goods and
Bed Bath & Beyond (which closed in 2023 when the company went bankrupt. It has since been replaced by
Bob’s Discount Furniture), Phar-Mor was replaced by
Best Buy, Service Merchandise was replaced by
DSW, Inc. and
A.C. Moore (which has since been subdivided into
Aerie and
American Eagle Outfitters) and Uptons was replaced with
Michaels and
Old Navy. Pet Depot became
Petco, REI was replaced by
HomeGoods, OfficeMax was replaced by
Ross, Rugged Warehouse was replaced by Home Centric, and
Toys "R" Us closed in 2018 after their "Going out of Business" sale. Its space was filled by
Hobby Lobby in February 2020. The center was purchased by
Kimco Realty in 2014, which also owns the adjacent Centrum at Crossroads shopping center. ==Surrounding shopping area==