Newmarket North Mall
Newmarket North Mall was a shopping mall in Hampton, Virginia, later renamed Newmarket Fair and converted into a mixed-use business center.
Last updated August 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Newmarket North Mall was a shopping mall in Hampton, Virginia, developed by The Hahn Company and opened in 1975. The original center was built around three department-store anchors: Leggett, Miller & Rhoads, and Sears. Its location placed it within the retail market of the Virginia Peninsula, where it competed with other regional shopping destinations serving Hampton, Newport News, and nearby communities. In 1987, the opening of Patrick Henry Mall in neighboring Newport News altered the competitive landscape. The newer mall drew customer traffic away from Newmarket North Mall, and the older property subsequently struggled to maintain its position. In 1989, Goodman Segar Hogan acquired the property and undertook a two-year renovation and expansion program reported to have cost $9 million. Near the completion of that work, the mall was renamed Newmarket Fair in 1990, an effort that accompanied the property's repositioning. The renovation and rebranding did not restore the center to its former regional-shopping role. Over time, department-store departures and declining retail activity reduced the site's tenant base. Sears became the only remaining major retail anchor. The Sears property was among the locations transferred in 2015 by Sears Holdings to Seritage Growth Properties as part of a broader real-estate transaction involving hundreds of properties. Sears later announced that the Hampton store would close in connection with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The store ultimately ceased operations on January 6, 2019. The property had already undergone a more fundamental change in 2000, when Washington, D.C.-based NetCenter Partners and Hampton Partners purchased the approximately 900,000-square-foot property on 53 acres. Rather than continue operating it primarily as a conventional enclosed shopping mall, the purchasers converted it into NetCenter, a business center supported by retail, personal-service, and food-service amenities. This conversion marked the end of the site’s principal identity as a traditional shopping mall, although some commercial uses remained. Piccadilly Cafeteria was identified as the last remaining retail establishment associated with the former mall and, at the time described in the reference material, the only Piccadilly location remaining in Virginia. Thus, Newmarket North Mall’s history reflects the transition of an older suburban shopping center from department-store-led retail, through attempted renovation and rebranding, to a mixed-use commercial and business-center format. Its decline was associated with newer regional competition, changes in department-store retailing, and the broader redevelopment of aging mall properties.
History
Newmarket North Mall opened in Hampton, Virginia, in 1975. The development was undertaken by The Hahn Company and was organized around three department-store anchors: Leggett, Miller & Rhoads, and Sears. These anchors gave the center a conventional regional-mall format, with shoppers visiting the department stores as well as the smaller retail tenants and service businesses located throughout the mall. The mall operated within the broader retail market of the Virginia Peninsula. Its competitive position weakened after Patrick Henry Mall opened in nearby Newport News in 1987. The newer center attracted shopping activity from the same general market, and Newmarket North Mall subsequently experienced declining vitality. In 1989, Goodman Segar Hogan acquired the property and began a renovation and expansion project. The work was reported to have cost $9 million and lasted approximately two years. As the project approached completion, the mall adopted the name Newmarket Fair in 1990. The renovation and new name did not reverse the center’s longer-term decline. Department-store changes and competition from newer retail properties reduced the mall’s ability to function as a major regional destination. Sears eventually became the only remaining retail anchor. The property's later history was connected with the restructuring of Sears Holdings. In 2015, Sears Holdings transferred a portfolio of 235 properties to Seritage Growth Properties, and the Sears location associated with the former mall was included among those properties. A major change occurred in 2000, when NetCenter Partners and Hampton Partners purchased the approximately 900,000-square-foot property situated on about 53 acres. The buyers converted the former mall into NetCenter, a business center supported by retail, personal services, and food-service amenities. This redevelopment shifted the site away from its original enclosed-mall identity and toward a mixed commercial and office-oriented use. The change illustrates a broader pattern in which aging shopping centers are repurposed when their original department-store model becomes difficult to sustain. Sears remained an important residual retail presence after the conversion. On October 15, 2018, the company announced that the Hampton store would close as part of a group of closures associated with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing. The store ultimately closed on January 6, 2019. Piccadilly Cafeteria was identified as the last remaining retail establishment at the site and as the only remaining Piccadilly location in Virginia at the time described by the reference material. The site’s institutional history therefore passes through several distinct phases: a 1975 department-store-anchored mall, a 1990 renovation and rebranding as Newmarket Fair, a 2000 conversion into the NetCenter business center, and the eventual loss of Sears as the last major retail anchor in 2019. Newmarket North Mall is consequently best understood as a former shopping-center brand whose physical property was redeveloped rather than as an active conventional mall brand.
- 2019
Sears closes
[1]The Sears store closes on January 6, leaving Piccadilly Cafeteria as the only remaining retail establishment identified in the reference material.
- 2018
Sears announces closure
[1]Sears identifies the Hampton store for closure in connection with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
- 2015
Sears property enters Seritage portfolio
[1]The Sears location is among 235 properties transferred by Sears Holdings to Seritage Growth Properties.
- 2000
Conversion into NetCenter
[1]NetCenter Partners and Hampton Partners purchase the property and convert it into a business center with supporting retail, services, and food facilities.
- 1990
The mall is renamed Newmarket Fair
[1]The property adopts the Newmarket Fair name as its renovation and expansion work nears completion.
- 1989
Goodman Segar Hogan acquires the property
[1]The property changes ownership and begins a reported two-year renovation and expansion program costing $9 million.
- 1987
Patrick Henry Mall opens nearby
[1]The opening of Patrick Henry Mall in neighboring Newport News intensifies competition for shoppers on the Virginia Peninsula.
- 1975
Newmarket North Mall opens
[1]The Hahn Company’s shopping-mall development opens in Hampton, Virginia, with Leggett, Miller & Rhoads, and Sears as its three department-store anchors.
Products and positioning
Originally positioned as a regional shopping mall serving Hampton and the Virginia Peninsula, the property was later repositioned as Newmarket Fair and ultimately converted into a mixed-use business center known as NetCenter.
Department store anchor · 1975
Leggett
Leggett was one of the three original department-store anchors at Newmarket North Mall when the Hampton shopping center opened in 1975. Its presence represented the traditional department-store-led format used by regional malls of the period.
Department store anchor · 1975
Miller & Rhoads
Miller & Rhoads served as one of the mall’s original department-store anchors. Alongside Leggett and Sears, it helped establish Newmarket North Mall as a broad retail destination rather than a small neighborhood shopping center.
Department store anchor · 1975
Sears
Sears was one of the original anchors and ultimately became the only remaining major retail anchor associated with the property. Its store continued operating after the mall’s conversion into NetCenter but closed in January 2019 following a closure announcement tied to Sears Holdings’ bankruptcy proceedings.
Business center · 2000
NetCenter
NetCenter was the post-2000 redevelopment concept for the former mall property. It combined business-center space with supporting retail, personal services, and food-service amenities, replacing the site’s original focus on enclosed regional shopping.
Food service
Piccadilly Cafeteria
Piccadilly Cafeteria was identified as the last remaining retail establishment associated with the former mall. The reference material also described it as the only remaining Piccadilly location in Virginia at that time.
Brand decisions
2018
Sears closure decisionOtherBackground
Sears Holdings was conducting store closures as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
Action taken
The company announced on October 15, 2018 that its Hampton store would close.
Aftermath
The store closed on January 6, 2019, removing the former mall’s last major retail anchor.
2000
Conversion from shopping mall to NetCenterStrategyBackground
The property had struggled amid competition from newer regional retail developments and declining mall activity.
Action taken
NetCenter Partners and Hampton Partners purchased the property and repositioned it as a business center with retail, personal-service, and food-service amenities.
Aftermath
The site ceased to operate primarily as a conventional enclosed shopping mall and assumed a mixed commercial and business-center role.
1990
Rebranding as Newmarket FairStrategyBackground
The property was undergoing a major renovation and expansion after its acquisition by Goodman Segar Hogan, while competition from the newer Patrick Henry Mall had weakened the original mall’s position.
Action taken
The shopping center adopted the Newmarket Fair name as the redevelopment work neared completion.
Aftermath
The rebranding did not prevent the property from continuing to lose retail prominence and eventually being converted to a business-center format.
Renovation and expansion cost. $9 million (1989-1990)
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/newmarket-north-mall · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled