HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- When he was in high school, Rev. Roscoe Cooper helped sell kicks at the then-thriving Virginia Center Commons mall on I-95 in Henrico County, back when stores truly competed with each other for customers.
Now a member of the Henrico Board of Supervisors, Cooper is thrilled with the growing redevelopment of the now shuttered mall.
County and project leaders were on hand Thursday outside the new Henrico Sports and Events Center, the anchor point of the revitalization of the VCC property.
Shamin Hotels is building two new hotels and restaurants directly adjacent to the center.
"When the mall first opened, I worked at Finish Line," Cooper said. “Foot Locker was our competitor, and so we lost business to them, but everything else was great.”
“I literally worked in this mall, saw it at its heyday and saw its gradual decline, so I’m really excited to see the new genesis, if you will, of what’s about to happen," he said.
"They both are extended stay concepts with full kitchens, which is a great amenity for teams that are coming to play at a sports facility as well as just residents who want to utilize those facilities," said Neil Amin, the CEO of Shamin Hotels.
Amin said the hotels will have 225 rooms between them. Both restaurants will feature locally owned or independent businesses, he said.
"We want to bring something that is authentic and local," Amin said. "They’re both going to be full-service restaurants with outdoor patios that face each other, as well as hotel patios. The concept is to have a nice plaza, where people can walk around, visit a restaurant, go to the hotel, just a nice community feel.”
Henrico officials said there was $1.7 billion in visitor spending in the county last year, generating $75 million in tax revenue from non-residents.
Leaders see sports tourism — with the VCC redevelopment and the upcoming Green City project leading the way — as a major hook for bringing visitors to Henrico and the greater region.
"It’s a gateway to the county," Cooper said of the area will both projects sit. "Once you come in from the north going south, it’s the first area you hit when you’re coming down 95 on the East Coast. So this is the gateway to the county, so welcome to the gateway of Henrico County.”
The new hotels and restaurants are slated to be complete in 18 months, officials said.
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