MacArthur Center

MacArthur Center
Exterior view of MacArthur Center's food court balcony
Map
LocationNorfolk, Virginia, United States
Coordinates36°50′56″N 76°17′17″W / 36.848918°N 76.288038°W / 36.848918; -76.288038
Opening dateMarch 12, 1999; 25 years ago (March 12, 1999)
ManagementS.L. Nusbaum Realty Co.
OwnerS.L. Nusbaum Realty Co.
No. of stores and services140
No. of anchor tenants0 (space for 2)
Total retail floor area900,000 sq ft (84,000 m2), including 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2) retail and 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2) food & entertainment
No. of floors3
Websiteshopmacarthur.com

MacArthur Center is a shopping mall in Norfolk, Virginia, in the center of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.[1][2]

Built by the Taubman Company, the mall is owned by S.L. Nusbaum Realty since August 2023.[3] The 1,100,000 sq ft (100,000 m2) mall is adjacent to the General Douglas MacArthur Memorial. There are 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2) of mall tenant shops and 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2) of food and entertainment offerings, including the Regal MacArthur 18 movie theater.

Mall history

1990s-2000s

Plans were announced in June 1994, for a shopping mall bounded by Monticello and City Hall Avenues, Freemason Street and St. Paul's Boulevard. The Southwest corner of the site at Monticello and City Hall Avenues, what would become the corner of the Dillard's tenant at the mall, had previously been the site of Norfolk's historic City Market. That was demolished in the early 1950s for a single building complex with a JCPenny store, garage and office tower, later known as the Systems Management America (SMA) tower — which was imploded on November 24, 1996. The remainder of the 17 acre site had sat vacant since being razed in the early 1960s.

The original mall was intended to have Macy's, who had signed a letter of interest during the early stages of development for the property.[4] The mall officially opened on March 12, 1999.[5]

Beginning in 2005, MacArthur Center operated "MacArthur on Ice", a 7,200-square-foot (670 m2) ice skating rink on the property.[6]

2018-2023 store closures and loan default

At the end of the 2010s, the MacArthur Center experienced a wave of store closures due to changing customer spending habits and the effects of the retail apocalypse.

In 2018 and 2019, J Crew,[7] Fossil,[8] Yankee Candle,[9] Banana Republic,[10] Williams Sonoma,[11] Pottery Barn,[12] Eddie Bauer,[13] Charlotte Russe,[14] Forever 21,[15] Brighton Collectables,[16] Chicos,[17] Zales[18] and many other stores announced their closure at the mall. On April 5, 2019, Nordstrom closed their store at the mall, leaving Dillard's as the only anchor store remaining.[19]

In 2020, primarily due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Express,[20] Victorias Secret,[21] Talbots,[22] Abercrombie and Fitch,[23] Papyrus,[24] Francescas,[25] The Walking Company,[26] Justice,[27] J Jill,[28] New York & Company,[29] and others closed at the mall.[30]

After Starwood Capital Group defaulted on a $750,000,000 loan for the mall,[31] management was temporarily handed over to JLL until Spinoso Real Estate Group began managing the mall in 2021.[32]

In May 2021, Apple announced they would close their MacArthur Center location leaving the Lynnhaven Mall location as their only store in the Hampton Roads area.[33] Following a shooting in April 2022, Texas De Brazil closed its location at the mall.[34] In December 2022, Barnes & Noble closed.[35] In June, 2023, Chili's closed, after almost two decades at the mall.[36]

Purchase by the city

In March 2021, the city of Norfolk announced plans to redevelop or demolish the mall by 2030 to make room for new developments. The mall would continue to operate normally until then.[37]

In early July 2023, a month after the city of Norfolk purchased the mall, Dillard's, which has been one of the mall's major anchors since the mall's opening, announced it would close its upper two floors to become a single floor clearance store, and that the interior entrance to the mall from Dillard's would be permanently closed. Its last day was September 4, 2023.[38]

In mid-July 2023, the development authority voted to allocate $4 million to purchase Dillard's, meaning that the mall was now be entirely under City of Norfolk control and will potentially pave the way for redevelopment plans. [39]

References

  1. ^ Batts Jr., Battinto (2006-08-06), Why high-end stores aren't buying into Hampton Roads, The Virginian-Pilot, retrieved 2007-11-23
  2. ^ Frankenberry, Rita (2007-08-23), Trying to grow up-scale at Chesapeake's Towne Place, The Virginian-Pilot, retrieved 2007-11-23
  3. ^ "TAUBMAN ACQUIRES ADDITIONAL INTEREST IN MACARTHUR CENTER".
  4. ^ Peck, Jeanne (June 1, 1994). "Macy's in Norfolk". Daily Press.
  5. ^ Townsend, Philip (March 4, 2021). "MacArthur Center: Then, Now, and Beyond". WVEC. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  6. ^ Garrow, Hattie Brown (2007-11-18), MacArthur Center's ice rink reopens for season 3, The Virginian-Pilot, retrieved 2007-11-23
  7. ^ Pierceall, Kimberly. "MacArthur Center to lose J.Crew, two other stores". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  8. ^ Pierceall, Kimberly. "MacArthur Center to lose J.Crew, two other stores". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  9. ^ Adhikusuma, Briana. "Three more stores closing in Norfolk's MacArthur mall by Saturday". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  10. ^ Pierceall, Kimberly. "Banana Republic latest to close at Norfolk's MacArthur mall". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  11. ^ "Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn to close at MacArthur Center". WAVY.com. 2018-12-11. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  12. ^ "Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn to close at MacArthur Center". WAVY.com. 2018-12-11. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  13. ^ Adhikusuma, Briana. "Eddie Bauer to close soon in Norfolk's MacArthur Center". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  14. ^ "charlotte russe closing in hampton roads - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  15. ^ "Forever 21 next to leave MacArthur Center". 13newsnow.com. December 11, 2019. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  16. ^ Pierceall, Kimberly. "MacArthur Center to lose J.Crew, two other stores". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  17. ^ Adhikusuma, Briana. "Three more stores closing in Norfolk's MacArthur mall by Saturday". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  18. ^ Adhikusuma, Briana. "Three more stores closing in Norfolk's MacArthur mall by Saturday". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  19. ^ "Nordstrom to leave MacArthur Center mall".
  20. ^ Pierceall, Matthew Korfhage, Kimberly. "Hampton Roads restaurants and retail that closed in 2020 during the pandemic". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Pierceall, Matthew Korfhage, Kimberly. "Hampton Roads restaurants and retail that closed in 2020 during the pandemic". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Shapiro, Carolyn. "Two retailers to leave MacArthur Center". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  23. ^ Shapiro, Carolyn. "Two retailers to leave MacArthur Center". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  24. ^ Zumbach, Lauren. "Greeting card retailer Papyrus closing all stores". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  25. ^ Pierceall, Matthew Korfhage, Kimberly. "Hampton Roads restaurants and retail that closed in 2020 during the pandemic". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ Pierceall, Matthew Korfhage, Kimberly. "Hampton Roads restaurants and retail that closed in 2020 during the pandemic". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Pierceall, Matthew Korfhage, Kimberly. "Hampton Roads restaurants and retail that closed in 2020 during the pandemic". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ Pierceall, Matthew Korfhage, Kimberly. "Hampton Roads restaurants and retail that closed in 2020 during the pandemic". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Pierceall, Matthew Korfhage, Kimberly. "Hampton Roads restaurants and retail that closed in 2020 during the pandemic". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ Pierceall, Matthew Korfhage, Kimberly. "Hampton Roads restaurants and retail that closed in 2020 during the pandemic". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ Pierceall, Kimberly. "MacArthur Center mall owner in default on $750 million loan". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  32. ^ "New company managing MacArthur Center after former owner defaults on loan". WAVY.com. 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  33. ^ Steeber, Michael (2021-05-03). "MacArthur Center Apple Store permanently closes May 14". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
  34. ^ "Texas de Brazil leaves MacArthur Center, citing safety issues as the reason for its closure". 13newsnow.com. April 28, 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  35. ^ "MacArthur Center Barnes & Noble to close on Dec. 21". WAVY.com. 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
  36. ^ "Chili's Leaving MacArthur Center in Norfolk". wavy.com. June 20, 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  37. ^ "Norfolk ponders tearing down MacArthur Center mall in 2030 plan for downtown". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  38. ^ "Another department store leaves MacArthur Center: Dillard's last day". 13newsnow. September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  39. ^ "DILLARD'S IS DONE, MACARTHUR CENTER STORE TO CLOSE FOR GOOD".
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