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The first phase of
development of The Marquis in Williamsburg opens with 500,000 square feet
of retail
anchored by Kohl's, JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy and Target.
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Virginia Peninsula Remains a Dynamic Market
NEWPORT
NEWS, VIRGINIA -- The Virginia
Peninsula market has grown significantly over the past several years.
Developments, ranging from shopping centers to office parks to industrial
warehouses/distribution centers, have sprung up across the region, which
encompasses Williamsburg/James City County, Gloucester, York County, Newport News and Hampton. The area continues to
be a popular choice among businesses choosing to locate in Southeast Virginia, though overall new growth has
slowed slightly from previous years.
“The state of the Virginia Peninsula commercial real
estate market is fairly stable,” says Karen Beale, principal with the Virginia Peninsula office of Divaris
Real Estate, Inc. (DRE).
On the retail side, developers are
continuing with the development of new shopping centers and mixed-use
projects, though at a slightly slower pace. The current retail vacancy rate
in the Oyster Point/Patrick Henry/Kiln Creek Corridor of Newport News is
approximately four percent, Williamsburg is estimated at nine
percent, though it is approximately six percent in York County and eight percent
in the Coliseum Central section of the city of Hampton.
DRE leases and manages a number of retail projects throughout the Virginia Peninsula. These include the
Newport Marketplace on Jefferson Avenue in Newport News and Victory Center in
York County, Festival Marketplace in Williamsburg, and mixed-use projects,
The Marquis in Williamsburg the Peninsula Town Center in the Coliseum Central
district of Hampton and new Jefferson Avenue projects.
In terms of office and industrial,
there are a number of large companies that have chosen the Virginia Peninsula to locate their
businesses. Some of these include Northrop Grumman/Newport News Shipbuilding,
Ferguson Enterprises, Riverside Health System, Canon of Virginia and
Anheuser-Busch.
“Office development has paced
steadily with demand, especially in the Oyster Point area of Newport News and in New Town in Williamsburg, where new office
properties have been leased primarily by the existing tenant base,”
says Beale.
“Suites vacated in older
properties have been filled by tenants seeking expansion space and/or more
cost-effective locations in which to operate their businesses. Strong demand
for quality medical space in easily-accessible locations has continued in the
last year,” Beale states.
At the moment, DRE is currently
managing and/or leasing Technology Center, The Atrium, Rock
Landing II, IV, V and The SunTrust Building in Oyster Point, Harbour Center in downtown Hampton, Endeavor Center in James City County, Hampton’s Peninsula Town Center and The Marquis in
Williamsburg. Recent leases that the
DRE Peninsula office has handled
in Newport
News
and Williamsburg include 25,638 square
feet for Newport
News
Schools, 17,500 square
feet for Dylla Manufacturing, 2,880
square feet for the Riverside Health System and 6,215 square feet for
Ritchie-Curbow Construction Co.
Currently, office vacancy rates on the
Peninsula range from approximately nine
percent to 12 percent. “The rates are approximately 11 percent in
Oyster Point, 12 percent in Hampton and more than eight
percent in Williamsburg. The rise in vacancy
rates from 2006 to 2007 is largely due to a number of new buildings recently
delivered and space that has been returned to the market, such as 100,000
square feet vacated by Symantec in Oyster Point,” says Beale.
“Vacancies are also higher in the downtown districts of Newport News and Hampton.”
The Virginia Peninsula is expected to
continue its steady growth in the coming years and DRE plans to be a part of
that growth. “Divaris Real Estate’s Peninsula office currently
leases and manages 1.27 million square feet of retail, office and industrial
space, most heavily concentrated in Oyster Point of Newport News, Williamsburg,
downtown Hampton, Coliseum Central, and just over the James River Bridge in
Smithfield.” says Beale.
Divaris Real Estate, Inc.
One
Columbus Center, Suite 700
Virginia
Beach, VA 23462
TEL:
757.497.2113 FAX: 757.497.1338
info@divaris.com
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