| Norfolk's downtown hit parade
Virginia Business
October 2004
At
a time when other cities are struggling to put downtown
districts back on the map, Norfolk is way ahead of the
curve. Next up for this seaport city: Trader Publishing
Co. will break ground in January on a new 19-story,
225,000-square-foot, $51 million office tower; Marathon
Development plans to build a $100 million, two-tower
complex with 400 residential condominiums; BB&T
will move its regional headquarters to a larger and
more prominent location downtown; and city officials
expect to formally announce the go-ahead on a 25-story
Hilton Hotel and connecting conference center.
The developments come on the heels of others that have
been approved or are already underway, including a 12-story
office, condominium and grocery store complex and a
$41 million cruise ship terminal next to Nauticus.
The Trader Publishing deal was especially sweet. It
will consolidate 550 employees from Trader’s current
Norfolk headquarters as well as offices in Virginia
Beach, Seattle and other cities, and add 600 new jobs.
A majority of the company’s employees voted to
stay in Norfolk, and a lucrative package of incentives
from the city and state didn’t hurt.
Norfolk’s Mayor Paul Fraim says the success comes
from making a plan and following through. Five years
ago, Norfolk unveiled the MacArthur Center, a downtown
mall of 170-plus retail stores. Officials then built
on that success by revitalizing the mostly abandoned
Waterside district and transforming the old Granby Street
business district into a haven for restaurants and theater.
“We have firmly established the downtown as the
financial and business hub of the region,” says
Fraim. “But we’re now reaching a critical
mass of activity that’s going to bring even more
businesses downtown and create a booming marketplace
for the growing number of folks that really want to
live downtown.”
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