Waterside (Norfolk, Virginia)

Last updated
The Waterside, viewed from the Waterside Drive pedestrian bridge Waterside Norfolk.jpg
The Waterside, viewed from the Waterside Drive pedestrian bridge

The Waterside, is a festival marketplace on the Elizabeth River in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, opened June 1, 1983. While the Waterside Annex was demolished May 16, 2016, the main portion was renovated and reopened as Waterside District in May 2017. [1]

Contents

Beginning in the late 1970s, mall-developer James W. Rouse and the Rouse Company had conceived the festival marketplace (e.g., Norfolk's Waterside) as an important component to redeveloping a declining downtown, a seminal catalyst to further development. The concept combined to varying degrees major restaurants, specialty retail shops, food courts and nightlife activities.

Like other shopping centers, malls and marketplaces, the Waterside has evolved through numerous business cycles. Originally, Waterside featured mostly restaurants like The Baitshack on the first floor. There were small nautically themed stores as well as an arcade. The balconied second floor featured more niche stores and kiosks. A second phase was added to the complex in the 1980s, while the mid-1990s saw a decline in business, mitigated by the opening of nearby MacArthur Center. In the early-2000s, the upstairs stores were replaced by entertainment venues, such as Jillian's arcade.

The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority purchased the Waterside from its private owner, Enterprise Real Estate Services, in 1999, [1] at the time considered a temporary arrangement. [1] The Waterside delivered approximately $2.2 million in tax revenue in 2007, [1] down $300,000 since 2004. [1] Norfolk subsidized the facility with $1 million in 2008 [1] for studying the next phase of the marketplace's repositioning. [1]

Waterside District

The City of Norfolk and The Cordish Companies broke ground on the new Waterside District in August 2015. The new venue will be in the footprint of the old Waterside and consist of dining and entertainment venues. Its grand opening took place on May 11, 2017. [2]

A critical component of Norfolk's ongoing post-World War II revitalization, the complex connects via a cross-street pedestrian bridge to a parking garage, sits at the foot of the Portsmouth Ferry terminal, and connects via a waterfront promenade to the downtown, the nearby baseball stadium (Harbor Park), naval museum (Nauticus) and waterfront neighborhood of Freemason Harbor.

The venue hosted the traveling SkyStar Wheel from May 19, 2018 until August 19, 2018. [3] [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harborplace</span> Abandoned shopping mall in Baltimore, Maryland

Harborplace is a shopping complex on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney Springs</span> Shopping mall in Florida, U.S.

Disney Springs is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rouse Company</span> American real estate development company

The Rouse Company, founded by Hunter Moss and James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quincy Market</span> Historic landmark in Boston, US

Quincy Market is a historic building near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was constructed between 1824 and 1826 and named in honor of mayor Josiah Quincy, who organized its construction without any tax or debt. The market is a designated National Historic Landmark and a designated Boston Landmark in 1996, significant as one of the largest market complexes built in the United States in the first half of the 19th century. According to the National Park Service, some of Boston's early slave auctions took place near what is now Quincy Market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westmoreland Mall</span> Shopping mall in Pennsylvania, U.S.

Westmoreland Mall is a two-level, enclosed super-regional shopping and casino complex in the municipality of Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh, and owned and operated by CBL Properties. It was completed in 1977 and was extensively renovated and expanded in 1993–1994. The mall features retailers JCPenney, Macy's, and Macy's Home, in addition to Live! Casino Pittsburgh and a future Dick's House of Sport store in the space formerly occupied by Sears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circle Centre Mall</span> Shopping mall in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

Circle Centre Mall is an indoor shopping mall located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Circle Centre Mall was opened to the public on September 8, 1995, and incorporates existing downtown structures such as the former L. S. Ayres flagship store. The mall is anchored by Regal Cinemas and the offices for The Indianapolis Star. The space occupied by former anchor Carson Pirie Scott is vacant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MacArthur Center</span> Shopping mall in Virginia, United States

MacArthur Center is a shopping mall in Norfolk, Virginia, in the center of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inner Harbor, Syracuse</span>

The Inner Harbor is a former industrial quarter of Syracuse, New York, situated at the center of a larger district long colloquially known as Oil City, and since 1989 rebranded as the Lakefront. The waterfront zone was originally considered to be limited to just that area bounded by West Kirkpatrick, Solar, West Bear, and Van Rensselaer streets, but it has been gradually enlarged by the process of familiarity and promotion to include the opposite sides of some of those streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shops at La Cantera</span> Shopping mall in Texas, USA

The Shops at La Cantera is an open-air regional shopping mall located in La Cantera, San Antonio, near the Texas State Highway Loop 1604 and Interstate 10 interchange, on the city's Northwest Side. The initial phase of the project opened on September 16, 2005. The 1,300,000-square-foot (120,000 m2) center sits on a 150-acre (0.61 km2) site in La Cantera, a 1,700-acre (6.9 km2) master-planned resort community developed by USAA Real Estate Company. The anchor stores are Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Dillard's, Macy's, Barnes & Noble, and H&M.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Norfolk, Virginia</span>

The history of Norfolk, Virginia as a modern settlement begins in 1636. The city was named after the English county of Norfolk and was formally incorporated in 1736. The city was burned by orders of the outgoing Virginia governor Lord Dunmore in 1776 during the second year of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), although it was soon rebuilt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Norfolk, Virginia</span> Central Business District

Downtown Norfolk serves as the traditional center of commerce, government, and culture in the Hampton Roads region. Norfolk, Virginia's downtown waterfront shipping and port activities historically played host to numerous and often noxious port and shipping-related uses. With the advent of containerized shipping in the mid-19th century, the shipping uses located on Norfolk's downtown waterfront became obsolete as larger and more modern port facilities opened elsewhere in the region. The vacant piers and cargo warehouses eventually became a blight on downtown and Norfolk's fortunes as a whole. But in the second half of the century, Norfolk had a vibrant retail community in its suburbs; companies like Smith & Welton, High's, Colonial Stores, Goldman's Shoes, Lerner Shops, Hofheimer's, Giant Open Air, Dollar Tree and K & K Toys were regional leaders in their respective fields. Norfolk was also the birthplace of Econo-Travel, now Econo Lodge, one of the nation's first discount motel chains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial Bay Shopping Centre</span> Shopping mall in Auckland, New Zealand

Commercial Bay Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand. It is situated at 11–19 Customs Street West between Lower Albert Street and the Britomart Transport Centre, and opened in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacksonville Landing</span> Shopping and event center in Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Landing was a festival marketplace in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida, at the intersection of Independent Drive and Laura Street, along the Jacksonville Riverwalk. It was built by the Rouse Company for $37.5 million, opened in 1987, and officially closed after the 4th of July festivities in 2019. Demolition began about October 8, 2019. The 126,000 square feet (11,706 m2) center was comparable to New York City's South Street Seaport, Boston's Faneuil Hall, and Miami's Bayside Marketplace, all developed by Rouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Summerlin (shopping center)</span> Shopping mall in Nevada, U.S.

The Downtown Summerlin shopping center or DTS is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment center. It is a part of the greater Downtown Summerlin area, a 400-acre (160 ha) development which lies within the community of Summerlin South on the western outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada. The shopping center contains 1,600,000 square feet (150,000 m2) and is located on 106 acres (43 ha).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Avenues (Kuwait)</span> Largest shopping mall in Kuwait

The Avenues Mall is the largest shopping mall in Kuwait. The mall is located in the Rai area extending from Fifth Ring Road from the south and Al Ghazali Highway from the east. It opened in April 2007, under the patronage of the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah. It was the winner of the ICSC Gold Award, under the Expansion and Design Category in the Middle East & North Africa. With a total area of 1,200,000 m2, it is considered to be one of the largest shopping malls in the world It features 1,400+ stores and parking for 17,000 cars.

Mason Cooke Andrews was a Virginia politician and physician, known for delivering America's first in vitro baby. A president of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society, Andrews also served on the Norfolk City Council for 26 years and was mayor from 1992-1994.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Norfolk, Virginia, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wharf (Washington, D.C.)</span> Mixed-use development in Washington, D.C.

The District Wharf, commonly known simply as The Wharf, is a multi-billion dollar mixed-use development on the Southwest Waterfront in Washington, D.C. It contains the city's historic Maine Avenue Fish Market, hotels, residential buildings, restaurants, shops, parks, piers, docks and marinas, and live music venues. The first phase of The Wharf opened in October 2017 and the second and final phase was completed in October 2022. The neighborhood encompasses 24 acres of land, 50 acres of water, and contain 3.2 million square feet (300,000 m2) of retail, residential, and entertainment space along 1 mile (1.6 km) of the Potomac River shoreline from the Francis Case Memorial Bridge to Fort McNair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SkyStar Wheel</span> Ferris wheel in Fishermans Wharf, San Francisco, California, United States

SkyStar Wheel is a 150-foot tall (45.7 m) 137-foot (41.8 m) diameter traveling observation wheel located in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf since November 13, 2023. It has previously operated in San Francisco's Music Concourse (2020–2023), Cincinnati's The Banks (2018–2020), Louisville's Waterfront Park (2018), and Norfolk (2018).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Norfolk's aging, ailing Waterside confronts a shaky future". Meghan Hoyer, The Virginian-Pilot©, March 29, 2008.
  2. "Norfolk's Waterside District officially opens today". Daily Press. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  3. Townsend, Philip (2018-08-17). "Last chance to ride the SkyStar wheel in Norfolk". 13newsnow.com. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  4. "SkyStar Ferris Wheel grand opening Saturday at Waterside District". 13newsnow.com. 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2024-01-28.

36°50′40″N76°17′29″W / 36.84444°N 76.29139°W / 36.84444; -76.29139