Lynnhaven Mall

History

Lynnhaven mall opened in 1981. The mall was built by Melvin Simon & Associates (now Simon Property Group) of Indianapolis, Indiana, on Lynnhaven Parkway south of Interstate 264 (then State Route 44). The mall originally included six anchor stores: national chains JCPenney and Montgomery Ward, as well as regional chains Rices Nachmans, Thalhimers, Miller & Rhoads and Leggett. Over time, all of the anchors with the exception JCPenney and Montgomery Ward would be changed several times. The first to change was Rices Nachmans, which became Hess's in 1984.

Miller & Rhoads closed in 1990 as part of the chain's bankruptcy, and was converted to Hecht's that year. Hess's closed at Lynnhaven Mall on March 30, 1991, as part of a corporate decision to eliminate smaller and underperforming stores. Its location was then sold to the Limited Brands, who converted the space to several of their brands, including The Limited superstore which opened in early 1992. Thalhimers closed in 1992 as well, and became a second Hecht's location. The two Hecht's stores remained until 1998, when the chain built a new location opposite the former Miller & Rhoads.

Leggett was sold to Belk in 1997; one year later, the store was transferred to Dillard's as part of a mutual exchange. Dillard's also acquired the former Thalhimers, placing its women's departments in one and men's departments in the other. In addition, Lord & Taylor opened a store in 1999 in the original Miller & Rhoads space.

2000s

Montgomery Ward closed in 2001 with the chain's bankruptcy. Simon sold the mall to General Growth Properties of Chicago, Illinois in 2003 for $256.6 million. DSW Shoe Warehouse also opened. Lord & Taylor also closed in early 2005, as part of then-parent company The May Department Stores Company's decision to eliminate thirty-four underperforming locations. The former Lord & Taylor at Lynnhaven Mall has not been replaced with another anchor since its closure. The Montgomery Ward space at the mall was divided among Dick's Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble and Steve & Barry's between 2003-2005. Dillard's expanded the former Thalhimers and moved into it in 2005 so as to vacate the former Leggett/Belk. That space was then demolished and rebuilt into an outdoor plaza called The Inlet anchored by an AMC Theatres complex.

Hecht's, another nameplate of May Company, was converted to Macy's in 2006 when Federated Department Stores (now Macy's, Inc.) acquired the May Company and converted several May nameplates to the Macy's brand. H&M also opened in a portion of the former Hess's space when The Limited moved to a new location, and Steve & Barry's closed on January 30, 2009 with the company's liquidation and became Furniture Mart in 2010. DSW Shoe Warehouse moved out as well, and was replaced by a Forever 21. On April 21, 2009, mall owner General Growth Properties filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection but has promised to honor all GGP gift cards and keep all its operating malls (Lynnhaven Mall among them) open during the proceedings. GGP emerged from bankruptcy 19 months later, and Lynnhaven Mall remained with GGP after restructuring.

On February 16, 2010, Simon Property Group (the original owners of Lynnhaven Mall) announced that it had, on February 8, made a bid to acquire General Growth Properties in a deal worth $10 billion. On May 7, 2010, however, they rescinded their merger bid. Had it gone through, the bid would have returned ownership of Lynnhaven Mall to Simon.

In 2012, Furniture Mart closed and moved elsewhere in the city. In its place, a newcomer to the area, Dave & Busters, opened on July 20, 2013.

At the end of 2013, the mall's carousel, which greeted shoppers at the main entrance for 17 years, was removed to make way for a planned renovation. The renovation, announced in January 2014, will add 29,000 square feet to the mall, including a new ground-level food court and an open atrium. The new food court opened October 27, 2014; the same day, the remaining mezzanine was closed for demolition.

Apple opened a brand new store near Sephora in September 2014, marking the second Apple Store to come to the Hampton Roads area (the first being at MacArthur Center). At the same time as the mezzanine was being dismantled, the old Lord & Taylor anchor, vacant since its closure, was mostly torn down and rebuilt. The space was partitioned into two smaller sections and a public entrance. The public entrance opened in October 2015. L. L. Bean moved into the south half of the rebuilt space and opened on June 10, 2016, and the north half will be taken up by a Maggie McFly's restaurant (the first outside of Connecticut) to be opened in early 2017. With all but one of the connector bridges removed due to the renovations, the upper parking deck was no longer being used effectively, so it was partially demolished from March to June 2016. Only the section in front of JCPenney and its intact bridge remains. The area opened by the demolition has been leveled and reverted to open-air parking and a small man-made pond.