Norfolk Stores and Retail and Resturants

[Former Resident of HR]

First it was a smoking ban, then a trans-fat ban, then.........

Get my point?

If I waited tables or went out to eat, I being an adult can choose which establishment I will either work at or dine at.

Same thing when I choose what I will be eating. If I want to eat foods with trans-fats in then, that is MY choice!

So what will be next? One can only guess!

If health concerns were as simplistic as making choices about where to eat, things would be great. However, in matters like these, it is the government's obligation to step in and protect its citizens. It is YOUR choice to eat trans-fat but not MY choice when my insurance premiums double because of the unhealthy people in this country who have the right not to be surcharged when their unhealthy lifestyle choices cause medical bills to skyrocket.

Simply put, the government needs to regulate things like mercury in the water, lead in paint, asbestos, etc. It is the job of the government to protect citizens from things that are harmful.

[spiker3]

MacArthur Center news...

Ice skating rink closed on Monday.

Waldenbooks closed today, yesterday was the last day of sales, they had been running a 25% off everything sale in the store, followed last week by a 40% off everything, they are now closed.

Evo Giongia (something like that) sold high end purses and shoes closed its doors today, they're gone.

Sunglass Hut has construction boards up, but i'm not sure of their status, they also own Watch World which is still open. When i get news i'll let you know.

Additionally all the temporary holiday stores are now closed as well, People's Pottery and the Calendar stores are gone.

Any new stores or new construction pops up i'll let you guys know.

[okinawatyphoon]

MacArthur Center news...

Ice skating rink closed on Monday.

Waldenbooks closed today, yesterday was the last day of sales, they had been running a 25% off everything sale in the store, followed last week by a 40% off everything, they are now closed.

Evo Giongia (something like that) sold high end purses and shoes closed its doors today, they're gone.

Sunglass Hut has construction boards up, but i'm not sure of their status, they also own Watch World which is still open. When i get news i'll let you know.

Additionally all the temporary holiday stores are now closed as well, People's Pottery and the Calendar stores are gone.

Any new stores or new construction pops up i'll let you guys know.

Thanks for the update! I forget, when is construction supposed to begin on the Barnes and Noble? Are there any renderings of this?

[Former Resident of HR]

MacArthur Center news...

Ice skating rink closed on Monday.

Great, the rink closes right when winter gets here...

[PeninsulaKiddo]

Great, the rink closes right when winter gets here...

Fair statement there! I went by MacArthur today for the first time in months -- such a great experience that was Even my typically-uninspired Northern Virginia CNU friends were impressed by MacArthur and had a lot of fun Most-importantly, I spent my 'allowance' for the month of January (no spending outside the campus until February 15th I suppose.... .... it was very worth it!).

[spiker3]

MacArthur Center news...

Ice skating rink closed on Monday.

Waldenbooks closed today, yesterday was the last day of sales, they had been running a 25% off everything sale in the store, followed last week by a 40% off everything, they are now closed.

Evo Giongia (something like that) sold high end purses and shoes closed its doors today, they're gone.

Sunglass Hut has construction boards up, but i'm not sure of their status, they also own Watch World which is still open. When i get news i'll let you know.

Additionally all the temporary holiday stores are now closed as well, People's Pottery and the Calendar stores are gone.

Any new stores or new construction pops up i'll let you guys know.

Additionally Fiore (sold purses) closed down as well. So now there are two fairly large opportunities available, Fiore/Waldenbooks are out and side by side, and the old Illumuinations and Evo Giongia (?) are side by side. We'll see how it goes.

No word on construction yet for B&N, has definitely not started yet.

[vdogg]

I'm starting to get nervous hearing about all these closings. How did the mall do this Christmas?

[urbanvb]

Same here. I really have my concerns as stores open only to close. This mall has had quite a bit of turnover in it's short history.

[spiker3]

I'm starting to get nervous hearing about all these closings. How did the mall do this Christmas?

Traffic was down maybe 5% to last year. Last year the Lion King was sold out every show, there were alot more people in downtown area. We haven't gotten official mall numbers back yet, but i know our sales at the food court were down almost 2% to last year.

However, typically mall stores sign an initial 5 year lease, and a 2 or 3 year extension. Timberland was a example of the 2 year extension, Waldenbooks and Evo 3 years. Leasing did a fairly good job in 2006 at getting tenants, California Pizza Kitchen, EQ3 for a huge space, H&M for a huge space, Apple, etc.

It concerns me, and urban is right, there has been a lot of turnover in a short period, but i havent heard too much rumblings from other managers about their stores performance or anything, people still struggle in this area with the idea that downtown Norfolk is a safe place to go, especially the 35 - 49 demographic. It's been chipped away, but still has a stigma attached to it.

[vdogg]

Well, with the lion king accounting for some of that anomally it is probably fair to say that sales were flat instead of an overall decline. Still, I hope they can get their act together. A failure of high end there will spell disaster for the region. We'll forever be relegated to dollar trees and Walmarts.

[urbanvb]

Hopefully witih all the high end housing units coming online in DT and surrounding areas things will begin to look up.

[spiker3]

Construction is scheduled to start March 1st on the Barnes and Noble for MacArthur!!!

[vdogg]

Construction is scheduled to start March 1st on the Barnes and Noble for MacArthur!!!

That's a lot quicker than i thought.

[urbanvb]

great news. wonder how long it will take to complete?

[spiker3]

great news. wonder how long it will take to complete?

I was told to expect a late 2007, October - December time frame. But they want to open a satellite store inside the mall to serve as a bookstore for TCC students for the fall 07 semester.

[urbanvb]

just in time for christmas.. hopefully.

[NorfolkerAtHeart]

Is the "Third Anchor" parcel of land definitely the place where the Barnes and Noble is going to be constructed, or was that just strong conjecture by the Pilot? It just seems like such a large opportunity cost to have a B&N Bookstore only partially use that lot and then render the rest of the buildable space unusable for a true third anchor or other development for the mall.

[spiker3]

Is the "Third Anchor" parcel of land definitely the place where the Barnes and Noble is going to be constructed, or was that just strong conjecture by the Pilot? It just seems like such a large opportunity cost to have a B&N Bookstore only partially use that lot and then render the rest of the buildable space unusable for a true third anchor or other development for the mall.

That was conjecture by me, and it's 95% certain to go there. I got official confirmation from the mall GM when we spoke in November, when i talked to him and the head of maintenance yesterday they were a little more flaky, but more, i can neither confirm nor deny. The rest of the building space wouldn't be unusable, should they find a third anchor, they could build around and on top of B&N. However, the likelihood of a third anchor is slim for the near future, so this project will allow the mall to keep the farmers' market, skating rink and other community events at the mall in the 'courtyard' area.

Edited January 25, 2007 by spiker3

[gosscj]

Do you know roughly how much of the space will be used and which parts will remain open? Also, is it true that will be no access from the mall to the bookstore? Considering this Barnes and Noble will only partially fill the space and may be only partially accessible, do you think it will be a good development for that spot?

[hoobo]

Looking at the department store landscape, there doesn't appear to be a company to fill that spot. Macy's is at Military, so unless they close that store, a flagship location at MacArthur would compete with the Military location. Also, such a store would have to be larger than the one at Lynnhaven, which isn't difficult since the Lynnhaven is medium in size when compared to many of west coast Macy's. The three major high-end department stores won't even sniff at HR. Parisian, which was bought by Belk (remember Leggett), is being converted to that nameplate. I think Taubman has given up on finding a third anchor. Instead, like Spiker3 said, they'll use the remaining space as a courtyard/plaza. If B&N takes the space along the parking garage, I can see a Crate&Barrel taking the space along the mall entrance. That would still leave a courtyard area for the farmers' market and skating rink.

[Chesapeake Pirate]

Looking at the department store landscape, there doesn't appear to be a company to fill that spot. Macy's is at Military, so unless they close that store, a flagship location at MacArthur would compete with the Military location. Also, such a store would have to be larger than the one at Lynnhaven, which isn't difficult since the Lynnhaven is medium in size when compared to many of west coast Macy's. The three major high-end department stores won't even sniff at HR. Parisian, which was bought by Belk (remember Leggett), is being converted to that nameplate. I think Taubman has given up on finding a third anchor. Instead, like Spiker3 said, they'll use the remaining space as a courtyard/plaza. If B&N takes the space along the parking garage, I can see a Crate&Barrel taking the space along the mall entrance. That would still leave a courtyard area for the farmers' market and skating rink.

Perhaps there are some lessons to be learned from the experience with the skating rink, which seemed to again be amazingly successful even with unseasonably warm weather. What are the chances of the city acquiring this land and making into a public park? Keep the skating rink for a longer period of time....Thanksgiving to March. Assemble it over top of a water spray park for use the rest of the year. Is there room for a softball field? A volleyball court? A basketball court? A track for joggers? Some playground equipment? What about an old fashioned carousel? If we can't get a third anchor, why not create something that would add to the quality of life for downtown workers, residents, and visitors? It obviously wouldn't be Central Park, but it could become a real asset to downtown.

[carolinaboy]

I agree with Pirate (if I may call you that). I haven't read through ALL the posts in the Norfolk section, but I've read most of them and I don't recall much discussion about public parks in DT Norfolk. It would be nice to see more emphasis on open space. Just my thought.

[Chesapeake Pirate]

I agree with Pirate (if I may call you that). I haven't read through ALL the posts in the Norfolk section, but I've read most of them and I don't recall much discussion about public parks in DT Norfolk. It would be nice to see more emphasis on open space. Just my thought.

There is very limited open space in downtown Norfolk, and I think the city believes that Town Point Park in all it's wonder and glory covers all park needs for downtown. This is probably not the correct thread for this discussion, but our good friend vdogg usually wil come along and get us straight . There is an opportunity with the redevelopment planning beginning for the St. Paul's Quadrant to also incorporate some park area in that section of downtown, but I still think there is a tremendous need for more in downtown proper, if you will

[spiker3]

Do you know roughly how much of the space will be used and which parts will remain open? Also, is it true that will be no access from the mall to the bookstore? Considering this Barnes and Noble will only partially fill the space and may be only partially accessible, do you think it will be a good development for that spot?

28K square feet over two stories is a little small for a new development, so i could see it extending the length of the parking garage, but not all the way to Freemason, but that's just speculation. The last word i heard was there would not be a mall entrance from inside the mall, but would be accessible from the parking garage on levels 1 and 2. To add a mall entrance, the width of the building would have had to increase to over 1/2 the available space, and would result in a wide but shallow store. That may have changed, the last word i had was while negotiations were ongoing, when i see the mall GM again i'll ask him. I'm a tad skeptical as to whether or not it's a good development or not, anything they can add would obviously be a benefit, but as to whether it's the right fit, who knows? I'm surprised some of the places currently in the mall make enough money to make their exorbinant rent (Select Comfort Mattresses, Paulette Joseph, Papyrus, etc) so you never know. But keep in mind this isn't planned to be a 'full' B&N. It's primary focus will be academics, serving as a bookstore. If that's their goal, having the easist access from the street towards TCC would be ideal, and it should work, but we'll see how it goes. Any updates i'll obviously pass along.

As far as Macy's goes, that idea went out the window when they purchased Hecht's. When there were no Macy's in the area, the idea of having one at MacArthur would be the same as Nordstroms, the only one in the area, exclusive, etc, and there were some preliminary talks a few years ago about them. MacArthur wouldn't want 'just another' anchor if they did find one, they'd want an exclusive to this market, Parisian, Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor, etc, not a store that has X amount of hampton roads locations. Had Macy's not replaced Hecht's throughout the area, there would have been a better chance (not a good one, just a better one) at opening a Macy's.

[vdogg]

There is very limited open space in downtown Norfolk, and I think the city believes that Town Point Park in all it's wonder and glory covers all park needs for downtown. This is probably not the correct thread for this discussion, but our good friend vdogg usually wil come along and get us straight . There is an opportunity with the redevelopment planning beginning for the St. Paul's Quadrant to also incorporate some park area in that section of downtown, but I still think there is a tremendous need for more in downtown proper, if you will

You're right, this isn't the right thread but I don't know where to put it so carry on. I was gonna move this to off-topic but it may be deserving of its on thread.