Peninsula Town Center is an open air mixed-use development located in the Coliseum Central Business improvement district

Business improvement district

A business improvement district is a defined area within which businesses pay an additional tax or fee in order to fund improvements within the district's boundaries. Grant funds acquired by the city for special programs and/or incentives such as tax abatements can be made available to assist...

 of Hampton, Virginia

Hampton, Virginia

Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...

 in the Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 region. The Town Center is located on the site of the original Coliseum Mall

Coliseum Mall

Coliseum Mall was a medium-size shopping mall located in Hampton, Virginia. It was located in the middle of the peninsula in the "Coliseum Central" commercial district of Hampton, adjacent to the major highway interchange of Interstate 64 and Mercury Boulevard...

, an enclosed facility constructed in 1973 by Mall Properties Inc. of New York, its first and only owner. At 991,000-square feet (876,000 retail, 115,000 office), Peninsula Town Center is the largest redevelopment project in Hampton's history. Mall Properties has teamed with Steiner + Associates, which developed Easton Town Center

Easton Town Center

Easton Town Center is a large mixed-use town center in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It is designed to look like a classic American main street, with public spaces, fountains, a street grid, and metered storefront parking....

 in Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

; Zona Rosa

Zona Rosa (Kansas City)

Zona Rosa is an approximately , mixed-use development located in Kansas City, Platte County, Missouri. The project opened in 2004 and is expected to be expanded by an additional by early 2009...

 in Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

; The Greene Town Center near Dayton

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

; and Bayshore Town Center

Bayshore Town Center

Bayshore Town Center is a shopping mall/mixed use retail complex in Glendale, Wisconsin anchored by Sears, Boston Store, and Kohl's. Originally an outdoor strip mall built in 1954, it was converted into an enclosed mall in 1974...

 near Milwaukee to create Peninsula Town Center.

Peninsula Town Center has a mix of department and specialty retailers and restaurants, as well as commercial office and residential space above stores on some buildings. There are also several landscaped parks, plazas and squares and 4,402 parking spaces in surface and structured lots as well as on-street.

Tenants

Peninsula Town Center features four anchor stores: Macy's, J.C. Penney, Target and Barnes & Noble. Other retail tenants include: Aeropostale, Anthony Vince Nail Spa, Aveda Animare Salon, Bakers, Bath and Body Works, Beach Treats, Bead Haven, Bo Essentials, Build-a-Bear Workshop, Cache, Charming Charlie, Chico's, Claire's, Cream, dELiA*s, Emerson's Cigars, Express, Finish Line, Forever 21, G. Bates, Ltd., GameStop, Green Gates Gifts, Gymboree, H&M, Hollister, Journey's, Justice, Kay Jewelers, Lane Bryant, LensCrafters, Mattress Discounters, Meko's Surf, Skate and More, New York & Company, Olive Ole, Shoe Woo, Sports Clips, Sports Fan, The Limited, Toys R Us Express, Victoria's Secret, Vitamin World and Wink Threading Studio.

Restaurants and entertainment attractions include: Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy; bd’s Mongolian Grill; Bensi Ristorante Italiano; CineBistro, a combination bowling alley, bar and movie theater offering fine dining; Frank Beamer’s American Grill, co-owned by the Virginia Tech football coach of the same name; JoJack’s Espresso Café; Q Barbecue; Five Guys Burgers and Fries; Outback Steakhouse; The Pub; Chipotle; and Vincent’s Gourmet Italian Ice.

Bryant and Stratton College occupies 90000 square feet (8,361.3 m²) above Barnes and Noble and in an adjacent office building. Among other office tenants are Coliseum Central Business Improvement District, Regus Office Suites and the Veterans Administration. The Chapman Apartments feature 158 one, two and three bedroom units.

History

Mall Properties, noting that more than a million people live within 20 miles (32.2 km) of the site of Coliseum Mall at Interstate 64 and Mercury Boulevard in Hampton, decided to redevelop the property rather than abandon the community it had served for more than three decades. The action followed the issuance of a master plan for Coliseum Central that called for a mixed-use project on the site. 2008 data indicated that average household income was over $61,000 and there were more than 100,000 households with incomes over $75,000. It recruited Steiner + Associates, because of their expertise in Town Center projects, to be its partner.

With the exception of Macy’s, the entire Coliseum Mall was demolished in 2008. J.C. Penney reopened in a new location the day its original store closed. Barnes and Noble, Target and the Chapman Apartments followed in 2009. On March 11, 2010, more than 30 new stores opened on the same day, following a ceremony which included a countdown to zero on clocks that had been ticking off the remaining days, hours, minutes and seconds. A former NASA administrator, Ed Kilgore, husband of late Hampton Mayor Ann Kilgore, led the countdown. Project developers Mort Olshan of Mall Properties and Yaromir Steiner of Steiner + Associates delivered remarks and presented Hampton Mayor Molly Ward with a customized piece of artwork by local painter Gail Duke.

More stores and attractions continued to open after March 11, including the CineBistro and Frank Beamer’s American Grill.

Financing

Financing for the project comes from different sources, including the developer and the sale of $92.5-million in 30-year bonds. To repay the bonds, the City levied a special ad valorem real estate tax in the amount of $0.25 per $100 value. In addition, the city diverts all incremental taxes above those collected during a base year as well as 50% of incremental sales tax, 25% of incremental meals tax and 50% of incremental amusement tax. There is also a facility charge transaction fee (.5% fee applied to all retail purchases and fine dining) that is collected by the City Council approved Community Development Authority.

Entertainment

Peninsula Town Center maintains an active calendar of events in Town Square Park, which boasts a stage and jumping fountain. Coliseum Central also uses that space for certain social events. More than 900 persons for instance attended a concert in Town Square sponsored by the Coliseum Central Business Improvement District featuring singer Jerrod Neiman on August 4, 2010. The website for Peninsula Town Center is www.peninsulatowncenter.com.

Community Foundation

Funds collected from on-street parking meters and from tickets issued for parking violations are placed into a fund that is managed by the Peninsula Community Foundation on behalf of the Peninsula Town Center. Proceeds, after management expenses, benefit local charities and a scholarship program.

External links

• Peninsula Town Center