THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 25, 1996 TAG: 9601250407
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
To symbolize that he had reached the top of his profession, Gen. Douglas C. MacArthur wore five stars.
To symbolize that the MacArthur Center mall will be a ``five-star shopping experience,'' at noon Friday a crane will pull five 6-foot-tall golden stars out of a gigantic wooden birthday cake while fireworks explode from inside it.
The stars, crane and fireworks are to be the high note of Friday's hoopla to celebrate the symbolic groundbreaking for the $300 million mall, which city officials say will lift shopping in Hampton Roads to a new level.
Friday is a particularly appropriate day, officials said, because it will be the 116th anniversary of the general's birth.
No dirt will be scooped Friday on the 20-acre site between City Hall Avenue and Scope. Instead of shoveling, dignitaries will pound five stars into the ground with mallets, just before the fireworks are ignited.
The symbolic start of construction on the mall is the beginning of the fulfillment of a dream to transform the vacant land and make it once again Norfolk's hub.
The city has been trying for roughly three decades to develop the site, which was cleared during urban renewal in the 1950s. Robert B. Smithwick, Norfolk's economic development director, has worked on the mall project for at least five years. He will serve as master of ceremonies Friday.
The start of construction has not been set. It could be weeks or months away, say city officials, because the design of the mall is being finalized.
The new mall, scheduled to open in the spring of 1998, will feature Nordstrom and Dillard's, two luxury department stores. A third anchor store is being sought. There also will be more than a hundred specialty shops.
The mall originally was to open this year. The date was pushed back after Macy's department store, the original second anchor, dropped out last year.
The groundbreaking festivities will start in the early morning and continue all day. All events are open to the public.
The day will begin at 6 a.m., as WWDE with Dick Lamb broadcasts live from the site. Guests will include Mayor Paul Fraim and Col. William Davis, director of the MacArthur Memorial.
The city has invited many officials and dignitaries, including Rep. Owen B. Pickett. The federal government is lending Norfolk $33 million for the project, and Pickett's presence will symbolize the federal government's involvement, city officials said.
Hungry downtowners should take note that the city will serve free cake, coffee and hot chocolate at the site all day, even handing out food to people in cars. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
MACARTHUR CENTER
GROUNDBREAKING FESTIVITIES
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB