Potential for progress in Henrico's Regency Square area

Everett Lilly admits he was surprised when BJ's Wholesale Club decided to open a warehouse store near Regency Square mall in western Henrico County.

Lilly, who managed the BJ's club in Mechanicsville for six years, said he wondered at first why the retailer didn't choose a site on West Broad Street, where its big competitors operate.

But he's overjoyed with the decision now that he's managing the new club, which opened on Starling Drive in December. He thinks convenience and customer loyalty will make the area around the mall a better fit than a higher profile location on West Broad.

"The thing about BJ's shoppers, once they know where we are, they come," Lilly said.

BJ's is the latest retailer to bet the future on the business corridor around the mall, which is making a comeback as an attractive alternative for shoppers who don't want the hassle of driving on West Broad Street to the high-profile stores in the Short Pump area.

"A lot of people are purposely coming to this area to avoid the traffic congestion out there," said Tricia Alford, owner of Buttons & Bows, a children's store that just moved back to the Ridge Shopping Center from Parham Plaza.

Six years ago, Regency Square and the surrounding retail community suffered a big blow with the opening of the Short Pump Town Center and Stony Point Fashion Park malls. Today, retailers in the Regency Square area say they are weathering the economic storm as well as anyone, thanks in part to where they are.

"We're all doing just fine here," said Karen Held Lynn, vice president of Disco Sports, which moved in late 2006 to the former Darryl's Restaurant building on Starling Drive across from the mall.

The family-owned sporting goods store believes in the area. It moved to Starling Drive from Westbury Shopping Center at Three Chopt and East Ridge roads, where it had been since 1997. Before that, Disco Sports was inside Regency Square for 21 years.

With BJ's arrival in December, the move to Starling Drive looks even better for Disco Sports, she said. "We could not have had a more perfect business come next to us than BJ's," Lynn said. "Over Christmas, I think it was nothing but a plus."

BJ's opening coincided with a decision by Henrico to expand its West Enterprise Zone, which offers state incentives for new businesses that create jobs and local incentives for sprucing up aging facades, repaving parking lots and improving landscaping.

The results are still out, but Henrico officials see plenty of potential for progress in the area around the mall, which opened in 1975.

"It's a convenient shopping location," said Mark Strickler, Henrico's director of community revitalization. "There are a lot of rooftops around it."

C. Lee Warfield, executive vice president of Thalhimer/Cushman & Wakefield real estate brokerage firm in Richmond, said, "The last few years, instead of going backward, there's definitely been an upgrade of that area."

The corridor's comeback began quietly almost five years ago with the opening of a Kroger grocery store on the site of the former Ridge Cinema on East Ridge Road, according to Bobby Marchetti, whose family real estate business owns both the Ridge and Parham Plaza shopping centers. "I think it all started with Kroger," he said.

Since then, retailers have gotten a number of critical boosts:

Fresh Market opened a store in Ridge Shopping Center in March 2006, taking over space left when Saxon Shoes opened a new location at Short Pump Town Center. The specialty grocery store was ranked second in sales among the 80 Fresh Market locations from January 2008 until September, when new competitors such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's opened stores in the region, store manager John Tisdale said. "Fresh Market was a coup," said Ronnie Adolf of Adolf Jewelers, a cornerstone at Ridge for 35 years.

Texas de Brazil Churrascaria Brazilian Steakhouse opened in Regency Square in December 2006, drawing a higher-spending crowd to a mall that has been criticized for lowering standards in its merchant mix. "It draws people to come here who otherwise would not come here," said Jack Romaine, general manager of Regency Square for Taubman Centers Inc. It bought the mall in 1997 and developed and owns Stony Point.

Wal-Mart opened in Parham Plaza in January 2007 with a store that is smaller than its typical supercenters and one that offers upscale accents to décor and goods. The store has become a draw for the entire area, other retailers say. "Now there's definitely more traffic," said Tisdale, who manages the Fresh Market store directly across Parham from Wal-Mart.

Marchetti Properties has been one of the big players in the area's comeback as owner of the 185,000-square-foot Parham Plaza and 100,000-square-foot Ridge Shopping Center on either side of North Parham Road. The company is preparing to begin a major renovation of Parham Plaza.

The nearby Westbury Shopping Center also is poised to refill empty spaces after a $2 million makeover and the loss of three tenants -- Disco Sports, Mio's restaurant, and Therapeutic Massage & Wellness Center.

W. Barry Hofheimer, senior vice president at real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis and the real estate broker for the shopping center, said the owner is about to sign leases for two major tenants, one a medical services company and the other a food business that he's not ready to identify publicly.

"We're on the verge of solving our problem in a tough time," Hofheimer said.

Regency Square mall appears to have stopped its long decline. "I think Regency has leveled off," Marchetti said.

After Short Pump and Stony Point malls opened in September 2003, sales at Regency Square fell from $203 million in 2002 to $127.8 million in 2006, according to an analysis of local tax revenue.

Romaine, the mall's manager, won't release sales figures, but he said 2007 was a strong year while 2008 was rough on everyone. "As far as our share of the pie, from what we're seeing, it's stabilized and, if anything, is up," he said.

BJ's wouldn't have come to the area without Regency. The chain bought 12.5 acres from Taubman to build the 120,000-squarefoot store, though it won't say how much the project cost. It created 150 fulland part-time jobs.

"If you look around, there is still a strong business presence in Regency," said Lilly, BJ's manager. "Our customer base would be the people who would be shopping at Regency."

Jim Rock is the type of customer Lilly has in mind. Rock has lived in the area for 40 years. He said he's more likely to frequent the Wal-Mart and mall than travel to Short Pump to shop.

"The availability of a high-end shopping mall doesn't make any difference to me," Rock said, while stopping recently at The Fresh Market for a snack. "This area is much more accessible."

BJ's has provided a boost to Regency Square and the businesses that have begun to flourish across from the mall on Starling Drive.

"It's become quite a busy little place," said Paige Beale, who created The Wellness Village in a new, 5,000-square-foot building behind Disco Sports in mid-2007.

"I think BJ's helps Regency. We all thrive from each other's business," said Beale, who grew up in the area. "It's nice to see it come back around again."

Contact Michael Martz at (804) 649-6964 or mmartz@timesdispatch.com.