Coliseum Mall No Longer a Part of the Virginia Peninsula

A Virginia Peninsula shopping mainstay since 1973 is about to close. Coliseum Mall, which opened on October 31, 1973, will formally shut the doors on most of its merchants Sunday, January 13, 2007. Only the mall's three remaining anchor stores - - Macy's, J.C. Penney, and Burlington Coat Factory - - will remain open for the time being. They are joined by the three free standing restaurants located in front of the mall property - - Steak and Ale, Outback, and Bennigan's. Barnes and Noble, Life Uniforms, and Lee Nails will continue to operate until mid-February. At that time they will also close and disappear along with the more than 100 stores that were once a part of the mall.

The Virginia Peninsula area, once boasted three excellent shopping malls, but will now have only one remaining: Patrick Henry Mall in Newport News. Newmarket Mall, which originally shared popularity with Coliseum Mall, began to fade away in the late 80's and was eventually reconfigured to house businesses. Only one retail merchant remains there: Sears.

Once the Peninsula's largest mall and a popular site for community events throughout the 70's and 80's, Coliseum Mall began losing merchants in the mid-90's. Many stores simply opted not to renew their leases and either moved to other locations or left the Peninsula altogether. Even the few new businesses that located within the mall over the last 10 years did not remain for long. Retail sales dropped from $142 million in 1999 to $112 million in 2004 with an even more alarming decline of only $99 million by 2005. Continuing decline of sales forced community leaders to look at alternative options which eventually led to the decision to give Coliseum a $207 million makeover into what will be called The Peninsula Town Center. The new center is expected to be a busy hub of retail and commercial businesses in a less formal community format.