Peninsula Town Center

Peninsula Town Center
Location Hampton, Virginia
Owner Mall Properties, Inc.
No. of stores and services 100+
No. of anchor tenants 4
Total retail floor area 1.1 million square feet
Parking 4,402
No. of floors 1-2(shopping) 3-4(apartments and parking garage)
Website [1]

Peninsula Town Center is an open air mixed-use development located in the Coliseum Central Business improvement district of Hampton, Virginia in the Hampton Roads region. The Town Center is located on the site of the original Coliseum Mall, an enclosed facility constructed in 1973 by Mall Properties Inc. of New York, its first and only owner. At 991,000-square feet (876,000 retail, 115,000 office), Peninsula Town Center is the largest redevelopment project in Hampton's history. Mall Properties has teamed with Steiner + Associates, which developed Easton Town Center in Columbus; Zona Rosa in Kansas City; The Greene Town Center near Dayton; and Bayshore Town Center near Milwaukee to create Peninsula Town Center.

Peninsula Town Center has a mix of department and specialty retailers and restaurants, as well as commercial office and residential space above stores on some buildings. There are also several landscaped parks, plazas and squares and 4,402 parking spaces in surface and structured lots as well as on-street.

Contents

Tenants

Peninsula Town Center features four anchor stores: Macy's, J.C. Penney, Target and Barnes & Noble. Other retail tenants include: Aeropostale, Anthony Vince Nail Spa, Aveda Animare Salon, Bakers, Bath and Body Works, Beach Treats, Bead Haven, Bo Essentials, Build-a-Bear Workshop, Cache, Charming Charlie, Chico's, Claire's, Cream, dELiA*s, Emerson's Cigars, Express, Finish Line, Forever 21, G. Bates, Ltd., GameStop, Green Gates Gifts, Gymboree, H&M, Hollister, Journey's, Justice, Kay Jewelers, Lane Bryant, LensCrafters, Mattress Discounters, Meko's Surf, Skate and More, New York & Company, Olive Ole, Shoe Woo, Sports Clips, Sports Fan, The Limited, Toys R Us Express, Victoria's Secret, Vitamin World and Wink Threading Studio.

Restaurants and entertainment attractions include: Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy; bd’s Mongolian Grill; Bensi Ristorante Italiano; CineBistro, a combination bowling alley, bar and movie theater offering fine dining; Frank Beamer’s American Grill, co-owned by the Virginia Tech football coach of the same name; JoJack’s Espresso Café; Q Barbecue; Five Guys Burgers and Fries; Outback Steakhouse; The Pub; Chipotle; and Vincent’s Gourmet Italian Ice.

Bryant and Stratton College occupies 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2) above Barnes and Noble and in an adjacent office building. Among other office tenants are Coliseum Central Business Improvement District, Regus Office Suites and the Veterans Administration. The Chapman Apartments feature 158 one, two and three bedroom units.

History

Mall Properties, noting that more than a million people live within 20 miles (32 km) of the site of Coliseum Mall at Interstate 64 and Mercury Boulevard in Hampton, decided to redevelop the property rather than abandon the community it had served for more than three decades. The action followed the issuance of a master plan for Coliseum Central that called for a mixed-use project on the site. 2008 data indicated that average household income was over $61,000 and there were more than 100,000 households with incomes over $75,000. It recruited Steiner + Associates, because of their expertise in Town Center projects, to be its partner.

With the exception of Macy’s, the entire Coliseum Mall was demolished in 2008. J.C. Penney reopened in a new location the day its original store closed. Barnes and Noble, Target and the Chapman Apartments followed in 2009. On March 11, 2010, more than 30 new stores opened on the same day, following a ceremony which included a countdown to zero on clocks that had been ticking off the remaining days, hours, minutes and seconds. A former NASA administrator, Ed Kilgore, husband of late Hampton Mayor Ann Kilgore, led the countdown. Project developers Mort Olshan of Mall Properties and Yaromir Steiner of Steiner + Associates delivered remarks and presented Hampton Mayor Molly Ward with a customized piece of artwork by local painter Gail Duke.

More stores and attractions continued to open after March 11, including the CineBistro and Frank Beamer’s American Grill.

Financing

Financing for the project comes from different sources, including the developer and the sale of $92.5-million in 30-year bonds. To repay the bonds, the City levied a special ad valorem real estate tax in the amount of $0.25 per $100 value. In addition, the city diverts all incremental taxes above those collected during a base year as well as 50% of incremental sales tax, 25% of incremental meals tax and 50% of incremental amusement tax. There is also a facility charge transaction fee (.5% fee applied to all retail purchases and fine dining) that is collected by the City Council approved Community Development Authority.

Entertainment

Peninsula Town Center maintains an active calendar of events in Town Square Park, which boasts a stage and jumping fountain. Coliseum Central also uses that space for certain social events. More than 900 persons for instance attended a concert in Town Square sponsored by the Coliseum Central Business Improvement District featuring singer Jerrod Neiman on August 4, 2010. The website for Peninsula Town Center is www.peninsulatowncenter.com.

Community Foundation

Funds collected from on-street parking meters and from tickets issued for parking violations are placed into a fund that is managed by the Peninsula Community Foundation on behalf of the Peninsula Town Center. Proceeds, after management expenses, benefit local charities and a scholarship program.

References

External links