Virginia Center Commons

Virginia Center Commons (VCC) is the Richmond area's third newest mall and the last to be built indoors to date (opened 1991). It is located in northern Henrico County along U.S. Route 1 near the intersection of Interstate 295. VCC is the closest mall to many parts of the Richmond region, such as Mechanicsville, Ashland, and the city of Richmond's North Side. Its anchor stores are J. C. Penney, Burlington Coat Factory, and American Family Fitness, with two vacant anchors last occupied by Sears and Macy's.

Virginia Center Commons
LocationGlen Allen, Virginia, United States
Coordinates37°40′33.5″N 77°27′15.3″W
Opening date1991
DeveloperEdward J. DeBartolo/Faison[1]
OwnerVCC Partners LLC
Shamin VCC LLC[2]
No. of stores and services60
No. of anchor tenants5
Total retail floor area775,000 sq ft (72,000 m2)[3]
No. of floors1
Websiteshopvirginiacentercommons.com

Simon Property Group owned the mall until 2014, when it was split off to Washington Prime Group. In January 2017, the mall was sold again to Kohan Retail Investment Group.[4]

History

When VCC first opened, it siphoned off a significant amount of business from 3 other area malls: Azalea Mall, Fairfield Commons (formerly Eastgate Mall) and Willow Lawn. In the case of Azalea Mall, it took enough business away to relegate that mall to "dead mall" status and Azalea Mall was subsequently closed and demolished. It took the Sears anchor away from Fairfield Commons and sent it almost to the same point. That mall closed in 2015 for redevelopment into a smaller open-air mall. It also took the JC Penney anchor away from Willow Lawn and led Willow Lawn to eventually reposition itself as more of a community shopping center than a regional shopping destination.

Stores

Among the mall's original anchor stores were Proffitt's and Leggett, a division of Belk. These stores both became Dillard's in 1997 and 1998, respectively. In 2011, Dillard's closed the former Proffitt's store, which became a Burlington Coat Factory, and downgraded the former Leggett to an outlet store before closing it later in 2011.[5] The former Leggett is now occupied by American Family Fitness.

As part of a nationwide closing of 36 stores, Macy's has closed its former Hecht's store at Virginia Center Commons in spring 2016.[6] On November 8, 2018, it was announced that Sears will be closing their location at Virginia Center Commons in early 2019 as part of a plan to close 40 underperforming stores.[7] Virginia Center Commons was sold for $8.3 million in early 2020 to VCC Partners LLC and Shamin VCC LLC.[2]

On July 31, 2020, JCPenney put 21 stores up for sale, this one included. [8]

References
  1. International Directory of Company Histories. St. James's Press. 1993. p. 161.
  2. "Commercial real estate highlights". Richmond Times-Dispatch. March 8, 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. http://business.simon.com/mall/leasingsheet/9270_Virginia_Ctr_Commons_610-0030_MO.pdf
  4. SMITH, TAMMIE. "Virginia Center Commons sold for $9 million; new owners know revitalizing the mall will be 'challenging'". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  5. Llovio, Louis. "Dillard's closing Virginia Center Commons store". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  6. "Macy's, Inc. Outlines Cost Efficiency Initiatives and Lists Store Locations to Be Closed" (Press release). Cincinnati, Ohio: Macy's, Inc. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2020. Virginia Center Commons, Glen Allen, VA (110,000 square feet; opened in 1993; 81 associates)
  7. Thomas, Lauren; Hirsch, Lauren (November 8, 2018). "Sears to shut 40 more stores early next year". CNBC.
  8. http://www.jcpenneyportfolio.com/uploads/1/3/2/3/132304625/jcpenney_-_phase_i-surplus_stores_for_sale.pdf
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