HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia Center Commons closed its doors permanently on Tuesday, Oct. 31. The mall’s closure is part of Henrico County’s redevelopment plans.
In August, Rebkee, the company that manages Virginia Center Commons, told its tenants they had to leave by the end of this month.
8News talked with some people who were helping shop owners clean out the rest of their things Monday afternoon. Dixon’s Auction is one of the stores moving to another area.
“Living in the area you ride through here a lot. You’re thinking it’s a ghost town. What are they going to do with it?” said Lashawnda Allen, a resident who had stopped by the mall one last time. “Usually when things close down, it kind of brings fear in the community.”
Rebkee said new housing is expected to be completed in late 2022 and early 2023, with a hotel and other tourist facilities to be constructed at an undetermined date.
“Things are changing. Putting something new up here, I’m open to it and hopefully, it won’t take too long and we’ll have memories of Virginia Center Commons,” Allen said.
A part of the mall was already demolished to make way for Henrico County’s new $50 million indoor sports center — expected to open in early fall 2023.
The mall opened in 1991, and like many other malls, was impacted by the steady decline of the retail industry over the last decade.
Allen, like many other customers, was taking advantage of the mall’s final sale.
“Everything had to be gone by midnight, so you know, you want to pillage what you can and you’ll never know what treasures you’ll find in the midst of trash,” she said.
In a Facebook post, Virginia Center Commons announced it will be holding a cash-only sale for furniture on Tuesday, Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
