Vacant furniture store in Virginia Beach; size poses challenge

VIRGINIA BEACH

When Bloom Brothers Furniture closed in August 2007 , the owners of Checkered Flag Motor Car Co. bought the Virginia Beach Boulevard building thinking they would eventually develop the site into a car lot.

The business was even granted a conditional-use permit to allow for the creation of the new business, but three years after buying the property, it still sits empty.

In fact, since Bloom Brothers went out of business, the site has not had a new tenant.

One developer had been working to create an international market at the site and had done some renovations to the property. But, said Fred Kirschbaum, Checkered Flag’s chief financial officer, at the last minute financing for the project fell through, and the plans were abandoned.

“We continue to have it on the market for sale or for lease,” Kirschbaum said. “The good part is we’re starting to see more small business coming back into the market.”

In recent months, Kirschbaum said, he has been fielding an increasing number of calls about the property, but so far the 50,400-square-foot space has proven too large for potential developers.

“They’re more interested in 10,000 to 15,000 square feet . It’s 50,000 square feet, and that’s a big chunk to try to swallow.”

Checkered Flag is using the building as storage for some of the cars it sells. And the business still hasn’t given up on the idea of eventually developing the property, Kirschbaum said.

“We’re trying to look internally for a use for it, but we haven’t found one yet,” but the possible development of the site as a car lot remains, he said. “That’s out there, but we still continue to have it out there for sale or lease.”

Cynthia Whitbred-Spanoulis, with the city’s economic development office, said the property is within the city’s Pembroke Strategic Growth Area, or SGA. It is just one of several designated areas in Virginia Beach that city staff and other groups are studying – looking at things like zoning, land use, parking and transportation patterns.

Mike Barrett, president of Virginia Beach Vision, a group of civic and business leaders, is also providing input to the city on SGAs.

Because road-building is no longer financially supported by the state, Barrett said, there will be little or no new road development that could help existing properties in established areas of Virginia Beach.

“There’s a shift occurring in Virginia Beach away from suburbanization and toward urbanization,” Barrett said. “Since suburban sprawl was dependent upon new roads, businesses now will have to increasingly redevelop and reuse the existing underused and vacant properties in established neighborhoods.”

Recently, said Whitbred-Spanoulis, a property adjacent to the Bloom Brothers underwent a successful redevelopment. Late last year the former Value City Department Store property, which closed in 2008, had significant improvements made to the site. The space is now is home to Restaurant Depot, a food-service wholesaler.

“That was a good re-use,” Whitbred-Spanoulis said. “I hear they’re successful there.”

Another option that has proven successful for property owners is rezoning sites to allow for mixed-use developments, said Karen Lasley, a city zoning administrator. These businesses allow for retail, restaurant, office and residential uses all on one property.

Although the owners of the Bloom Brothers site haven’t approached Lasley yet about changing the zoning on the property, she said it might be a good candidate. Recently, a few city sites have changed to mixed-use properties and have all been successfully developed, she said.

“I think with the economy, there’s more marketing for multifamily dwellings, not retail . I’m seeing that throughout the city where they’re doing more mixed-use.”