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Peninsula Town Center Progress


PeninsulaKiddo

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Reminds me of that city in the North Pole in Polar Express. Heh.

It does have a "Santas Village" flair to it. :lol: It looks like it's gonna look fairly urban from street level though, which is why this is growing on me so much.

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Peninula Town Center won't cost taxpayers

-- Taxpayers in Hampton won't have to chip in any up front money to help pay for a $207 million deal that would revamp the Coliseum Mall into a mix of stores, restaurants, offices and apartments.

City officials argue that the plan is needed to reverse declining sales at the 33-year-old mall, which is now more than 40 percent vacant, and make it more competitive with flourishing shopping centers on the Peninsula and in South Hampton Roads. "The perception of a mall going dark right in the center of Hampton is not something that we want to happen," said City Manager Jesse Wallace. "The city is not putting any money into this up front. The risk is entirely on the developer."

"It's going to be a destination," said Vice Mayor Joe Spencer. "It's Peninsula-central and Hampton Roads central. It's going to mushroom because of the location."
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What I like about PTC is that it will be a mixed-use development. For now, the design is inward in that it is surrounded by parking. However, owing to its grid pattern, these lots can be developed in the future as the market dictates so that PTC physically connects to the Coliseum and Power Plant.

BTW, how is the Power Plant doing? I know it has a Bass Pro Shop, Lowe's and some restaurants but what kind of restaurants? And is it still chasing after the likes of Hard Rock, ESPN, NASCAR, or Howl at the Moon? I hope that the PTC and Coliseum developments provide the tipping point for the Power Plant.

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  • 4 weeks later...

The site's up now, and looking good! Here are some pictures:

pen_model_4_cropped.jpg

pen_model_8_350.jpg

pen_model_7_350.jpg

pen_model_2_350.jpg

The one thing that really excites me about this development is their parking planning. That's my biggest complaint about Richmond's two new outdoor malls - they are progressively designed and really nice on the inside but surrounded by massive parking lots just like any older mall. Peninsula Town Center, with its two parking garages and streets that you can actually drive and park along inside the mall (!) is a much better, more innovative idea that actually works toward creating a mall that will fit well into potential urban development that might spring up around it.

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I can't wait to see that mall come down, the sooner the better. The old mall goes to show the lack of any architectural design or thought. They are nothing more than gray boxes. This new project will forever change the landscape of that area. Bring on the bulldoziers!

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This is a great improvement over the old mall concept. I hope that you can stay dry when you wander through it, though. That's one thing that impresses me about the Short Pump open mall. You can almost always walk under a covered area if you choose to. Shelter from rain and the hot summer is aomething we always need in this part of the world, and some would be new-urbanists seem to forget that out of their contempt for enclosed malls.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ancient design will place mall in new era

HAMPTON -- The Coliseum Mall is poised for a multimillion-dollar transformation from a large windowless building to a series of apartments, offices, storefronts and spaces for outdoor entertainment and dining.

The first stages of construction are scheduled to begin this summer, though the mall likely won't be razed until next year. The new shopping center -dubbed Peninsula Town Center - is expected to open by the fall of 2008.

The growth of a town center was inevitable, says Yaromir Steiner, Peninsula Town Center's designer. City and town officials want to make better use of limited space. College-aged people, young professionals and retiring baby boomers more and more want to experience a 24/7 downtown environment with entertainment, dining and shopping.

"The mall as we know it was a mistake, a 50-year mistake," Steiner said. "Shopping centers cannot be hundred-acre parking lots with a building in the middle. That is gone, done, finished."

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The site's up now, and looking good! Here are some pictures:

pen_model_4_cropped.jpg

pen_model_8_350.jpg

pen_model_7_350.jpg

pen_model_2_350.jpg

The one thing that really excites me about this development is their parking planning. That's my biggest complaint about Richmond's two new outdoor malls - they are progressively designed and really nice on the inside but surrounded by massive parking lots just like any older mall. Peninsula Town Center, with its two parking garages and streets that you can actually drive and park along inside the mall (!) is a much better, more innovative idea that actually works toward creating a mall that will fit well into potential urban development that might spring up around it.

Very well said! I agree. I have been kinda bored by Hampton, but not anymore. I think this concept is awesome. I'm glad to see that eye-sore Coliseum Mall come down and replaced with this gem. The Peninsula is truely a progressive community. Improvements like these will increase the standard of living while pulling people out of the big box chain stores and into the streets! Bring it on!

By the way, this is a great article. This editor knows what he's talking about! Very thorough analysis of the American shopping experience.

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haha! I knew it! This makes me even more firm in my belief that NN and Hampton should begin the process of sharing services and encourage even greater cooperation. One recommendation is that Hampton trash their PD, they're notoriously ineffective.

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I dont remember where I read it, but a while ago I came across something that said big box retailers were still interested in the Coliseum area. They abandoned the area in the late 90s for the Jefferson Ave corridor, but essential once they remodel the area, the retailers will return. Big boxes arent urban, yet they draw people; and from what the renderings of PTC, they could fit there nicely

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The site's up now, and looking good! Here are some pictures:

pen_model_4_cropped.jpg

pen_model_8_350.jpg

pen_model_7_350.jpg

pen_model_2_350.jpg

The one thing that really excites me about this development is their parking planning. That's my biggest complaint about Richmond's two new outdoor malls - they are progressively designed and really nice on the inside but surrounded by massive parking lots just like any older mall. Peninsula Town Center, with its two parking garages and streets that you can actually drive and park along inside the mall (!) is a much better, more innovative idea that actually works toward creating a mall that will fit well into potential urban development that might spring up around it.

Notice the variety in the urban landscape here- it's just what will work. The public spaces, the tree-lined streets and the fountain-bench area ( very Wi-FI friendly looking).

The craftsmanship of the building in the first picture is great. I would love to see something like that off 64.

I wonder when Hampton is going to do something with the downtown area. I think the view from 64 is stunning with the waterside townhomes, the bridge that extends from Hampton U, the charming skyline and marina. I would like to see something major. Maybe a few canals could be carved out of the land to creat a river-walk San Antonio-like ambiance.

Is this idea over the top?

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  • 3 months later...

Article

Exterior walls of Coliseum Mall will begin to come down a week from Monday as contractors start the first significant demolition in a planned transformation of the decades-old mall.

The changes are part of owner Mall Properties' plan to overhaul the site from a traditional mall design to the "Peninsula Town Center" with outdoor walkways between shops and businesses. Part of the project will be paid for using special taxing districts, approved by Hampton City Council, on the mall site. All work on the site is expected to be completed by spring 2009, mall manager Raymond Tripp said.

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End of an era

At Coliseum Mall on Thursday, Norma Reed peered at the miniature model of the Peninsula Town Center, which will replace the mall that would turn 34 years old in October.

Reed, who has been living in Hampton for 40 years, remembers when the mall opened on Halloween in 1973.

"It was bustling," Reed, 71, said. "Everyone was here. It was beautiful."

In two days, most of the stores that are still open at the mall will close their doors for the last time. Demolition is scheduled to begin in late February, and construction of the Peninsula Town Center is set to finish in April 2009.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hampton looks to windfall from new center

Tearing down Coliseum Mall was not part of the initial renovation plan.

"When we shared our original ideas with retailers, they said it wasn't enough," said Raymond Tripp, the mall's general manager. "Just remodeling wasn't going to get it done, they said."

Today, the former Dillard's department store is gone, and wrecking crews are poised to raze much of what's left of the 1 million- square-foot mall just off of Interstate 64 and Mercury Boulevard, near the Hampton Coliseum.

In its place will rise Peninsula Town Center, a network of streets and buildings featuring residential, office and retail space with a construction price tag of more than $200 million.

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