VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The Regal Cinemas movie theater in Virginia Beach Town Center will close permanently.
Propety manager Armada Hoffler Properties announced Monday it had ended the lease of the Regal Columbus Movies 12 at 104 Constitution Drive.
The lease had fallen into default, according to Armada Hoffler.
Another Armada Hoffler movie theater property next to the James Madison University campus in Harrisonburg will also close.
The news of the closures comes about three weeks after Regal Cinemas announced it would temporarily close its locations due to a lack of blockbuster movies on the calendar in major domestic markets.
Armada Hoffler says it’s “reclaiming the properties for redevelopment.” The two locations in Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach are the only cinema leases in Armada Hoffler’s portfolio.
“Our advantage as a diversified, vertically-integrated, and development-focused firm is our ability to quickly respond to changing market conditions and identify opportunities in the face of adversity. We would have been pleased to see these two leases through to their contractual expirations. However, following Regal’s default and recent decision to indefinitely suspend all operations, we regained full control over two prime pieces of real estate, thereby accelerating our long-term goal of redevelopment. As we’ve discussed on previous earnings calls, our focus and specialty is on creative mixed-use development and we envision both sites to feature a major multifamily component amongst other uses. We look forward to unlocking the full potential of both properties and as a result, maximizing value for both their respective communities and our shareholders.”
Louis Haddad, president and CEO of Armada Hoffler Properties
Regal sits “strategically” on a three-acre parcel in the middle of one million square feet of commercial office and retail space, 750 apartment units, 175 residential condos, 400 hotel rooms, 25 restaurants, two performing arts theaters, and five parking garages offering 4,400 free spaces, according to Armada Hoffler.
There are 29 Regal movie theaters in Virginia. Seven, including the one in Virginia Beach Town Center, are in Hampton Roads.
