Pembroke Square scales back some parts of project

Pembroke Square, the $200 million redevelopment of Pembroke Mall in Virginia Beach, is moving forward but at a smaller scale, according to the president of Pembroke Realty Group.

Pembroke Square Associates LLC first announced plans for the redevelopment of the aging mall’s 54 acres in November 2021, with groundbreaking for its first phase having taken place in December 2022. Workers started demolition on the former SunTrust Bank building last week. The bank building, at the entrance to the property on Virginia Beach Boulevard, is being demolished to make way for apartments, retail space, a hotel and a senior living community.

However, the hotel will now be seven stories instead of 14 and will be a single-branded Hilton, instead of a dual-branded hotel, Ramsay Smith, asset manager for Pembroke Square Associates and president of Pembroke Realty Group, told Virginia Business on Monday. The hotel was originally slated to be one of the first Tempo/Homewood Suites by Hilton.

A fourth phase is planned, but details are scarce. Smith mentioned plans to begin demolishing the interior part of the mall later this year to prepare for an entertainment venue behind Latitude Climbing + Fitness, but developers are now working with the unannounced tenant on plans.

Meanwhile, exterior tenants, including Kohl’s, Latitude Climbing + Fitness, DSW and other retailers, are still open for business.

“We’re a little behind in terms of schedule, but overall, it’s the uses that matter,” Smith said. “We still have the right use mix.”

He added that the development team is looking to potentially construct a build-to-suit office “or some other use that will be complementary.”