The abandoned J.C. Penney was thoroughly renovated in 2016-2017. It now housed offices for Optima Health and Movement Mortgage.
Photo from https://wparch.com / Work Plan Architects
The final trademark used to promote MILITARY CIRCLE MALL.
Graphic from https://shopatmilitarycircle.com
MILITARY CIRCLE MALL TENANTS 2022:
MOVEMENT MORTGAGE (Lower Level) / OPTIMA HEALTH (Upper Level) / #1 Space performing arts venue / 160 Driving Academy / 3rd Rock Sunblock / African Art Bookstore / Alien Art Gallery / All About Children / American Legion Post 37 / Ashanti’s Hair Salon / Bank of America (outparcel) / Big K’s Famous Hotdogs / Boss Doll Fashion ladies' wear / Bronx Jewelers / Cell Fashion / Connie's Boutique / Crown Jewelers / Design 4 You / Direct Motorsport / DTLR shoes, apparel & accessories / Early Excellence learning center / Easy Works Boxing & Fitness / Eyebrow Center / Fashion Feet / Firestone Tire & Auto (outparcel) / For The People Music Studio / Genghis Khan Mongolian BBQ (outparcel) / Gold & Diamonds / Gold & Silver Time / Hardee's hamburgers (outparcel) / Intrigue Jewelers / James Stuff electronics & home appliances / Jewelry Box / Jimmy Jazz apparel / Just 4-U Jewelry / Kings Fashion men's wear / Kut Up Barbershop / L.I.P.S. Beauty Bar & Supply / Lady's Fingers Massage / Light Sword Martial Arts / Limited Edition / McDonald's hamburgers (outparcel) / Made in Norfolk apparel / Military Circle Mall Shoe Repair / Military Circle Watch & Jewelry Repair / Military Circle Mart convenience store / Mosaic Steel Orchestra / New York Jewelers / Official Livin Legendz / Palidori / Paparazzi Photography & Marketing Agency / Paradyce's Treasure Chest jewelry & accessories / Paris Jewelers / Perfume Corner / Pink Pearls Dance Company / Pink Plug Boutique / Pure Heart Art Studio / Rainbow ladies' wear / Ross Dress For Less / Sake Japan / Salon 10 / Shay’s Beauty Institute / Shingmar Formal Dresses / Soul of the Sea seafood restaurant / Special Moments Portrait Studio / Swagath Plaza Indian Restaurant, Banquet Hall & Grocery (outparcel) / Sykes Health Zone / T.R.A.I.N Academy fitness training / TF Skateboarding / The Big Free Bookstore / The Manhattan apparel / The Pink Roller Indoor Play Yard / The Toy Company / Trophy Care's Furniture & Moving Company / Urban Baby Beginnings / Virginia Mobile Care / Watch Outlet / Zie Spot apparel
We wrap up our MILITARY CIRCLE visit with a 2010s aerial view. The shopping complex closed in January 2023, with the bulk of it being demolished in April.
Photo from www.bing.com
North Military Highway / US 13 and Poplar Hall Drive
Norfolk, Virginia
The second enclosed shopping center in the Hampton Roads region was developed by a joint venture of Norfolk's Harvey L. Lindsay, Junior and Jacksonville, Florida's Morris Alpert. MILITARY CIRCLE MALL was designed by Atlanta's Toombs, Amisano & Wells firm and was built on a 122-acre site, located 3.9 miles east of center city Norfolk. In its original state, the complex encompassed approximately 735,800 leasable square feet.
One of the first operational stores, a 2-level (201,900 square foot) J.C. Penney debuted on January 15, 1970. Also serving as anchors were a 2-level (152,200 square foot) J.B. Hunter and 2-level (119,600 square foot), Norfolk-based Smith & Welton.
Fifty-two stores were officially dedicated on August 6, 1970. These included Jo-Ann Fabrics, Hickory Farms of Ohio, Chess King, Rogis' delicatessen, Shulman's men's wear, Sanfred's ladies' wear, Variety Records, D.P. Paul Jewelers, Orange Tree, Le Petit Cafe, World Bazaar, a Piccadilly Cafeteria, J.G. McCrory 5 & 10 and 14-story (200-room) Sheraton Inn. When fully leased, the mall housed seventy-three tenant spaces.
MILITARY CIRCLE MALL was only 3 years old when a southward expansion got underway. It added a 2-level (167,400 square foot), Danville, Virginia-based Leggett department store and approximately 52,000 square feet of inline store space. The addition was completed in July 1974.
The mall's first motion picture venue, the American Multi-Cinema Circle 6, was located inside the shopping center and was in business by the mid-1970s. The American Multi-Cinema Circle 4, built in the northwest periphery of the mall, showed its first features in 1981. Both venues were eventually promoted as the AMC Circle 10. They had been shuttered by 1998.
Major retail centers in the MILITARY CIRCLE trade area included JANAF (Joint Army-Navy-Air Force) CENTER (1959) {.2 mile north, in Norfolk}, PEMBROKE MALL (1966) {3.7 miles east, in Virginia Beach}, LYNNHAVEN MALL (1981) {7.6 miles southeast, in Virginia Beach}, GREENBRIAR MALL (1982) {5 miles southwest, in Chesapeake}, CHESAPEAKE SQUARE (1989) {11.3 miles southwest, in Chesapeake} and -eventually- MACARTHUR CENTER (1999) {4.3 miles west, in center city Norfolk}.
Anchor rebrandings at MILITARY CIRCLE MALL began with the J.B. Hunter store. It morphed into a Richmond-based Thalhimers in 1976 and Arlington, Virginia-based Hecht's in 1992. Smith & Welton shut down in 1990. The building would sit vacant for nearly 8 years. The Leggett location was rebranded by Charlotte-based Belk on February 13, 1997 and was shuttered on September 20, 1998.
Maryland's Rouse Company acquired MILITARY CIRCLE MALL in January 1986, but eventually sold the complex. Chicago's Urban Retail Properties was operating the facility by the mid-1990s. They embarked on a 12 million dollar renovation in May 1995. This included the installation of an 8-bay Food Court, new flooring and skylights. Victoria's Secret and Elite Child joined the retail roster of over 120 stores and services. The refurbished shopping hub was officially re-dedicated on September 17, 1996.
A second wave of renovation began in 1998. This time around, two vacant anchors would be razed and replaced. The first, Smith & Welton, gave way to a 2-level (128,300 square foot) Sears. Its grand opening was held on July 17, 1999. The abandoned Leggett-Belk on the south end of the mall was razed and replaced by a Cinemark 18 megaplex. It showed first features on March 31, 2000. With all renovations completed, the mall encompassed approximately 864,700 leasable square feet.
New York City's Thor Equities bought MILITARY CIRCLE MALL in September 2002. By August 2004, they had bequeathed a new name; THE GALLERY AT MILITARY CIRCLE. The mall's most recent anchor rebranding took place on February 1, 2006, when a Macy's masthead was installed on the Hecht's store.
Things began to slip soon after. The hospitality tower, operating for some time as the Doubletree Club Hotel, closed "for renovations" in 2009 and never re-opened. Sears permanently closed in March 2012. J.C. Penney shut down in May 2014, leaving only Macy's and the Cinemark 18 as anchors. Macy's was shuttered in March 2016.
Meanwhile, Thor Equities defaulted on their mall loan in April 2015. As a result of the foreclosure, a public auction was scheduled for July 2015. There was no buyer. Ownership was assumed by the lender, who enlisted the Fort Worth-based Woodmont Company to manage the struggling shopping hub. Its name was officially changed back to MILITARY CIRCLE MALL soon after.
In March 2016, it was announced that Virginia Beach-based Movement Mortgage would renovate the ground floor of the vacant J.C. Penney and establish a (90,000 square foot) home office. A second office-type tenant leased space on the upper level. A (45,000 square foot) Optima Health Customer Services Center opened in June 2017. In February 2021, the Cinemark 18 showed its final features.
The bulk of MILITARY CIRCLE MALL was acquired by the Norfolk Department of Economic Development in May 2020. The complex closed for good on January 31, 2023, with its demolition commencing in April. Ross Dress For Less and the Optima Health-Movement Mortgage structures were left standing.
Sources:
The Daily Press (Norfolk, Virginia)
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia)
http://www.galleryatmilitarycircle.com
http://mallmanac.blogspot.com
Rouse Company Annual Report 1993
https://norfolkdevelopment.com
Sources:
The Daily Press (Norfolk, Virginia)
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia)
http://www.galleryatmilitarycircle.com
http://mallmanac.blogspot.com
Rouse Company Annual Report 1993
https://norfolkdevelopment.com
http://www.wavy.com
https://www.mallscenters.com
"Gallery at Military Circle" article on Wikipedia
