The Virginian-Pilot
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VIRGINIA BEACH
The retailer Target plans to open a store in Pembroke Mall, the oldest indoor mall in South Hampton Roads, in the fall of 2012.
The Pembroke Mall location will be Target's fourth store in Virginia Beach. The mall's attorney told the city's zoning board that the store will open behind the Kohl's store, taking over space occupied by the Regal 8 Cinemas.
"This will be a significant addition to the Pembroke and Town Center region," said R.J. Nutter, who represents Pembroke Enterprises Inc., the mall's owner.
Target will offer the mall's owners a chance to rebuild the Pembroke brand and draw more customers, said Margie Johnson, president of Shop Talk and a national retail consultant.
"This is a tremendous repositioning opportunity," she said.
Pembroke Mall opened in 1965 and once was the trendiest place to shop in the region. Over the years, it has struggled to keep up with newer, more modern malls. For the next fiscal year, the mall, including the Sears parcels, will be valued at about $51 million, a $4 million drop from the current year, according to Virginia Beach real-estate assessor records.
Target's decision indicates how strong that location is for mass retailers. Sears and Kohl's are already there, noted Blount Hunter, a retail and real estate researcher in Norfolk. And Target can attract economically diverse customers without poaching from its other locations in Virginia Beach, he said.
Hunter said he is less convinced that a Target will boost business for the stores inside the mall. Target shoppers go to the retailer knowing what they want to buy, unlike mall customers who go from store to store and comparison shop, he said.
"This is a great move for Target," Hunter said. "I'm not sure it's going to give the mall that new lease on life."
Across Virginia Beach Boulevard in Town Center, a fall opening is planned for the Yard House, an upscale pub, the company's owner said. The move represents the restaurant's expansion into the Virginia market, CEO Harald Herr-mann said.
The Yard House will move into space below the Westin hotel at the corner of Independence Boulevard and Commerce Street.
The California-based restaurant hopes to capitalize on traffic from the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, a nearby movie complex, and the established dining scene at Town Center, Herrmann said.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
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Target
Looks like ground has been broken for the new Target. It will be a nice addition. We certainly don't need a Walmart with Target. I like the earlier post about bulldozing most of the Mall and creating a more upscale pedestrian walkway like Short Pump.
The plans are nice
I've seen the plans and renderings, and they look very modern with a tower feature on the NW corner. It will face Sears/Independence. Target will get their own parcel. No grocery store is going in.
IKEA
I would love to see an IKEA store built on the old Bills Flea Market site. To have that to happen would definitely put the Town Center area on the map.
Bye Bye Kmart
The best retail news I've heard in years. KMart is the worst. Crappy looking store and the poorest customer service from here to Richmond. I'm so happy, I'm going to the KMart web site to leave them a farewell message.
A new Target!
I wish they would put a Target at MacArthur Mall!
Real change
Pembroke Mall should do what Colesium Mall did. Leave the department stores standing and tear down everything else. Then convert it into a pedestrian shop zone sort of like Short Pump Town Center.
Good!
I'm happy to see Target move in there. There isn't a Walmart close by and the K-Mart across the street is terrible. It isn't stocked well. It's very old and always look awful. I can never find what I'm looking for in there. Kohl's has a lot of cheap junk and Sears is over priced. I'd like to see a WalMart move into the empty shopping center at Pembroke Meadows.
Someday
That empty shopping center at Pembroke Meadows is one day going to be the site of a new Lowe's.
Great
Hope this signals the death of that k-mart across the street. Thart has to be the dirtiest most cluttered and unfriendliest store in the chain.
Evidently
You haven't been to the one on Tidewater, next to the new Wal-Mart......It was bad before Wally World, but now it's TOTALLY disgusting. I'm surprised it's still there and open.