NORFOLK, Va. — City leaders are looking at ways to "reimagine" Military Circle after it was announced in late 2023 that the city was not moving forward with proposals to build an arena at the site.
Demolition around the site is continuing with the city expected to move forward with demolishing the actual mall later this year.
"All the right components are there," said Sean Washington, the City's Director of Economic Development, who also serves as the Executive Director of the Norfolk Economic Development Authority.
Washington first said three high-profile proposals were being "shelved" at November's city council retreat.
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Norfolk holds off on plans with big names to redevelop Military Circle Mall
News 3 caught up with him earlier this month to talk about potential next steps for the site.
"Just the cost of actually putting in things like the infrastructure, the build of an arena, and even the cost of the parking deck, was more than the city was willing to absorb at that time," he said.
The original idea included lots of office space, which Washington says there's no longer as much demand for.
The city is also now shifting the focus back to Scope Arena in downtown, rather than building an arena here.
"I think it's the right thing to do, looking at, of course, the importance of the public dollar to say, 'What is going to be the maximum return for the site and then what's going to be the highest and best use at this current time?'" said Washington.
That means back to the drawing board, with the city looking at the potential for a wellness theme with the possibility of residential development with things like open space and trails.
"We still think that theme could run very strong in terms of what we do there at Military Circle, so we don't want to lose sight of how we started the journey," he said.
It's now also been about a year since businesses were forced to leave the mall.
News 3 caught up with the owner of Bronx Jewelers, which was in the mall for about 20 years before moving across the street to the Janaf Shopping Center.
"We had a good time over there," Zan Alam told News 3 this week. "I'm still happy because I'm not that far from the mall. We are just across the street, so it's easy for my customers to find me."
