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By Jaedda Armstrong
VIRGINIA BEACH
In between a tailor's shop and a bus station advertising service to New York, two For Lease signs hang near vacant suites. One of the suites has been vacant for nearly a year, said Karen Stephens, property manager for Newtown Shoppes.
Along Newtown Road at Virginia Beach Boulevard, Stephens' property, a strip center with outdated signs and a dingy facade, stands out. Stephens said a sluggish economy has something to do with the vacancies, but admits the plaza needs sprucing up.
Virginia Beach city officials want to help retail property owners and managers like Stephens give their buildings makeovers.
"A lot of commercial retail centers are older and have lost their polish," Councilwoman Rosemary Wilson said. "It's not good for our city, retail businesses or property owners."
Last year, Wilson and Councilman Glenn Davis initiated the Retail Center Revitalization Strategic Plan. The idea, Wilson said, is to give tax abatements and improvement grants to shopping center owners to spur renovations.
Warren Harris, the city's economic development director, asked the council last month for $150,000 to help property owners paint, replace awnings and landscape.
According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, the average life of most shopping centers is 27 years old, Harris said. He said the average age of the more than 200 retail centers in Virginia Beach is 26.
Rebranding properties and going upscale could be a solution, he suggested. As an example, he mentioned how Hampton's enclosed Coliseum Mall was recently redeveloped into an outdoor town center.
Mayor Will Sessoms said he couldn't think of anything "more derailing than to see shopping areas falling apart."
"I'm not sure if it will work, but it's definitely a start," Susan Milhoan, executive director of Retail Alliance, said of the grants.
Retail Alliance is the sole trade group devoted to retailers in Hampton Roads.
"There are just so many different variables that go into whether retail centers continue to thrive," Milhoan said.
The city's economic development team also plans to look into factors such as parking, retail trends and the neighborhoods near retail centers. If the city manager includes funding for the program in his budget proposal for next fiscal year - which will be presented to the City Council on March 30 - the c ouncil could vote on the program as soon as May.
If the plan is approved, Stephens said she would be first in line.
"I'm sure we could fill some of these vacancies quicker," she said.
Jaedda Armstrong, (757) 222-5846, jaedda.armstrong@ pilotonline.com
View Virginia Beach shopping centers in a larger map
NOTE: Map may not include every shopping center in the city
SOURCE: City of Virginia Beach
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It's bad enough tax payers
It's bad enough tax payers have already been tapped out by the City of Virginia Beach and now they are thinking of doing it again? If these retail stores need a facelift, perhaps they should pay for it when they can, if they can't, then no facelift. Isn't that the way the rest of us are living? If they are that unhappy with business then my advice would be to move to a different location. Their location is the issue, a new sign won't fix that. If politicians refuse to spend money wisely then this economy will never recover.
"DERAIL" good word choice from bankster Sessoms
Mayor Will Sessoms said he couldn't think of anything "more derailing than to see shopping areas falling apart." Well Mr. Sessoms, I think it is obvious that the taxpayers' of VA Beach want to "derail" handouts to the developers of beach strip malls as much as they want to "derail" the monetary developers enhancement called LITE RAIL!
Folks, you need to show up at city council meetings and fight for what is yours, your hard earned money. Remember, it is not theirs to give! It is your money to do with as you please. Also, insist on a referendum on lite rail. Sessoms promised a referendum on his campaign trail ~ and make it binding.
hmmm
what a lovely plague of developer locusts at the Beach
fast becoming the New Atlantic City, how charming
Tone deaf - and pandering to special interests.
Wow - this is beyond the pale. The taxpaying citizens of Virginia Beach are broke and in debt. The city is broke and in debt. The region is broke and has billions in unfunded needs. The state is broke, in debt, and have tens of billions in unfunded needs - and promises to government workers and special interests business groups. The nation is broke and reeling from skyrocketing debt. Western civilation is over leaveraged and there is nothing really in sight to reverse the trend towards insolvency - yet here we have a couple of Nero-like Beach Councilpersons pushing a plan to waste precious tax funds on more vote-buying Corprate Welfare for RETAIL shopping centers no less! Incredible. Just when you thought we scene it all when it comes to irresponsible leadership by the Beach government! Folks, you really missed the boat when you elected Banker Sessoms instead of VBTA Chairman John Moss.
until the last line.....
Darn it Reid, you had me agreeing with everything you said, right up until the last line.... Moss was horrible as a Councilman, even voted against improvements to the worst intersection in his district at the time... I personally think one time in office is enough and not just for John, for ALL OF THEM.
The current Council speaks volumes as to why there should be term limits....
But hey, all of your other points are spot on.....
Agreement is good.
Well Robert, it is good that we agree on so much. I have no problem with our differing views on Mr. Moss. Unless you have the opportunity to get to know him as well as I have I can understand why others might not support him as much as I do. But having worked with him as a Board member of the VBTA I have learned to respect and admire him. In difficult economic times like now our city would be far better served with individuals that share John Moss's understanding of the need for limited government and the critical importance of allowing the free market to work. Taxpayers/residents/citizens are dealing with their own financial challenges - they don't need local government making their situation worse by raising taxes, feews, and tolls - and giving away tax dollars to buy votes from the local business lobby.
Hi Rosemary and Glen!!!
I need a new roof, maybe some replacement siding, and some landscaping around my property that would help beautify the neighborhood. Afterall, what's good for commercial property owners should be good for the folks footing the bill. I estimate my costs to be about $10,000. Just send me a check in the mail so I can get started as soon as possible. That will still leave you about $140K to spend unless there is someone else out there in Virginia Beach that needs to beautify their property. Any takers? Anyone else? Hello?
Ivory Tower Viewpoint
Perhaps Rosemary Wilson and Glen Davis have been sipping Wil "Champagne" Sessoms favorite drink. Bricks and mortar locations are fast becoming a thing of the past. Anyone heard of buying on the Internet? It continues to grow at a healthy pace as people have less and less time to shop.
With the light rail proposal (one to two billion dollars) and a tax abatement program we are close to becoming much more like Norfolk. The social and economic ills of urbanism are widely known and yet these "leaders" seem hell bent on pushing us that way. Look at the Norfolk schools under investigation, a homicide rate of twice the natl average, infrastructure collapsing daily, $100,000,000.00 cost overrun on the train to nowhere, etc. etc. Now I have nothing against Norfolk but until the citizens of VB stand up and demand "New Urbanism" it seems improper to spend our tax dollars to benefit private business owners.
Light Rail Equals Heavy Taxes.
Perhaps you need o read
Perhaps you need o read again, strip malls are the antithesis of New urbanism. Furthermore, Norfolk's downtown is bogged by massive Housing projects that significantly segregate those in poverty, something Virginia Beach has been fortunate to avoid. Norfolk is starting to fix this with the Saint Paul's Quadrant Plan, but it will take time and there is another project right next door. "The social and economic ills of urbanism are widely known" yet suburbanism is much worse. Clearing green plots for retail and housing is a huge carbon release and disrupts the natural environment that was meant to be enjoyed by the homeowners. Thanks to the single access philosophy as well as the segregation of housing and retail, the only way to do anything is by car, resulting in traffic congestion without alternatives as well as marooning children without a ride. Furthermore the value of a suburban community goes down with time, while when one looks at Ghent the value only increases with time. Yes urbanism has problems, but it is not unfixable, like all things it requires active participation to flourish. After all some of the best American cities were planned communities, like Philadelphia or
I was gonna
Pass on commenting here but this is just too much fun to pass up. Not funny, but fun. I really feel for you guys at the Beach. I think that the comments by Joni pretty much says it all. We have our share of council buffoons in Norfolk and I had hoped that things would get better for the people at the Beach, but I was wrong. I think it might be time for some old fashioned picketing and prostesting at city halls for both cities. We elect these people in and all they do is dump on us. Rosemary, give out your OWN money to the strip malls and spend the tax payers money wisely OR give it back!