Virginia Center Commons

Virginia Center Commons (VCC) was an enclosed shopping mall located in Glen Allen, Virginia, near the state capital of Richmond. Built in 1991, Simon Property Group owned the mall until 2014 when it was split off to Washington Prime Group. In January 2017, the mall was sold again to Kohan Retail Investment Group.[4]

Virginia Center Commons
LocationGlen Allen, Virginia, United States
Coordinates37°40′33.5″N 77°27′15.3″W
Opening date1991
Closing dateOctober 31, 2022
DeveloperEdward J. DeBartolo Sr./Faison[1]
OwnerVCC Partners LLC
Shamin VCC LLC[2]
No. of stores and services60
No. of anchor tenants5 (all vacant)
Total retail floor area775,000 sq ft (72,000 m2)[3]
No. of floors1
Websiteshopvirginiacentercommons.com

History

When VCC first opened, it siphoned off a significant amount of business from 3 other area malls: Azalea Mall, Fairfield Commons (formerly Eastgate Mall) and Willow Lawn. In the case of Azalea Mall, it took enough business away to relegate that mall to "dead mall" status and Azalea Mall was subsequently closed and demolished. It took the Sears anchor away from Fairfield Commons and sent it almost to the same point. That mall closed in 2015 for redevelopment into a smaller open-air mall. It also took the JCPenney anchor away from Willow Lawn and led Willow Lawn to eventually reposition itself as more of a community shopping center than a regional shopping destination.

In January 2021, demolition began on the former Macy's and Sears anchors to make room for an indoor sportsplex.[5]

The JCPenney building was also acquired in January 2021, and it, alongside the rest of the mall (excluding the American Family Fitness anchor), is planned to be razed and replaced with a mixed-use development anchored by the mentioned sportsplex and a hotel owned by Shamin Hotels.[6][7] The mall closed permanently on October 31, 2022, after remaining tenants had their leases terminated by the mall's licensor in preparation for the redevelopment.[8]

Stores

Among the mall's original anchor stores were Proffitt's and Leggett, a division of Belk. These stores both became Dillard's in 1997 and 1998, respectively. In 2011, Dillard's closed the former Proffitt's store, which became a Burlington Coat Factory, and downgraded the former Leggett to an outlet store before closing it later in 2011.[9] The former Leggett is now occupied by American Family Fitness.

As part of a nationwide closing of 36 stores, Macy's has closed its former Hecht's store at Virginia Center Commons in spring 2016.[10] On November 8, 2018, it was announced that Sears will be closing their location at Virginia Center Commons in early 2019 as part of a plan to close 40 underperforming stores.[11] Virginia Center Commons was sold for $8.3 million in early 2020 to VCC Partners LLC and Shamin VCC LLC.[2]

References
  1. International Directory of Company Histories. St. James's Press. 1993. p. 161. ISBN 9781558623231.
  2. "Commercial real estate highlights". Richmond Times-Dispatch. March 8, 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2014-10-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. SMITH, TAMMIE. "Virginia Center Commons sold for $9 million; new owners know revitalizing the mall will be 'challenging'". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  5. "Demolition begins at Virginia Center Commons for indoor sports facility | NBC12". www.google.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  6. "Demolition signals start of Virginia Center Commons redevelopment". Richmond BizSense. 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  7. Gilligan, Greogry J. "J.C. Penney store at Virginia Center Commons sells for $3 million; apartments planned for the site". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  8. Wilson, Rolynn (2022-09-21). "Virginia Center Commons store owners forced to close due to mall closure". WRIC 8News Richmond. Nexstar Media Group. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  9. Llovio, Louis. "Dillard's closing Virginia Center Commons store". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  10. "Macy's, Inc. Outlines Cost Efficiency Initiatives and Lists Store Locations to Be Closed" (Press release). Cincinnati, Ohio: Macy's, Inc. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2020. Virginia Center Commons, Glen Allen, VA (110,000 square feet; opened in 1993; 81 associates)
  11. Thomas, Lauren; Hirsch, Lauren (November 8, 2018). "Sears to shut 40 more stores early next year". CNBC.
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