DATE: Saturday, November 15, 1997           TAG: 9711150367

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   64 lines

MACARTHUR CENTER: SLOT OPEN FOR 3RD ANCHOR GENERAL MANAGER NAMED, SAYS MALL CAN OPEN WITH 2 MAJOR STORES

Edward Ladd, named Friday as MacArthur Center's general manager, said the new upscale shopping mall in downtown Norfolk may not open with three anchors.

``It's a possibility,'' Ladd said.

The $300 million, three-story shopping mall, scheduled to open March 12, 1999, has already signed Nordstrom and Dillard as anchors. The mall is being developed and will be owned and managed by The Taubman Co.

The issue in signing a third anchor is finding a department store chain that complements Nordstrom and Dillard and the mall's other retailers, Ladd said.

``There are folks out there that would be more than happy to build a store on that pad, but they may not be the right store for us,'' Ladd said.

Other retailers that may be right may not be looking to expand into Hampton Roads in 1999, but may be in 2000 or 2001, he said. ``It's a matter of timing,'' he said.

``I can assure you that it will be complementary to Nordstrom and Dillard's and the rest of the stores,'' Ladd said. ``You have my guarantee on that.''

Ladd called opening a mall without all the anchor slots filled ``typical'' in the industry, but added, ``I appreciate the concern that I hear.''

Ladd is coming from Marley Station, a Taubman mall in Anne Arundel County, Md., where he was general manager as well. When Marley Station opened in 1987, Ladd said, only two of the four anchor slots were filled. Now all four are, he said.

``There's still a good chance that we could have a third anchor, but I'm going to leave it to the professionals,'' said Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim. ``I would not be concerned if we opened without a third anchor.''

The city of Norfolk is chipping in $37 million to build Nordstrom, $50 million for parking garages and about $11 million more for infrastructure improvements around the mall.

Fraim announced Ladd's appointment by Taubman at a meeting of the Downtown 100, a Downtown Norfolk Council initiative to support and retain businesses in the city's center.

Taubman normally names general managers six months before opening. Ladd starts working here in January, 14 months before MacArthur's debut.

``They've done us a great favor by naming a general manager very early in the process. . . ,'' Fraim said. ``It indicates how seriously Taubman takes this center and its development.''

Ladd asked the Downtown 100's volunteers, who are attempting to meet with and survey all the businesses in downtown Norfolk, to reassure those businesses about MacArthur Center.

``As you call on retailers, please be sure to assure them that we are working to make downtown a retail destination,'' Ladd said.

The mall will be an amenity for Norfolk's center, promoting economic development, encouraging longer stays by tourists and providing a fun place to shop for the city's workers, he said.

He compared MacArthur Center to Columbus City Center in Columbus, Ohio, which has helped rejuvenate that city's downtown.

Leasing of the other mall tenants is ongoing, Ladd said. Taubman will begin announcing them a year before the opening, he said.

Besides the anchors, MacArthur Center will boast more than 140 shops, restaurants, a food court and an 18-screen cineplex. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

VICKI CRONIS/The Virginian-Pilot

Edward Ladd

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu