VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA —Now that the office space in The Town Center of Virginia Beach is completely occupied, two new buildings are on the drawing board.   Two >Columbus Center, a five-story brick and glass building, will break ground in late 2007, with occupancy expected in mid-2008.   At this point, 60 percent of the building is under negotiation to be pre-leased prior to the start of construction.  It will include 13,577 square feet of first floor retail, and approximately 18,000 square feet of office space on each of the second through the fifth floors for a total of 85,795 square feet of gross leaseable space.  The building will front onto Constitution Drive and Main Street, at one of the gateways into The Town Center.

Also as a result of the successful leasing of office space in The Town Center of Virginia Beach, plans have been advanced for the next tower building on the site of the Virginian-Pilot newspaper’s Virginia Beach Beacon office.   This building will be the twin of the existing Armada Hoffler tower.  It will be a new 20-story, high-rise office tower with occupancy set for early 2010.  The office component of 287,000 square feet over 12 floors will be located above an 800-car parking garage. In addition, there will be 35,000 square feet of retail space to complement the existing tenant mix at The Town Center.  The office tower will provide Class A office space for lease, free covered parking, together with all of the existing amenities of The Town Center of Virginia Beach. The building will be easily accessible from Interstate 264 and will front onto Virginia Beach Boulevard.  This tower will add to the 535,000 square feet of existing, fully occupied office space at the Town Center.

Contributing to the 100 percent occupancy of office space, The Town Center of Virginia Beach welcomed several new tenants in 2006, including Strayer University which leased over 10,000 square feet in the three-story Block 3 office and retail building.  Wyndham Worldwide Operations’ Human Resources department also joined Block 3, while Mass Mutual Financial Group and Prime Mortgage Resources expanded their space in the 11-story One ColumbusCenter.

Two Columbus Center breaks ground in late 2007, bringing additional first floor retail and four stories of office space to The Town Center of Virginia Beach.

The retail environment is also very active in the city’s central business district.   “346” Brooks Brothers, Ann Taylor Loft, Origins, The Royal Chocolate and new fashion stores Blue Taxi and S.T.A.C. are already open and building growth in sales.  Pedestrian traffic is reinforced by the restaurants in The Town Center with such industry leaders as Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, McCormick & Schmick’s, Red Star Tavern, California Pizza Kitchen, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Bravo! Cucina Italiana and Funny Bone Comedy Club and Restaurant.    

All this, in turn, has advanced the plans for Block 9 which is anticipated to have two levels of retail with fashion on the ground floor, entertainment on the second floor and residential or office space above.  The preliminary leasing of that block has started, and initial tenant reaction has been very strong.  As a result of the activity and success of The Town Center, the current retail space is approximately 88 percent leased and occupied.   The Westin Hotel and Residences will add further retail square footage to the development with most of the first floor retail related to the needs of the hotel guests.

On January 12, Armada Hoffler and Divaris Real Estate celebrated the “topping out” of The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center Hotel & Residences.  The previous day, construction crews poured the concrete for the top floor of what is Virginia’s tallest building.  Work has progressed quickly and the building will start welcoming hotel guests in the fall of 2007.  The condominiums are 80 percent sold, and residents can begin moving in by the end of 2007. 

At over 500 feet high, the building is the tallest structure between Philadelphia and Charlotte.  The Westin will have 220 hotel rooms, a spa, a 10,000-square-foot conference center and 119 condos, with a social room for residents on the 37th floor.  The parking garage will have 947 spaces, 212 of which will be owned by the condo residents; the remainder will be offered as free, covered public parking like the rest of the existing city parking garages in The Town Center of Virginia Beach.

Offering unparalleled vistas of the region, The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center Residences has the urbanite in mind, those looking for an upscale lifestyle and true convenience. The 119 luxury condominiums range from 800 to 4,000 square feet in size.

In fall 2007, the curtain will be raised at The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, on the corner of Market and Commerce Streets.  It will be Virginia Beach’s performing arts centerpiece, a professional-quality, first-class facility to celebrate the arts and showcase local, regional, and national performing artists.  The building will feature a state-of-the-art auditorium with 1,200 seats, perfect sight lines, an outdoor performance plaza, and a three-story atrium.  Also in the plaza on this block will be a mixed-use retail and residential building, known as Studio 56.  It will have McCormick & Schmick’s fine seafood restaurant on the first floor, with 56 residential studios topping off the red brick and glass building.  McCormick & Schmick’s will open in late 2007.

“We are thrilled to see The Town Center expanding with such key elements as the Westin Hotel & Residences, Studio 56 lofts, The Sandler Center and additional Class A office and retail space. The area is a hotbed of activity now and these new components will add to the synergy Town Center has created,” says Lou Haddad, president of Armada Hoffler, the joint developers of The Town Center of Virginia Beach.

The development broke ground in 2000 and has since grown to include renown retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Origins, Relax the Back, Sunglass Hut, The Royal Chocolate, Daily Grind Unwind, Stanley Adams Stationers, Coldstone Cremery, and Keagan’s Irish Pub & Restaurant.  Several new retail tenants have been announced and have already or will soon join The Town Center’s 17 city blocks. They include:  Blanc, an eclectic mini-department store, which opened its first store in Block 10 in April.  It carries an array of home furnishings, jewelry, fashion apparel and gifts.  Guadalajara, a Mexican restaurant, is set to open in late Spring in Block 12.  Planet Smoothie opened its Town Center cafe on March 1, serving breakfast, sandwiches, salads and smoothies from its Block 4 location facing Town Center Drive.

 “With each passing year, the project becomes more full and vibrant and is stretching out in all directions.”  Gerald S. Divaris, chairman and CEO of Divaris Real Estate.  The Town Center of Virginia Beach is leased by Divaris Real Estate and managed by Divaris Property Management Corp.

“There really is no other mixed-use project of this scope anywhere in Virginia, outside the Washington D.C. area.” Divaris concluded.

VIRGINIA BEACH Nestled in the southeast corner of the state, Virginia Beach's 350 square miles extend from the Chesapeake Bay down the coast of theAtlantic Ocean to the border of North Carolina. The most populous city in Virginia with 439,000 residents, Virginia Beach also hosts more than 3 million visitors per year. It boasts the nation's fourth highest median household income and has the lowest percentage of people below the poverty level of any large American city.  With 38 miles of ocean and bay beaches, a three-mile long boardwalk, several state parks and wildlife refuges, historical landmarks, lush golf courses, some of the best fishing on the East Coast, whale- and dolphin-watching, fresh local seafood and produce, and a plethora of activities and festivals, it's no wonder Virginia Beach has been ranked one of the "Best Places to Live in America."