CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Tucked away in Chesapeake, business owners at the Stonebridge Shopping Center in Western Branch feel forgotten.
Katherine Johnson, the owner of Family Flooring, said she noticed a lot less traffic near her business, which sits along Portsmouth Blvd, just down the road from Chesapeake Square Mall.
“It is tucked away, it doesn’t just seem that way. It’s kinda non-existent. It’s just sad, cause this is a pretty area. It’s got a lot of potential,” said Johnson. “They need to bring it back up."
That’s the plan.
The mall’s owner, Virginia Beach Development Company, Kotarides, has a new vision for the mall. It wants to bring an ‘Eat and Play’ concept and new retailers.
Kotarides has also submitted a rezoning application to the City of Chesapeake.
PHOTOS: Chesapeake Square Mall/rezoning rendering
The application proposes developing an empty plot of land near Portsmouth Blvd and Jolliff Road.
If approved, The Grove in Western Branch would include 168 acres of residential use.
Mike Gray, a spokesperson for Kotarides, said the developer also wants to build a big warehouse and bring in a brewery to the area.
Tyler Ricardo, a bartender at Tap It Local in Chesapeake said he welcomes the competition.
“I think the better we can make this location do, the better for everyone,” said Ricardo.
Ricardo said he hopes the mall’s redevelopment will lead to a trickle-down effect, bringing business to the shopping centers around it.
Two doors down, William Hoang is the owner of ReAction Nails.
He said the mall is suffering, and his business has felt the impact, too.
“I mean you go in there, it looks like zombieland,” said Hoang.
Above: From 1989, Chesapeake Square Mall opens its doors with much fanfare and hopes of prosperity. Thirty years later, the mall now struggles to keep businesses. Its current owners hope some radical redevelopment can help revitalize the shopping district.
The developer’s goal is to transform the struggling mall into a place people will want to visit for years to come.
But there’s a long process ahead. The first step is filling vacant retail space in the mall and getting the city’s approval on the rezoning application for The Grove.
The city’s planning commission will consider the application in a meeting Wednesday, May 8.
Above: When MacArthur Center opened in Norfolk in 1999, other Hampton Roads malls saw opportunities to thrive and expand. Twenty years later, many of these malls now struggle to bring in business.