Chesapeake Square

Shopping mall in Chesapeake, Virginia

Chesapeake Square

Entrance to Chesapeake Square, June 2012

Location| Chesapeake, Virginia
Coordinates| 36°49′36.3″N 76°24′52.8″W﻿ / ﻿36.826750°N 76.414667°W﻿ / 36.826750; -76.414667
Opening date| 1989
Developer| Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation
Owner| Kotarides Holdings, LLC.
No. of stores and services| 76
No. of anchor tenants| 6 (1 open, 5 vacant)
Total retail floor area| 717,282 square feet (66,637.7 m2)[1]
No. of floors| 1
Parking| 2,000
Website| chesapeakesquare.com

Chesapeake Square is a 717,282 square feet (66,637.7 m2) regional mall in Chesapeake, Virginia, in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The mall has approximately 70 stores, two anchors Cinemark Theatres and Target), several eateries at the mall's food court including 2 restaurants: Big Woody's and Twisted Crab (located at the mall's main entry).

## History

[edit]

The mall opened in October 1989 in former forest and swamp land of the Western Branch section of Chesapeake. Later, the business district grew with two other shopping centers including the adjacent "Chesapeake Center" as well as "The Crossroads at Chesapeake Square" across the street.

The mall was developed by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation. The mall's anchors at the time of its opening in 1989 were JCPenney, Sears, Hess's, and Leggett.

Montgomery Ward opened in 1992. When it closed in 2001, its building was expanded for use by Target.[2]

Hecht's opened as an anchor in 1999. It became Macy's, along with all other Hecht's stores, in 2006.

On July 27, 2009, Dillard's announced that it would close its two Chesapeake Square locations, along with four other undisclosed locations, laying off or transferring 45 employees. In September 2009, the Men's building (originally Leggett until 1996, later Belk until 1998) closed. On September 23, the Women's building, (originally Hess's until 1993, later Proffitt's until 1997), closed as well.

Burlington Coat Factory replaced Dillard's Men's[3] on September 24, 2010.

On November 12, 2010, a Cinemark movie theater moved to the former Dillard's Women/Hess's anchor space.[4] The theater has stadium seating with twelve screens, including an Extreme Digital (XD) auditorium and opened at December 16, 2011.[1] In December 2017, the old Cinemark building was demolished.

Sears announced the closure of its Chesapeake Square store in late 2014.[5]

The mall was previously owned by Simon Property Group, until it spun off numerous properties to Washington Prime Group in 2014.[6] Jones Lang LaSalle owned and managed the property until Virginia Beach-based Kotarides acquired the mall for $12.9 million in February 2018.[7][8]

In September 2015, Macy's was announced to close by early 2016.[9] This left JCPenney as the last original anchor.

In October 2021, it was announced that JCPenney would be leaving the mall by 2022 leaving no original anchors left at the mall.[10]

On December 9, 2022, Pete Kortarides, President of Virginia Beach-based Kortarides Development, said demolition of the former Macy's, JCPenney and Sears buildings could begin the next year and be replaced by unnamed retailers.[citation needed]

In 2023, Burlington Coat Factory closed leaving only Target retail store.[citation needed]

On April 7, 2025, Crews from Norfolk-based RC Demolition began the task of taking down former department store space at the 717,000-square-foot regional mall as part of a major redevelopment effort. Plans call for a grocery store and sporting goods store to anchor new retail development on the sites of the former Burlington Coat Factory, JC.Penney, and Macy's according to a flyer from Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. Expected to complete by Fall of 2026.[11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2011.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. ^ "AML - support.gale". www.accessmylibrary.com. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
3. ^ Shapiro, Carolyn. "Burlington Coat Factory to move into Chesapeake Square". Hamptonroads.com. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
4. ^ Rostami, Marjon. "Coming soon: A new Chesapeake Square movie theater". Hamptonroads.com. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
5. ^ "Chesapeake Square Sears to close in mid-January". Wtkr.com. October 16, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
6. ^ "Wp Glimcher". Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
7. ^ "Virginia Beach-based developer purchases Chesapeake Square Mall". WVEC. February 22, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
8. ^ Squires, Paula C. (February 22, 2018). "Kotarides Holdings acquires Chesapeake Square Mall for $12.9 million". Virginia Business. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
9. ^ "Macy's to close three stores in Hampton Roads". wtkr.com. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
10. ^ "SB360 Event Sales". SB360 Capital Partners, LLC.
11. ^ {{|url=https://www.wavy.com/news/business/stores-to-remain-open-as-demolition-begins-for-chesapeake-square-mall-redevelopment}}

* v
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Hampton Roads shopping

Enclosed - super-regional|

* Greenbrier Mall
* Lynnhaven Mall
* Patrick Henry Mall

Enclosed - local|

* Chesapeake Square
* MacArthur Center
* Southgate Mall

Lifestyle and outdoor|

* City Center at Oyster Point
* JANAF Shopping Center
* Peninsula Town Center
* Virginia Beach Town Center
* Wards Corner

Outlet shopping|

* Norfolk Premium Outlets
* Williamsburg Pottery Factory
* Williamsburg Premium Outlets

Defunct|

* Coliseum Mall
* Mercury Plaza Mall
* Military Circle Mall
* Newmarket North Mall
* Pembroke Mall
* Tower Mall
* Williamsburg Outlet Mall

* v
* t
* e

Shopping malls in Virginia

Hampton Roads|

* Chesapeake Square
* City Center at Oyster Point
* Greenbrier Mall
* JANAF Shopping Center
* Lynnhaven Mall
* MacArthur Center
* Norfolk Premium Outlets
* Patrick Henry Mall
* Peninsula Town Center
* Waterside
* Williamsburg Premium Outlets

Richmond|

* Chesterfield Towne Center
* Regency Square
* Shops at Willow Lawn
* Short Pump Town Center
* Southpark Mall
* Stony Point Fashion Park

Northern Virginia|

* Ballston Quarter
* Central Park
* The Crossing Clarendon
* Dulles Town Center
* Eden Center
* Fair Oaks Mall
* Fairfax Square
* Fashion Centre at Pentagon City
* Leesburg Premium Outlets
* Manassas Mall
* Mosaic District
* One Loudoun
* Potomac Mills
* Reston Town Center
* Seven Corners Shopping Center
* Spotsylvania Towne Centre
* Springfield Town Center
* Tysons Corner Center
* Tysons Galleria
* Village at Leesburg
* Village at Shirlington
* Westpost at National Landing

Elsewhere|

* Apple Blossom Mall
* Charlottesville Fashion Square
* Claypool Hill Mall
* Danville Mall
* Richlands Mall
* River Ridge Mall
* Tanglewood Mall
* Uptown Christiansburg
* Valley Mall
* Valley View Mall

Defunct|

* Bristol Mall
* Cloverleaf Mall
* Coliseum Mall
* Landmark Mall
* Mercury Plaza Mall
* Military Circle Mall
* Newmarket North Mall
* Pembroke Mall
* Skyline Mall
* Staunton Mall
* Tower Mall
* Virginia Center Commons
* Waynesboro Outlet Village
* Williamsburg Outlet Mall

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