NORFOLK, Va. — The city of Norfolk is preparing to buy the MacArthur Center.
The city council is holding a meeting Wednesday at 5 p.m. to discuss spending $18 million to buy the property.
According to the city council's docket, the city will spend $12 million in general revenue funds, and $3 million each from the capital improvement fund and the land acquisition fund to make the purchase.
The property was put up for sale in January following years of decline at the mall.
News 3's Leondra Head went downtown to talk to shoppers. Many say they don't visit the mall as much as they use to.
"I can’t recall. Probably years ago. Everything is just declining. Malls are just not what they use to be," Amanda Hughes, a Norfolk resident said.
"Maybe 2 times in the past 3 months," Brittany Boyd, a Norfolk shopper said.
"How often do you go shopping at a mall?" News 3's Leondra Head asked a downtown shopper. "Zero times. I just had this conversation with my neighbors and we all live downtown. We would like to see an open market. No one shops at malls. It’s a dying trend," Lisa Taylor, a downtown shopper said.
He mall first opened in 1999 but was listed for sale in January after struggling to keep tenants.
"I do most of my shopping online," one Norfolk resident said.
"Online shopping is taking over the big box stores," another Norfolk resident said.
Currently there are only three indoor shopping malls that still stand in Hampton Roads including Lynnhaven Mall, Greenbrier Mall, MacArthur Mall and Patrick Henry Mall.
A few have shut down including Military Circle Mall and Pembrooke Mall.
News 3's Leondra Head spoke to Old Dominion University Economist Bob McNab about the future of malls.
"Are you coming home from work and finding packages from Ebay, Amazon and other retailers. If that’s true, then you know exactly why malls are suffering. People would rather shop in their pajamas than go to a mall. Malls are outdated. We are not going to malls like we did in the 1980’s," McNab said.
Some shoppers believe crime and shootings has contributed to the decline.
"It’s not just the mall. Even stores like Walmart, I have a safety concern for because it feels like at any moment, someone could come out with a gun. It’s really scary," Boyd said.
Some residents would like to see the property turned into:
"It would be great for apartments," one Norfolk resident said.
"I think downtown really needs a grocery store," another resident said.
City leaders have not revealed what the plan is for the mall once the city takes it over. But says it will remain a shopping mall for some time.
Stay with News 3 for updates.
