NORFOLK, Va. — The MacArthur Center mall is set to close for good on Saturday.
The mall, once a regional gem, has sat mostly empty for several years. The remaining tenants have until July 14 to be fully moved out.
Once the mall is empty, the city of Norfolk will begin the next steps toward redevelopment, including pre-demolition planning later this year. Earlier this spring, Norfolk Director of Economic Development Sean Washington told News 3 what that process could look like.
"We're engaging with the engineers and the architects to understand what kind of phased pattern does the mall need to come down," Washington said. "That work as it relates to what we'll call the 'predevelopment' on the demolition side is definitely going to be happening as we get toward the end of the calendar year."
The city says the goal is to replace the aging mall with a mixed-use district that includes housing, hotels, street-level retail and new street connections — all designed to create a more walkable, connected urban core.
Watch previous coverage: MacArthur Center's closure could reshape parking, traffic & economy in Norfolk
Instead of a closed-off retail space, the goal is to open the area up — making it easier for people to move between destinations across downtown.
The plan comes after years of declining foot traffic at the 1.1 million-square-foot mall, which opened in 1999 with more than 100 stores. In recent years, businesses have steadily left, including the Regal Cinemas theater.
Now, the city is looking to start over.
Washington said the redevelopment of MacArthur Center and the broader changes to downtown will take years to fully materialize. But he said the work happening now — from rethinking streets and parking to capitalizing on defense-related growth — is laying the foundation for Norfolk’s next chapter.
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