Norfolk is still pushing forward on efforts to redevelop its two malls, Mayor Kenny Alexander said Friday at the annual State of the City address.
Alexander unveiled plans to build a joint fitness center and library on Norfolk’s east side, mirroring a $68 million plan to build a similar facility to replace a city fitness center near Wards Corner.
“The facility will serve as an anchor for the planned mixed-use development at the site of the former Military Circle Mall,” Alexander told a crowd of the city and region’s top business and government officials.
The city has tried for years to spur redevelopment there, even soliciting proposals from developers in 2021. The high-flying pitches included arenas, housing and offices, but Norfolk rejected them when they all included requests for city funding.
Alexander also said Friday the city brought on a master developer to plan the redevelopment of MacArthur Mall downtown.
The vision for the redevelopment - as a major mixed-use development with a hotel - was the centerpiece of the mayor’s state of the city address last year, but firm plans haven’t been released since then.
The city’s website says Norfolk’s working with a consultant to identify potential public-private partnership models for the redevelopment.
Some city council members, including the mayor, have remained adamant that such redevelopment shouldn’t require major city funding to get it going.
