NORFOLK, Va. - Military Circle Mall has been with us for more than five decades.
This December marks the last Christmas the mall will be open.
The Norfolk Mall was once a staple in the city. It will soon be coming to an end when the mall closes at the beginning of January 2023.
Shoppers say they are saddened to see the mall close.
"I feel sad. I’m from New York and moved here 20 years ago. Since then, I’ve been coming to this mall. This is the main mall I come to, I shop and bring my kids here," Antoine Williams, a shopper said.
The mall has been open since 1970. It was once a thriving mall in Norfolk.
Antoine Williams, a regular shopper at Military Circle Mall says it’s an annual tradition for him and his family to visit the mall during the holidays.
Jemele Hills, a manager at a cigar shop near the mall, says he’s not looking forward to the economic impact of the mall closing and how it will impact his business and other small businesses nearby.
"It may effect the business because we need a lot of people to come. When a lot of people come shop at the mall, we have customers come into our shop so it will probably affect the store," Hills said.
He says his business has had a lot of foot traffic so far –and wants to keep the momentum going.
"We opened two months ago. We are new down here," Hills said.
One shopper at the mall tells me his family has been coming to the mall for more than 10 years.
"Just coming to check it out one last time, one last hooraw! It’s been the end of the era for a lot of malls in the area," Zach Guziewizz, a shopper said.
Dr. Chip Filer, Norfolk’s City Manager confirmed in a statement to News 3 in November that the city and Wellness Circle LLC, a group linked to Pharrell, are negotiating deal terms of redeveloping the site of Military Circle Mall.
Filer said this would include bringing an arena, affordable housing and more to the site.
