Hampton Roads Mall thread (Norfolk: for sale, apartments, crime)

[smime602]

An idea is to have a thread just to talk about the state of malls. Right now MacAruthur Center in Norfolk is up for sale. Sad really. It was once a great mall. Especially in the 2000s and early 2010s. Towards the mid 2020's it is a dead mall virtually now. Military Circle has been dead for years now. They could at least green up that space and make it a park.

Only healthy mall in the area now is Lynnhaven Mall. It may be the last traditional mall standing come the later part of the 20s.

[angelenogirl]

Since there's been such a huge revival of all things '90s, I don't know why malls haven't seized on this nostalgia and brought back mall culture. It was lampooned at the time, but we didn't know how good we had it!

[The Dissenter]

I think Malls have been dying for years and Covid will be the final death knell for many and MacArthur was no exception. I wonder how Peninsula Town Center is doing. I know it replaced Coliseum Mall which was my mall growing up.

[Dthraco]

I for one don’t relish the parking fees to go to MacArthur when it’s free to park at other malls. Did it once, nothing there worth the cost of entry to see. It’s not that I can’t afford to pay, it’s just why bother?

[HRVT]

Originally Posted by The Dissenter

I think Malls have been dying for years and Covid will be the final death knell for many and MacArthur was no exception. I wonder how Peninsula Town Center is doing. I know it replaced Coliseum Mall which was my mall growing up.

PTC has an interesting mix. A fair amount of retail, but also a good number of entertainment options, bars/restaurants, and then a few stores that are more "shopping center" than mall. Add in the hotel and some apartments and I think there's a good mix.

I wonder if Norfolk could come up with something inspired by PTC (on a larger scale and a bit more urbanized) could be utilized that opens the street grid back up some and fills in some of the missing retail/restaurants missed by no longer having MacArthur. I'm guessing Cordish would have something to say about that though.

[canalcity63]

It seems like only certain mall owners are successful right now. The two main ones right now are Simon and Brookfield. Unfortunately MacArthur was owned by Starwood which defaulted on their loans for many malls nationwide. Greenbrier is owned by CBL who also was going through bankruptcy. Lynnhaven is owned by Brookfield who is doing relatively well compared to other mall owners besides Simon. Hopefully they are able to redevelop the malls to still include some indoor retail space along with more residential components. I think people don't realize the benefits of having climate controlled shopping. Although a lot of people shop online there are still a large number of people that like to shop in person. Not to mention it is sometimes more convenient to buy something from a store then wait for it to be delivered. There is nothing like shopping indoors when its freezing outside or there is nonstop rain.

[Statz2k10]

I think ultimately even Lynnhaven Mall will be gone the way we see it today. While younger generations are still going to malls I think a higher % are going to continue to move to online ordering etc. Retail stores are going to realize that the minimum wage is just to costly for what the job is vs staying open.

You're probably also going to continue to see more crime as the years continue and this will continue to keep people away that want to avoid it & probably spend the most $ overall.