THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 19, 1996 TAG: 9609190336
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BATTINTO BATTS JR.
STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 72 lines
A North Carolina investment group has purchased the nearly vacant Tower Mall, with plans to restore the floundering shopping complex as a player in the Hampton Roads retail market.
The redevelopment of Tower Mall would be a major step in Portsmouth's quest to revive its economy and expand its retail and property tax base, city officials say.
Smith Investment Properties, L.C., paid $3 million Monday to purchase the mall from the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, city court records show.
Haywood Whichard, a member of the group, said he and his associates are exploring a number of options for the mall. They include turning the mall into an outlet center similar to the Great American Outlet Mall in Virginia Beach.
``We have explored that, but we have not decided as of yet,'' Whichard said. ``We don't plan to close it down. We are going to try to add new tenants and make it a more viable shopping mall.''
Built in the early 1970s, Tower Mall is located at the intersection of Interstate 264 and Victory Boulevard. The mall, along with the MidCity Shopping Center, once represented Portsmouth's retail hub.
Both shopping areas fell on hard times when the economy soured and unemployment soared. Few people visited Tower Mall, and gradually its tenants either went out of business or relocated. The Montgomery Ward outlet is currently the mall's only major retailer.
``This is sad. It's really, really sad,'' Pearl Small, a shopper at Tower Mall, said Wednesday.
Small, 65, has lived in Portsmouth for nearly 40 years and has observed the demise of the mall. ``We don't have a mall in Portsmouth. We have to go to Chesapeake to spend our money. Portsmouth doesn't have anything anymore. I don't see anything wrong with Tower Mall. It's a nice mall. Portsmouth needs a drawing card, and this could be it.''
Finding a buyer for Tower Mall that would be committed to making it a viable retail center was a high priority for the city, said Matthew James, Portsmouth's director of economic development.
The restoration of Tower Mall with new tenants would provide hundreds of new jobs, James said.
But that is only the immediate benefit Portsmouth would reap, James said.
Because Tower Mall is located near the interstate, it is seen by motorists traveling in and out of Portsmouth, James said.
The deterioration of the mall, which often looks deserted, with only a few dozen cars in its parking lot, has been a black eye for the city, he said.
A restored Tower Mall would improve the city's image and possibly entice other business, James said.
The mall's location made it attractive to the investment group, which has developed a number of malls throughout North Carolina, Whichard said.
The group's success in getting shoppers to come back to Tower Mall will depend largely on its ability to find a niche, James said.
Tower Mall's absence as a major player in Hampton Roads' retail market has allowed new shopping centers, such as Chesapeake Square Mall and Greenbrier Mall, to absorb customers looking to shop at stores such as Hecht's or Leggett, James said.
That's why it might be advantageous for the group to convert the mall into an outlet center, he said.
``The critical challenge of Tower Mall is identifying the market it wants to pursue,'' James said. ``Growth in the market is conducive to new retail.''
Doris Hargrove said she will be happy with whatever new business the group can attract to the mall. Hargrove, 57, owns Elaine's Hats, a store that has been open in the mall for a year, and says she is struggling to stay in business.
``I'm trying to hang in there if I can,'' she said. ``We need some more stores so I can make some money, baby.'' ILLUSTRATION: VP Map by CNB