Apple Store at MacArthur Center in Virginia Permanently Closing Following Years of Safety Issues at Shopping Mall

Apple today indicated that its retail store at the MacArthur Center shopping mall in Norfolk, Virginia will be permanently closing after over 14 years of business, although an exact closure date has yet to be announced by the company.

apple store macarthur center
Apple has assured that it will be offering all employees at the store other positions within Apple, and said that it looks forward to continuing to serve customers in the area at its Lynnhaven Mall retail store in nearby Virginia Beach.

"While we have made the difficult decision to close our store at MacArthur Center, we are pleased to be able to offer all of our team members other jobs within Apple," said Apple in a statement shared with MacRumors. "We look forward to helping customers at Apple Lynnhaven Mall, as well as on Apple.com and our popular Apple Store and Support apps."

Apple's statement does not mention a reason for the store closure, but there have been several safety issues at MacArthur Center, including multiple active shooter situations in recent years. A growing number of retailers have already left the mall, including Nordstrom, Williams-Sonoma, Banana Republic, J. Crew, Fossil, Pottery Barn, and others.

Apple MacArthur Center first opened in September 2006, and it does not appear that Apple has any immediate plans to open a new store in Norfolk, so customers in the area will have to visit Apple Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach for in-person shopping and support.

A person familiar with the matter informed MacRumors that the store will likely be closed in around 90 days, so the location's final day of business will likely be in May. The person said Apple is working quickly to help all employees find new places within the company, and offering relocation packages if necessary. Some employees may be transferred to Apple's Lynnhaven Mall location, or transition to work-at-home AppleCare positions.

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Top Rated Comments

Cmd-Z Avatar
54 months ago

Gang related violence according to some news reports
Lots of Android thugs in that area /s
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latenate Avatar
54 months ago
The entire MacArthur Mall is shutting down due to financial reasons. Every tenant has been advised in writing that no leases will be renewed. This has been ongoing for 18 months. Poor reporting here blaming “incidents” without doing some basic journalistic fact checking.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
54 months ago
Sounds like a good move by Apple. Employee safety comes first.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newyorksole Avatar
54 months ago
Wow. That’s a first (I think).

At least the employees will be taken care of.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kilovolt42 Avatar
54 months ago
I bought my first Mac at MacArthur Center. I just remember being thrilled as I carried it to the parking garage. Finally a computer with sensibilities that encouraged me rather than irritate me. I used it to write, edit photos, build a website, and finish my degree. I learned Objective-C and Xcode with it and got my first job.

The Buyer Guide would have labeled that computer red with an update imminent. But I didn’t know that. Walking out of MacArthur with that 2009 13” MacBook Pro was a seminal moment. It was after a bad breakup. It was after a major change in my education. It was a fresh start.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Captain Trips Avatar
54 months ago

Lots of Android thugs in that area /s
Nice Apple Store you got there, be a shame if anything happened to it...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)