MacArthur Center is a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, in the center of the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

metropolitan area. Built by the Taubman Company, the mall is owned by Starwood Capital Group since October 2014. The mall currently features a large

Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an upscale American department store chain with approximately 282 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The ...

which is also a regional flagship.

Mall history

Plans were first announced in June 1994. The original mall was intended to have

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

, who had signed a letter of interest during the early stages of development for the property. The 140-store mall opened on March 12, 1999, with the region's first

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, a ...

department store as well as a Dillards and over 70 new-to-market stores. The mall was notable for having stores that could not be found across the rest of the Hampton Roads Region. Some notable opening day tenants included

Rainforest Cafe Rainforest Cafe is a jungle-themed restaurant chain owned by Landry's, Inc., of Houston. It was founded by Steven Schussler. The first location opened in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, on February 3, 1994. By 1997, the chain ...

, Restoration Hardware,

Abercrombie and Fitch Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American lifestyle retailer that focuses on casual wear. Its headquarters are in New Albany, Ohio. The company operates three other offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids, Hollister Co., and Gilly Hicks. As of Feb ...

, United Colors of Benetton,

Discovery Channel Store Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

, and a Jeepers indoor amusement park. The mall is adjacent to the

General Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

Memorial. The mall currently maintains the East Coast flagship store for

. There are of mall tenant shops and of food and entertainment offerings, including the Regal MacArthur 18 movie theater. The late 2010s saw multiple classic chain anchors retreat from brick and mortar after being challenged by digital retailers in recent years. Multiple shootings that occurred at the mall also lead to the mall decreasing in popularity. In 2019 During a wave of store closures, it was announced Nordstrom would be closing their location at the mall. In 2018 and 2019, J Crew ,Fossil, Yankee Candle, Banana Republic, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Eddie Bauer,

Charlotte Russe A charlotte is a type of bread pudding that can be served hot or cold. It is also referred to as an "icebox cake". Bread, sponge cake, crumbs or biscuits/cookies are used to line a mold, which is then filled with a fruit puree or custard. The b ...

Forever 21 Forever 21 is a multinational fast fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally founded as the store Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984,Forever 21History & Facts, n.d. Retrieved 27 April 2014 ...

, Brighton Collectables, Chicos,

Zales The Zale Corporation is an American jewelry retailer, incorporated in Delaware in 1993. The principal executive offices are located in Coppell, Texas. History The company began in 1924 in Wichita Falls, Texas, when the two Russian-Jewish immig ...

and many other stores announced their closure at the mall following the departure of Nordstrom. In 2019 Gameworks announced it would open a storefront in MacArthur Center the spring of 2020. In March 2020, MacArthur Center closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The mall later reopened for business at 11am on May 21, 2020. Primarily due to impacts the COVID-19 pandemic,

Express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

, Victorias Secret, Talbots,

, Papyrus, Francescas, The Walking Company,

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, J Jill, New York & Company, and others closed at the mall. After Starwood Capital Group defaulted on a $750,000,000 loan for the mall, management was temporarily handed over to JLL until Spinoso Real Estate Group began managing the mall in 2021. In March 2021 the city of Norfolk announced plans to tear down the mall by 2030 to make room for new developments. The mall will continue to operate normally until then. In May of 2021,

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

announced they would be closing their Macarthur Center location leaving the Lynnhaven Mall location as the only store in the Hampton Roads area. Following a shooting in April 2022, Texas De Brazil closed its location at the mall. In December of 2022, Barnes & Noble closed at the mall leaving another large anchor space vacant. The Mall currently has around 75 stores and services with space for 140.

MacArthur on Ice

Every winter since 2005, MacArthur Center has operated a

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

rink on the property.

References

External links

{{Shopping malls in Virginia Downtown Norfolk, Virginia Economy of Norfolk, Virginia Shopping malls in Virginia Buildings and structures in Norfolk, Virginia Tourist attractions in Norfolk, Virginia Shopping malls established in 1999 1999 establishments in Virginia