Luxurious amenities in a state-of-the-art setting establish netcenter as one of America's Corporate Supercenters.

HAMPTON, VIRGINIA:  Soon to be known as America's corporate supercenter, Hampton, Virginia's netcenter is exceeding all expectations.  By renovating Newmarket Center from its former enclosed retail mall format into a mixed-use office and retail complex, Divaris Real Estate has helped create an office environment with a surplus of amenities.

"netcenter is a unique opportunity for technology and engineering-based companies to have functional floor space while at the same time experiencing maximum productivity in the workplace," says Jonathan Guion, SIOR, director of industrial services and principal of DRE.  "netcenter is a unique product.  It's neither an office building, nor a research and development center, it is a technology center aimed towards the future and Divaris Real Estate is excited to be a part of it." 

With a total of 900,000 square feet, netcenter is the largest office building in Hampton Roads.  netcenter provides an opportunity that can't be found anywhere else in the Hampton Roads area. 

The project, owned by NetCenter Partners, LLC and Hampton Partners, LLC, will be completed in 2002 with the help of developer, Concord Partners, LLC.  Exclusive leasing agent is Divaris Real Estate, Inc.; Divaris Property Management Corp is the property manager.

Jeffery Arnold, a principal in Concord Partners, says "The firm plans to invest $20 million in the renovations of netcenter over a two and a half year period. There is an estimated 380,000 square feet of space to lease, and we have 75,000 square feet already committed, with prospects for an additional 200,000 square feet." netcenter, located at 5200 Mercury Boulevard is situated in the City of Hampton with easy access to Interstates 64 and 664. 

According to Hampton's Department of Economic Development, Hampton provides both new and expanding businesses with several cost-saving programs to help a company get started.  In addition to custom-tailored training programs, a low-interest loan program, and an enterprise zone program, there is also the potential for a technology zone program. 

As part of the enterprise zone, netcenter benefits from incentives such as a competitive leasing structure and a diverse, yet affordable work force. 
"However, because of the magnitude of this project and its predicted success, we are hoping netcenter will become part of a new technology zone also," Guion says. "The City of Hampton is working on making that possible by providing additional, exceptional incentives for potential users."

The two-story workplace environment has the dynamic power of a technologically sophisticated business center with all the comforts and conveniences of an established urban space and an array of informational resources.  netcenter, surrounded by 54 acres, offers a large, flexible open floor plan with 24-hour access, electronic security and a parking field for approximately 4,000 cars.  All netcenter tenants have access to state-of-the-art technology services including, but not limited to:  Fiber Network, Redundant SONET Ring, Wide Area Networking (WAN) solutions for customers with multiple sites, Fractional T-I Internet access, and commercial video cable. 

Plans for netcenter include multiple restaurants, selected convenience stores, a fitness center and a day care facility.  netcenter owners are certain, with such conveniences and amenities, employee retention for its tenants will remain extremely positive. 

Already home to an impressive list of tenants, netcenter appeals to many national tenants as one of the most successful technology buildings in Hampton Roads.  AMSEC, LLC has recently expanded its lease with an additional 28,403 square feet of office space, totaling 83,500 square feet in the Divaris-leased and managed netcenter, joining Sears (237,000 square feet), Verizon (118,000 square feet), Newport News Shipbuilding (6,000 square feet), The City of Hampton (2,400 square feet) and several smaller food and retail establishments.
 

AMSEC, LLC, the first of many netcenter tenants, is expanding its office space to 83,500 square feet.

AMSEC, a full-service supplier to the commercial and Navy maritime industry, was formed in 1999 as a business partnership between Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Newport News Shipbuilding. AMSEC is now a wholly owned subsidiary of SAIC.  Missy Martinovich, of DRE's Newport News, Virginia office, worked with AMSEC and NetCenter Partners, LLC in finalizing the negotiations. 

On the retail front, Foot Locker and Zap! Incorporated leased space within netcenter, as both companies were tenants in the former Newmarket Center.  Foot Locker, established in Industry, California in 1974, pioneered the art of specialty athletic retailing by offering customers a selection of athletic footwear in an array of brand names.  Today, with its netcenter location of 2,800 square feet, Foot Locker has over 2,614 stores worldwide and is a top ranking player in the athletic footwear industry. 

ZAP! Incorporated opened its first location in1989 at Norfolk, Virginia's Military Circle Mall and has since expanded to 15 retail outlets located throughout Virginia, including a 1,155-square-foot space within netcenter.  Offering cutting-edge electronics and maintaining the highest level of customer service, ZAP!'s corporate office in Virginia Beach, Virginia houses its video production, stereo installation, and pager repair facilities as well as an alpha dispatch service.