So as most of you already know, they are Foreclosing on the Square Mall and shutting it down. From what I've been told, it's almost like a ghost town in there now that they draw closer to closure.

Many memories have been made here, many days with friends and family out shopping or just wasting time in the food court filling up to continue shopping........

Then there's the Yummy Yummy Chicken guy...........oh how yummy yummy that chicken was. And how funny it was watching the two chinese restaurants run back and fourth to eachother doing god knows what.......all while yelling ..."Yummy Yummy Chicken"

Anyway, from the little bit I am over that way (don't like leaving my safe haven of Southampton County all too much, things are just picking up and moving. The Micheals is gone (my mtoher was rather annoyed by that) and so is the old movie theater (literally gone now, but atleast there's the Cinemark....the over priced Cinemark) Somehow Wal-Mart and Sams are still there.

But that leads me onto my next question, what happens to the big stores that are attached to the mall like Target and.....what ever else is left over there? Surely they won't shutter the target store too will they?

Can't say for sure. Sears is gone (due to financial issues), and a few other stores have gone the same way. The main issue is that Simon Property Group, who also owns a mall in my wifes hometown in Wisconsin, charges an asinine amount for rent in their malls, most Simon malls I've seen have dwindled down to nothing and vanished. I've seen a few similar malls where they just left the Big stores in place and blocked off access to the rest of the mall. Who knows what'll eventually happen.

From what I hear they are going to turn it into a area like they have in hampton infront of the target. I want to say it's called Peninsula town center? I'll have to find out and correct this later. But it's supposed to have a bunch of new shops and shit.

I remember going to the orginal theater there when it first opened. I never really cared for the mall. Always full teens and thug type trash.

This is the truth, I'm from an area that has a former Simon Property Group mall.  It's almost as if they are single handedly killing the enclosed shopping mall concept.  Their rental price structure is just piss poor.  Now a different group manages the mall, but the damage may have already been done.  The only primary retailers left are Books A Million, A Theater/bar/grille/ bowling joint, and a Planet Fitness.

Pretty much from the moment Simon took over the mall, it started going downhill. They managed to purge McDonalds and Wendy's from the food court. The rents went sky high and a bunch of other places left, too. Most of the smaller shops closed because they couldn't afford to stay. Sears left, now Macy's. They stupidly brought in a Burlington and tried to bring in some small "ethnic" shops catering to a certain demographic. That started the "white flight" that hadn't been a problem before as the mall had previously had a mix of upper to middle class folks of every type shopping there. Now not so much.

If they close the mall, what will happen to J.C. Penney and Target? Will it be like the Macy's at Peninsula Town Center who wouldn't sell out to let the city put up overpriced condos and expensive retail space? They only had one way in and one way out for the longest time with all the construction going on. They continue to add more retail space over there even though the vacancy rate of the existing space is approaching 40%.

Military Circle mall in Norfolk is going down the same road. Sears pulled out, Macy's came and went, and now the JC Penny's is gone. Add in the "urban" stores and clientele and you have a recipe for a dead mall.

I just hope the "urban" crowd doesn't kill MacArthur mall next.

Pretty much, military circle was going downhill when I first got out here in 2004, and by the time I left in 2009 it was almost dead. I got back here in 2013 and it was completely dead, I wasn't even comfortable driving through the parking lot to look at the place. With any luck MacArthur will get left alone, I think it'll be fine based on the location downtown, but we'll see.

Amen!  MC used to be pretty nice.  Now it's like a bad Wal-Mart in terms of clientele.  Pembroke saw the writing on the wall and got it's act together, but I think the Town Center concept really helped it.  

Military Circle Mall Obituary here

What about Greenbrier? Is that even worth the drive from Franklin?

But dito on malls picking up and going or just going to shits creek, I remember as a little kid when I moved here in 96 there were malls EVERYWHERE, now its just.....nothing.

Greenbrier is a nice mall.

Ya Pembroke really was heading that direction. They cleaned it up and did some remodeling and just this past weekend a freakin REI opened up there!!

Rumour has it that a Wegmans Grocery Store might be built in the Towne Center Market Place, across from Towne Center along Independence. That will be a big draw for that area. News Info.

Too bad about Chesapeake Square Mall. How many business have we seen go under because of flawed management concepts and/or greed? Way too many.

I would say a strongly worded email to Simon about their policies i in order, but they may charge me rent for the email