Search the Community

Just me thinking out loud here. With apparent declining retail for MacArthur Mall (like a lot of malls), could it be possible to re-purpose most of the mall to act again as a catalyst for downtown growth? keep the structured parking get an urban Target in one of the anchor spaces retrofit the building for better ground floor and street accessible retail for those retailers that can and want to stay retrofit the building with the 15k to 18k multi-purpose arena. retrofit the building to include a new convention center use the vacant anchor lot for a concept like the Starwood proposal/idea 2 light rail stops are in the immediate vicinity (no need to extend light-rail to not served areas) rewards Hilton and other developers who have taken financial risks by locating downtown right in the heart of downtown Norfolk easy access from the interstates Scope can stay as-is (historic/architecturally significant structure) proximity to the waterfront proximity to Granby Street and downtown commercial streets could help spur redevelopment in SPQ located centrally in the region water/sewer/electric/fiber infrastructure probably in place (I figure a mall has to have quite a bit of water/sewer capacity available) proximity to other attractions like Harbor Park, MacArthur Memorial, Nauticus and Battleship Wisconsin, Town Point Park, Scope and Chrysler Hall, Opera House, Chrysler Museum, Zoo, Botanical Garden, etc. (not stuck out somewhere where visitors don't have easy access to these things) would bring a lot of people downtown for hotels, food, shopping, etc. The arena could try to get MEAC, A-10, C-USA, NCAA tournaments What say you?