THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 24, 1996 TAG: 9601240001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: By ROBERT M. STANTON
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
MacArthur Center is one of the most positive economic-development prospects in our region in a long time.
The projected shopping complex will be a $300 million investment creating 3,000 permanent jobs on site. MacArthur Center's annual retail sales will be measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars. More than 30,000 people per day will visit the center.
MacArthur Center's positive economic impact on Hampton Roads will rank with the impact of some of the region's greatest public institutions and private investments. The unique nature of the project, with its primary anchor tenant being Nordstrom, will enrich the urban fabric of our region and push Hampton Roads toward greatness.
I have been in the real-estate business for three decades. My primary focus has been shopping-center development, management and leasing. During this time, my company and I have been involved in 22 regional shopping centers encompassing more than 20 million square feet of retailing space. I have served two terms on the board of trustees of the International Council of Shopping Centers and as chairman of the editorial advisory board of The Dollars & Cents of Shopping Centers, a bible of the industry. I am on the board of the Urban Land Institute, and I recently completed a term as chairman of ULI`s Awards for Excellence jury.
As someone with extensive experience in shopping centers and as president of the nonprofit Greater Norfolk Corp. (dedicated to fostering economic development), I say that MacArthur Center is a very good deal for Norfolk and for Hampton Roads.
The team assembled to create MacArthur Center is without peer. Nordstrom is widely regarded as the best department chain in the United States, if not the world. Likewise, Dillard's is a great company envied by its competitors and coveted by developers as an extremely solvent, top-performing anchor tenant. Finally, The Taubman Co., which will develop, lease and manage MacArthur Center, is one of the most-successful, most-esteemed and financially strong shopping-center developers in America.
Many of the Taubman centers are in urban settings such as downtown Norfolk. The developer's track record in addressing some of the design issues recently raised in connection with MacArthur Center (including how MacArthur Center will help existing downtown merchants prosper) is excellent. Preliminary plans indicate that the dramatic scale of the complex will be softened by attractive entrances, show windows, landscaping and streetscape details that will enhance the downtown area.
MacArthur Center will have a very positive effect on its immediate environs. Suburban malls such as Lynnhaven Mall, Greenbrier Mall and Chesapeake Square were built in what were then ``wide-open spaces.'' One has only to look around them today to see what sort of retail activity was stimulated nearby after the malls were built. While the ripple effect downtown will be somewhat different from what is found in suburban locations, it will be very positive; property values will rise and retailing near the mall will thrive.
One of the exceptional effects that will result from a center with tenants as superb as Nordstrom and Dillard's will be a dramatic expansion of the retail-trade area, which will benefit other Hampton Roads retailers. Shoppers from Williamsburg to Edenton and Nassawadox to Wakefield will make regular visits to Hampton Roads to shop.
Nordstrom and Dillard's will be the primary focus of such trips, but it is hard to imagine that the 30,000 consumers per day expected to visit MacArthur Center will not stop at other malls and attractions in Hampton Roads. MacArthur Center will be a winner all around.
Any project on the scale of the MacArthur Center is likely to draw criticism. Some comments raised are healthy and no doubt will contribute to a better development over the long run. It is my sense that Norfolk's leaders have listened to the citizens over many years and have followed a steady course over several decades to prepare the city and the region for the opportunity MacArthur Center presents. They should be commended and congratulated for being resolute in pursuit of their goal of producing a first-class shopping center for the region. In addition, they should be congratulated for bringing such extraordinary major tenants and a top-notch developer to the scene.
I am excited about what MacArthur Center will do for the entire Hampton Roads community. I look forward eagerly to being among the first shoppers through the doors on opening day! MEMO: Mr. Stanton retired in 1993 from his posts as chairman and chief
executive officer of Goodman Segar Hogan Inc., which, locally,
initiated development of Lynnhaven and Greenbrier malls. He is
currently a self-employed real-estate investor. by CNB