The Military Circle Mall, Norfolk’s first enclosed suburban shopping mall when it opened 50 years ago, is likely not long for this world.
The city of Norfolk paid $13.4 million in June for the 73 acres that include the mall and a long-vacant DoubleTree hotel tower next door.
On Friday, the city announced that it was seeking a development team to transform, “an underperforming and aging Norfolk landmark into a holistic and vibrant wellness-centered community, anchored by one or more major employers, and enlivened by a mix of live-work-play uses and amenities,” according to the city’s request.
Think more office space, dense multi-family and multi-income housing, shops and public spaces in a walkable, bikeable setting.
That’s what the city wants, and “that’s not a mall,” said Jared Chalk, Norfolk’s economic development director.
“We didn’t acquire a mall in the midst of pandemic to be a mall owner,” he said, adding that retail would not be the primary activity for the corridor.
The area has long been a focus for the city when looking at where it could grow because the centrally-located land sits at a relatively high elevation near two major interstates (64 and 264) in Hampton Roads, not far from high-traffic retailer IKEA and the Norfolk Premium Outlet Mall.
The request for development team applications says there are still hopes to extend the city’s light rail to the Military Circle corridor and eventually to the Norfolk Naval Station linking downtown Norfolk to the base.
Interested master developers and design architects will have to show that they’ve done similar work on large-mixed-use redevelopment projects “that promote community health and wellness, and which have been catalysts for stimulating economic growth and revitalization.”
Chalk described the request as “just the start to a very long process.”
The deadline to apply is Nov. 30. Applicants will be winnowed down to a smaller group by mid-December, and they will be invited to submit specific proposals for the site. The financing and potential ownership structure of the development would come into play then, but the request says applicants must prove they have the finances to be able to buy and develop the property.
The city hopes to pick a development team by Feb. 15, 2021.
Among the requirements the city is seeking: 300,000 to 550,000 square feet of additional office space.
The city’s land surrounds a 15.5-acre parcel owned by Sentara’s MBO Inc. which includes parking and a 200,000-square-foot former J.C. Penney that was converted to office space for the company’s Optima Health division, “which must be cohesively incorporated into the development.”
The city also wants assurances that the developer can create a program to help keep the mall’s tenants in business in Norfolk. Just a little more than half of the mall’s 935,000 square feet is occupied. The city also wants to know a developer will implement its development plans “with a diverse, inclusive development team and diverse equity.”
