JLL will represent Movement Mortgage in relocation to Military Circle

JLL said Tuesday that it will represent Movement Mortgage in a recently signed lease to relocate and expand its operations center to a former JCPenney store at Military Circle mall in Norfolk. The mortgage company will move from Virginia Beach to Norfolk in the first quarter of 2017, taking 90,000 square feet at 880 North Military Highway.

“I truly believe this investment is going to spark a massive wave of positive momentum for this community by establishing a dynamic, thriving hub of business activity at Military Circle,” Movement Co-founder and Executive Vice President Toby Harris said in a statement.

“When I moved to this community, we used to go to Military Circle for restaurants, movies and entertainment. I am so excited to be going back. It’s a wonderful fit for our company, and we have a big vision to bring new life to this neighborhood.”

Movement Mortgage retained JLL’s Senior Vice President Deborah Stearns and her team in Hampton Roads to support its search for a space that offered a central location, accessibility and room for growth.
The JLL team looked at many options before identifying the underutilized 880 North Military Circle, which offered ample parking, proximity to public transportation and a vacant space that could accommodate a growing operations center.

JLL said it brought in an architect and its project development team to transform a concept of how to repurpose the space as an operations center into a realistic plan for development.
Movement Mortgage plans to invest $2 million in the relocation, which is expected to retain 500 jobs and add 200 more.  Gov. Terry McAuliffe approved a $600,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund for the project.

“Having a company that shares the city’s vision for transforming the Military Highway corridor is really fantastic,” said Chuck Rigney, Norfolk’s Director of Development. 

Stearns added that “With the potential for future light rail extensions and the transformation of the area into a vibrant, walkable neighborhood, the redevelopment of 880 North Military Circle is in perfect alignment with the long term strategic vision the city has for the area.”

Norfolk’s Economic Development Authority owns the site.

Founded in Virginia Beach in 2008, Movement Mortgage, a privately held company based out of South Carolina, is known for an innovative loan-processing model, which aims to finish the loan process in seven business days. The company employs more than than 3,500 people and has more than 500 branches in the U.S. Movement has operations centers in Virginia Beach, Richmond, Charlotte, North Carolina and Phoenix, Ariz.