| Location | Short Pump, Virginia, USA |
|---|---|
| Opening date | September 3, 2003 |
| Owner | Forest City Enterprises |
| No. of stores and services | 140 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Website | [1] |
Short Pump Town Center is located in Henrico County, Virginia on Broad Street, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) west of I-64 Exit 178A/B. This area of Henrico County is called The West End and is northwest of Richmond.
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Short Pump Town Center is a two-level, open-air retail center composed of upscale stores. It opened on September 17, 2003 and has over 200 stores. The retail center is owned and operated by Forest City Enterprises. Anchor stores are Dick's Sporting Goods, Dillard's, Macy's, and Nordstrom. Notable stores include Apple, Cache, Aldo, Swarovski, Express, Claire's, Abercrombie & Fitch, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Red Door Spa.
Dining is also very notable in Short Pump Town Center. Dining options include Cheesecake Factory, Tara Thai, Maggiano's Little Italy, California Pizza Kitchen, Lehja, Firebirds, and Baker's Crust. Starbucks, Cold Stone Creamery, and Virginia Shoppe & Diner are also located in the mall. The food court also adds Cajun Cafe, Chick-fil-A, Villa Pizza, Sakura Japanese Restaurant, and Panda Express to the mix.
Surrounding the mall proper, there are several strip malls, other stores, and restaurants within walking or short driving distance. These are located on the Town Center property, however not a part of the mall itself. Notable locations surrounding the Town Center include: Applebees, Barnes & Noble, Chili's, Chipotle, and Red Robin. Locations such as these are listed on the mall's store directory despite not being attached to the mall itself[2].
Following a disagreement with Taubman Centers on a possible mall development project, Stony Point Fashion Park was developed as a direct competitor and opened in 2003 in the same month that Short Pump Town Center opened. It is smaller but of the same upscale style as Short Pump Town Center. The mall was opened on September 17, 2003, one day before Hurricane Isabel made landfall in nearby Outer Banks, NC. Both malls were declared a huge success and have drawn major national chains and retailers from around the world. They both have also resulted in the decline of Taubman-owned Regency Square, located south of Short Pump on Parham Road.
Short Pump Mall and the surrounding suburban community has been a severe detriment to development in nearby Richmond. Suburban sprawl and retail outsourcing has made progress difficult in urban revitalization efforts. The area is a center for both traffic and anti pedestrianism in Central Virginia. Furthermore, architects and urban planners alike have questioned the value of the development and whether or not the financial benefits to Henrico county can justify the insensitivity to the surrounding metropolitan area. The transformation of hundreds of acres fo farmland and woodlands into a suburban mecca is seen by many as unfortunate, especially when the infrastructure for heavy retail already exists in downtown Richmond.