Coliseum Mall

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Facts and statistics
Peninsula Town Center (Coliseum Mall)

Management	Steiner and Associates [1]
Owner	Mall Properties Inc.
Total retail floor area	1 Mil. sq.ft. (?)
Footnotes
[2]

Coliseum Mall was a medium size shopping mall located in Hampton, Virginia. It was located in the middle of the peninsula in the "Coliseum Central" commercial district of Hampton, adjacent to the major highway interchange of Interstate 64 and Mercury Boulevard.

1 History
2 Redevelopment
3 Anchors
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

The mall was built in 1973, as a commercial centerpiece of Hampton's Mercury Boulevard-Coliseum Central district and still remains the largest single tax source within the city.^[1] Coliseum opened with three anchors: E. J. Korvette, JCPenney, and Nachman's. The center was the largest and busiest shopping area on the Virginia Peninsula as it opened on October 31, 1973, until Newmarket North Mall opened in 1975 with Sears, Leggett, and Miller & Rhoads which had moved from its original location across the street at the original Newmarket Shopping Center.

Thus, Coliseum Mall was expanded in 1976, thus adding Norfolk-based Smith and Welton and Richmond-based Thalhimers, which had deleted the apostrophe from its prior corporate name, "Thalhimer's".

In 1980 E. J. Korvette declared bankruptcy and closed all its locations. The Coliseum location was left vacant until major tenant Montgomery Ward acquired the space. Ward had moved from the adjacent Mercury Mall which was converted into an open-air shopping center. The company's Auto Center remained at Mercury.

In 1987, The Crown American Corporation and the City of Newport News built and developed the competitive Patrick Henry Mall, and later surrounding "big-box" shopping centers sprouted around the mall during the 1990s. Since then the city's Oyster Point/Patrick Henry district has experienced substantial growth, making commercial retail challenging for the Coliseum Central district of Hampton.

Until the last several years, Coliseum existed, though did not really keep up with changing times. The Ward location closed with that company's closure and became a Burlington Coat Factory. The Nachman's location went through several name changes and ownerships before demolition in 2006, along with Smith & Welton. Thalhimers became Hecht's in 1991 and Macy's in 2006. By this time, the mall had become a notorious hangout for "thugs" and gang members, further driving away Coliseum's chance for survival. This led to the decision to redevelop the property.^[2]

[edit] Redevelopment

According to the Hampton City Council's Coliseum Central Master Plan, most of the current Mall property will be converted to three or four blocks of a new urban setting with 1-2 story buildings of mixed use. The aim is to change the outdated suburban "parking lot desert" into a trendy pedestrian-friendly district of mixed-use and condominium buildings. As of June 2006, JCPenney has begun construction on a new building to replace its original 1973 location. This new location will be at the immediate corner of Coliseum Drive and Cunningham Drive, the site of the former Rices-Nachmans/Hess's/Proffitt's/Dillard's. This plan is one of several similar plans that are being implemented throughout Hampton. [3]

On January 14, 2007, the mall permanently closed its doors to prepare for demolition in late February 2007. Anchor stores Macy's, JCPenney, and Burlington Coat Factory will remain open throughout most of the construction.

Taking its place, The new Peninsula Town Center will be the first step in a revitalization of the entire city core.^[3] Construction of the new open-air shopping center set to finish in April 2009.