HISTORY

Turn over 24 acres of wooded land at the intersection of two of the MSA's busiest thoroughfares into a $800 million public-private partnership where, ultimately, 24,000 people will live and work.

Gerald Divaris has worked closely with city officials and the Central Business District Association for more than two decades to see this vision come to life. The landmark development in Virginia’s largest city broke ground in the summer of 2000. A team comprising the principals of Armada Hoffler Holding Company and the executives of Divaris Real Estate are developing the project.

The “backbone? infrastructrual improvements, including the fountain plaza and the internal roads, were completed by the City of Virginia Beach as part of phase one.

The Pembroke area has been zoned as Virginia Beach’s Central Business District since 1973. The City later followed up with additional zoning changes, to discourage any incompatible development. The zoning allows for off-site parking, pedestrian walkways, urban-style piazzas, mixed uses and other typical urban center capabilities. The area is looked at as Virginia Beach’s metropolitan center for business, entertainment and cultural activities.

The Town Center’s location is 11 miles from downtown Norfolk, 11 miles from the oceanfront, 7.5 miles from the Chesapeake Bay, and 7.5 miles from Virginia Beach’s Municipal Center. This puts The Town Center equidistant from 85 percent of the region’s population.

The area commands the highest occupancy rates in the region, the greatest sales per square foot and the second largest bank deposit activity in the Commonwealth of Virginia. All of these factors are evidence of the strong demand for this central location that has over 280,000 people currently living within five miles.

SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT

Located on a site bounded by Virginia Beach Boulevard, Constitution Drive, Columbus Street and Independence Boulevard, The Town Center is an urban town center comprising Class-A, high-rise office buildings and high-end retail stores, three hotels, a luxury, high-rise apartment complex and a performing arts center. The project is supported by several multi-level, enclosed parking garages, offering free parking for more than 3,200 vehicles. And to top everything off, the development includes a fountain plaza as its centerpiece, surrounded by restaurants and entertainment facilities.

RESULTS

Now fully into phase IV of construction, 13 of the 17 city blocks are completed. Recongizable from all corners of the region, at 500 feet, The Westin Hotel and Residences at The Town Center of Virginia Beach is the tallest building between Philadelphia and Charlotte, NC. Because of the spectacular views and amenities offered by The Westin, the 119 condos are 80 percent sold. The 232-room Westin also boasts a lobby with a chic, European design, lighting and a water feature below a glass staircase.

The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts raised its curtain in 2007 in The Town Center. It is Virginia Beach’s performing arts centerpiece, a professional-quality, first-class facility that showcases local, regional and international performing artists. The Sandler Center features a state-of-the-art, 1,300-seat auditorium with perfect sight lines, incredible sound and a three-story atrium.

McCormick & Schmick’s seafood restaurant is one of the many best-in-class eateries located within the 17 city blocks of The Town Center. Others include: Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Gordon Biersch Brew Pub, Red Star Tavern, California Pizza Kitchen, Bravo! Cucina Italiana, The Funny Bone Comedy Club and Restaurant, Sonoma Wine Bar and Bistro, Daily Grind Unwind, Cold Stone Creamery, Confetti Gelato & Crepe Cafe, Zushi Japanese Bistro, Guadalajara Mexican restaurant, Saffron Indian Bistro, Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, and Keagan’s Irish Pub and Restaurant.

The restaurants in The Town Center of Virginia Beach reinforce pedestrian traffic to the expanding roster of retail tenants. Retailers Cache’, Origins and Johnston & Murphy are the latest to join the 2 million-square-foot Town Center. Other retailers in the development include: Brooks Brothers, Ann Taylor Loft, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond,Sunglass Hut, Relax the Back, Men’s Wearhouse, f.y.e., The Royal Chocolate, S.T.A.C., Eclectic Design and Florists, Honey Tree Children’s Boutique and Sumatra Salon and Spa. The completed retail space is approximately 88 percent leased and occupied.

As successful as the restaurants and retailers are in the development, perhaps the biggest success story in The Town Center of Virginia Beach is the leasing of Class A office space. The six office buildings, totaling 535,000 square feet, are 100 percent occupied. Phase III construction was sped up to meet market demand and in the fall of 2008, a new brick and glass office building, Two Columbus Center, opens, adding over 100,000 square feet of office and retail space.

The second new building to be added to the existing ten blocks will overlook Fountain Plaza, between The Cosmopolitan Luxury Apartments and The Westin. That building will accommodate retail on the ground floor and a 125-room boutique hotel on seven floors above. Negotiations are being finalized with one of the world’s major international hotel flags that recently launched a new boutique brand. The first floor has been targeted to a national fashion retailer. The building will start construction in late summer 2008, with an expected completion in late fall 2009/early spring 2010.

Also, Phase IV pre-leasing has begun on another 21 stories of Class A office space. Located on Block Two will be a 356,657-square-foot, high-rise tower with 21 floors of offices in two attached, yet distinctive, buildings above a 634-car parking garage. A regional community bank will occupy 50,000 square feet of space. Additionally, there will be 30,758 square feet of retail that will wrap the ground floor..