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Virginia Beach Stores, Retail, and Restaurants


vdogg

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I know the city needs to make sure the property is zoned for urban development but what is the city planning on doing with a huge lot just for light rail?! I mean a light rail station doesn't need that much room.. Unless it's gonna be light grand central station or something lol

You have to look at the big picture on this, the city only needs a platform for light rail...they could build an indoor train stop as well, which would still have a relatively small footprint. Now if a developer wished to work with the city and wanted to turn that lot into a commercial mixed use development of some kind the city could let the developer lease the land for the building, thus the city would make money from the property without having to pay for the upkeep to the building.

the moral of the story, owning land is much more important than owning a building. Which with that, if the city has the chance to buy the HQ site, they should...actually, they should of bought that years ago when the town center first started to be planned, but VB always seems to like having the developers tell them what to do rather the other way around.

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the moral of the story, owning land is much more important than owning a building. Which with that, if the city has the chance to buy the HQ site, they should...actually, they should of bought that years ago when the town center first started to be planned, but VB always seems to like having the developers tell them what to do rather the other way around.

I was surprised to find that many franchise operations lease the land and build the building on leased land. Then at the end just scrape it off the earth or leave it, or what have you.

Still looking at spaces myself. It's rough. Everyone has huge dreams of big money, they want more money than they did 2 years ago when things were booming.

Tons of empty stuff. I was looking at a space next to this Boaters World place. It's going out of business. After seeing what people want for the buildings and for the space, I have to agree with something I heard in a documentary. Why are people bothering with these stores and spaces? Costly overhead. Shouldn't they be working on their websites instead? Why sell in Norfolk when you can sell all over the world.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Why are people bothering with these stores and spaces? Costly overhead. Shouldn't they be working on their websites instead? Why sell in Norfolk when you can sell all over the world.

You're right. Let's close down all brick and mortar businesses. And while we're at it, let's do away with all those unecessary construction jobs, sales jobs, cleaning jobs, security jobs, etc. Who needs 'em?

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!!!!!!

New restaurant opening in the Town Center. I was on Columbus passing the Cosmo and the old Johnny Rockets location. I saw news signs and awnings that read "Saffron, Indian Bistro" Sound cool. I love Indian food. I fell in love with it thanks to an Indian friend of mine...and a trip to London a couple years ago. Can't wait. We definately have more room for Indian restaurant competition in this market. :) Nawab and Rajput are about all we have now.

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Town Center is filling in all its emty spaces for shops and businesses. Columbus street is a lot different looking now that the Virginia Pilot, Saffron, and the University of Phoenix are coming in. This is a sign that demand to be at Town Center is definitaly high. Also, at Two Columbus Center, it looks like they are doing something on the left side of the ground floor.

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Town Center is filling in all its emty spaces for shops and businesses. Columbus street is a lot different looking now that the Virginia Pilot, Saffron, and the University of Phoenix are coming in. This is a sign that demand to be at Town Center is definitaly high. Also, at Two Columbus Center, it looks like they are doing something on the left side of the ground floor.

Saffron?

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Town Center is filling in all its emty spaces for shops and businesses. Columbus street is a lot different looking now that the Virginia Pilot, Saffron, and the University of Phoenix are coming in. This is a sign that demand to be at Town Center is definitaly high. Also, at Two Columbus Center, it looks like they are doing something on the left side of the ground floor.

Imagine when the economy is booming again.. Are you all still believing HarryVB's claims of versaci, dolce cabana, microsoft, armani, ect.. coming to Town Center?

Edited by varider
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Imagine when the economy is booming again.. Are you all still believing HarryVB's claims of versaci, dolce cabana, microsoft, armani, ect.. coming to Town Center?

Lets not get carried away here. Those have a much better chance of going to Lynnhaven Mall than they do at TC, if anywhere in the area at all. Remember, Lord and Taylor had a massive dept. store that shut down at Lynnhaven and I think that space has yet to be filled. TC doesn't have the residents to keep those businesses booming in the area yet.

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Lets not get carried away here. Those have a much better chance of going to Lynnhaven Mall than they do at TC, if anywhere in the area at all. Remember, Lord and Taylor had a massive dept. store that shut down at Lynnhaven and I think that space has yet to be filled. TC doesn't have the residents to keep those businesses booming in the area yet.

While TC doesn't have the residents, Va Beach does.. Va Beach is the most populated in the state and a few years back was 4th richest big city in America..

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While TC doesn't have the residents, Va Beach does.. Va Beach is the most populated in the state and a few years back was 4th richest big city in America..

Yes, i realize all of this, but currently the whole retail hub of Va Beach is in Lynnhaven Mall, and therefore most major retailers would go there before TC. When TC gets more wealth and residents in the area, then that may change. I'd love to see TC get something like Abercrombie and Fitch, Express, etc and attract the young mall crowd.

What TC needs is the elimination of the entire Lynnhaven corridor and have all the offices and retail move to TC. That would be revolutionary and visionary planning for the city. Maybe one day.

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Yes, i realize all of this, but currently the whole retail hub of Va Beach is in Lynnhaven Mall, and therefore most major retailers would go there before TC. When TC gets more wealth and residents in the area, then that may change. I'd love to see TC get something like Abercrombie and Fitch, Express, etc and attract the young mall crowd.

What TC needs is the elimination of the entire Lynnhaven corridor and have all the offices and retail move to TC. That would be revolutionary and visionary planning for the city. Maybe one day.

Tear down a major mall (that has almost all their storefronts rented) to move businesses into a downtown district? Unless LM goes bankrupt, that ain't gonna fly.

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Tear down a major mall (that has almost all their storefronts rented) to move businesses into a downtown district? Unless LM goes bankrupt, that ain't gonna fly.

Yes, I realize common sense says that will never happen. Here is my rational in general for what the area should and could do if it were ever possible (again, let me emphasis the fact I think this will never happen for a multitude of reasons). The Lynnhaven corridor including the mall and stores like toys r us and sports authority is a major retail hub for va beach, if not THE retail hub. On top of that, there is a lot of office and industrial space used along the entire parkway. Lynnhaven (besides the oceanfront) is one of the major complaints Oceana has with the area, having high density working and shopping in a flight path. Since Va Beach has show a willingness to keep Oceana at all costs, a logical step would be to slowly move their businesses out of a point of contention, into their one day to be downtown. On top of that, something like Lynnhaven Mall which has all the major retailers would be an ideal replacement OVER TIME for pembroke mall, or at least for an expanding retail base in the Pembroke area is not completely out of line for what the "vision" for a DT va beach is. IF the Lynnhaven corridor were systematically moved to TC, coupled with lightrail, it would garantee the success of a DT Va Beach. All of that being said, I know it's just a dream, but where else better to dream than on an urban development website.

Yes, the OWNERS of lynnhaven mall are bankrupt, but the mall itself I believe and the stores wthin are doing just fine.

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I say leave lynnhaven, tear down pembroke and move the stores into an urban street grid in the current location.

It would be virtually impossible for TC retail to succeed on the scale of Lynnhaven Mall if Lynnhaven were to stil exist. Lynnhaven does too well and is too established as a retail center that Pembroke would not be appealing to retailers. Eventually, Lynnhaven will have to go and TC will have to become the retail hub. It is the eventual progression and maturity of the city to have the retail hub in the downtown area.

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It would be virtually impossible for TC retail to succeed on the scale of Lynnhaven Mall if Lynnhaven were to stil exist. Lynnhaven does too well and is too established as a retail center that Pembroke would not be appealing to retailers. Eventually, Lynnhaven will have to go and TC will have to become the retail hub. It is the eventual progression and maturity of the city to have the retail hub in the downtown area.

A lot can change in a few decades...Lynnhaven Mall will be 40 years old in about 12 years, which is way past the average lifespan of a enclosed mall. Additionally the nation is making a shift away from indoor malls and the suburban style office parks of the 90s and early 21st century...so while Lynnhaven is doing fine now, everything has a lifestyle and one day Lynnhaven will be viewed as second rate and Town Center will be first rate...and that's all the incentive that stores/offices will need to make the move!

Think about how JANAF was viewed in the 60s and 70s.

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Do you guys think the lynnhaven corridor retailers (toys r us, sports authority, dick's, ect.) would be willing to move to Pembroke in an urban, parking garage, on street parking environment??? It would be awesome.
No clue about the others...but I would doubt Dick's would, considering they already have a store open in TC.
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I can't really see that happening. Lynnhaven and Pembroke are far apart enough to support their own retail - think Dicks and Barnes and Noble in their own respective areas. Lynnhaven is running out of land (at least near the mall) so I could see maybe one day they may start building up instead of out.

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