Preview Party at Peninsula
When demolition of the old Coliseum Mall first began, anticipation quickly grew among enthusiastic Hampton, Virginia-area residents who were eagerly looking forward to the grand opening of Peninsula Town Center. The project, which promises to be a landmark mixed-use destination with a dynamic blend of retail, dining and entertainment resources, is still generating significant buzz, and a recent high-profile on-site preview event may have elevated that excited anticipation to a whole new level.
The May 1st preview event introduced Peninsula Town Center to a number of local, regional and national brokers, retailers and leasing professionals. Dozens of attendees from a wide range of brokerage houses were on hand to take part in the eye-opening event, which was held in a sleek new 1,400-square-foot preview center adjacent to the renovated and already-operational JC Penney.
A true showcase for the project, the preview center features offices, conference rooms, and a number of large viewing windows looking out over Peninsula's busy construction site. The newly opened space is home to a spectacularly detailed scale model of the project and a range of displays showing concept imagery, latest plans, an updated graphics package, material samples and other informative displays. Built in just five weeks, the preview center is highly visible to passersby, with extensive artwork and photography complementing the displays within to help paint a comprehensive portrait of a truly exciting project.
Approximately 20 brokers took the opportunity to get a bird's eye view of the region and experience the infrastructure, demographics and surrounding layout firsthand via helicopter tours that were given throughout the day to interested parties. A large tent adjacent to the preview center served as a staging area to accommodate the crowds and house the project model.
In many ways the star of the show, the model, which will make an appearance at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Spring Convention in Las Vegas later in May (RECon), helps clearly show the 75-acre master plan's compelling mix of retail avenues, pedestrian pathways and natural gathering places. An extraordinary leasing tool, the model allows observers to move past the complexities of the construction process and appreciate the project's more than one million square feet of retail, dining, office and residential space.
Without a doubt, the preview event was a smashing success; one enthusiastic broker was so impressed that he called his client to come visit the site that very afternoon! Feedback has thus far been overwhelmingly positive, and ongoing discussions are currently underway with several interested attendees. For now, the preview center remains open to visitation by appointment only, but the impact and success of the event has prompted Steiner to schedule three additional preview events in June, July and August, targeting regional and national retailers. With Peninsula Town Center still on track for its projected April 2nd, 2009 Grand Opening, it's a sure bet that those retailers will be standing in line for an opportunity to be a part of this exciting new development.
