Waterside District

❧

Wikipedia

Waterside District
The Waterside District in 2024
Interactive map of Waterside District
Former namesWaterside Festival Marketplace (1983–2014)
Waterside Live! (2015–2017)
Address333 Waterside Drive
LocationNorfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Elevation2 floors
OwnerThe Cordish Companies
OperatorLive! Hospitality & Entertainment
TypeFestival marketplace (1983–2014)
Dining and entertainment venue (2017–present)
Construction
Broke groundAugust 1981 (The Waterside)
August 26, 2015 (Waterside District)
OpenedJune 1, 1983; 42 years ago (June 1, 1983)
Renovated2017 (Waterside District Redevelopment Project)
ExpandedSeptember 1990 (Waterside Annex)
ClosedOctober 2014; 11 years ago (October 2014) (as a festival marketplace)
ReopenedMay 11, 2017; 8 years ago (May 11, 2017)
DemolishedMay 16, 2016 (Waterside Annex only)
Years activeJune 1, 1983–October 2014 (as a festival marketplace)
May 11, 2017–present (as an entertainment district)
ArchitectWallace, Roberts and Todd (WRT)[1]
Tenants
20+ (120+ stores and restaurants at peak)
Website
watersidedistrict.com
watersidemarketplace.com (2006 archive)

The Waterside District is a dining and entertainment district on the Elizabeth River in Downtown Norfolk, Virginia, United States. It opened on June 1, 1983 as the Waterside Festival Marketplace, or simply The Waterside, which was a festival marketplace. While the Waterside Annex was demolished on May 16, 2016, the main portion was renovated and reopened as Waterside District in May 2017.[2]

History

Pre-construction and development

Beginning in the late 1970s, mall developer James W. Rouse and The Rouse Company had developed the festival marketplace concept as an important component to renewing a declining downtown, a seminal catalyst to further development. The concept combined to varying degrees major restaurants, specialty retail shops, food courts and nightlife activities.

Following James Rouse's retirement from The Rouse Company in 1979, he founded the Enterprise Foundation, which owns the Enterprise Development Company (EDC) in 1982, which was to bring the festival marketplace concept to smaller cities. The Waterside was the EDC's first project.[3]

Local developer Harvey Lindsay was also involved in the development of The Waterside. The Rouse Company began construction of the marketplace in 1981.[4]

After opening

Like other shopping centers, malls and marketplaces, The Waterside has evolved through numerous business cycles. Originally, it featured mostly restaurants like The Baitshack on the first floor. There were small nautically themed stores, as well as a Jillian's arcade. The balconied second floor featured more niche stores and kiosks. A second phase was added to the complex in the 1980s, while the mid-1990s saw a decline in business, exacerbated by the opening of nearby MacArthur Center. In the early 2000s, the upstairs stores were replaced by entertainment venues.

Jillian's closed in May 2010. The arcade itself became defunct.[5]

The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority purchased the Waterside from its private owner, Enterprise Real Estate Services, in 1999, at the time considered a temporary arrangement.[2] The Waterside delivered approximately $2.2 million in tax revenue in 2007, down $300,000 since 2004.[2] Norfolk subsidized the facility with $1 million in 2008 for studying the next phase of the marketplace's repositioning.[2]

Redevelopment as Waterside District

Waterside District as seen from the waterfront

The City of Norfolk and Baltimore-based The Cordish Companies broke ground on the new Waterside District in August 2015. The new venue retained the footprint of the old Waterside (excluding the annex) and consists of numerous dining and entertainment venues.

Cordish originally planned for the redeveloped Waterside to be called Waterside Live!, but it was shortly changed to Waterside District to better reflect the marketplace's "de-mallification". Cordish also demolished the Waterside Annex on May 16, 2016, which was added by The Rouse Company via an expansion in the 1990s.[6]

Its grand opening took place on May 11, 2017.[7]

A critical component of Norfolk's ongoing post-World War II revitalization, the complex connects via a cross-street pedestrian bridge to a parking garage, sits at the foot of the Portsmouth Ferry terminal, and connects via a waterfront promenade to the downtown, the nearby baseball stadium (Harbor Park), naval museum (Nauticus) and waterfront neighborhood of Freemason Harbor.

The venue hosted the traveling SkyStar Wheel from May 19, 2018 to August 19, 2018.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ "WATERSIDE FESTIVAL MARKETPLACE". ARCHIPEDIA. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Norfolk's aging, ailing Waterside confronts a shaky future". Meghan Hoyer, The Virginian-Pilot©, March 29, 2008.
  3. ↑ "James W. Rouse, one of the nation's leading developers". Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  4. ↑ "A FADING JEWEL ONCE A SHINING SYMBOL OF DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION, WATERSIDE HAS LOST MUST OFITS LUSTER. AND WITH THE COMING OF MACARTHUR CENTER, THE NORFOLK MALL IS AGAIN TURNING TO THE CITY FOR HELP". The Virginian Pilot. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Jillian's restaurant closes its doors in Norfolk's Waterside". The Virginian Pilot. May 17, 2010. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  6. ↑ "The Cordish Companies announces the name of Norfolk's new iconic destination: The Waterside District". The Cordish Companies. August 17, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Norfolk's Waterside District officially opens today". Daily Press. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  8. ↑ Townsend, Philip (August 17, 2018). "Last chance to ride the SkyStar wheel in Norfolk". 13newsnow.com. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  9. ↑ "SkyStar Ferris Wheel grand opening Saturday at Waterside District". 13newsnow.com. May 18, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2024.

36°50′40″N 76°17′29″W / 36.84444°N 76.29139°W / 36.84444; -76.29139