City Center at Oyster Point Acquisition

In July, Pointe Hope, LLC, acquired a nine-building office and retail mixed-use portfolio in City Center at Oyster Point. Pointe Hope’s $64 million acquisition includes 574,466 square feet of office and retail space, which was originally developed as a master-planned, public-private partnership between the City of Newport News and nine local founding partners, with Northwestern Mutual as its joint venture equity partner.

Pointe Hope, LLC, led by former Newport News Mayor Joseph Ritchie (an original founding partner of City Center) and Attorney Robert Long, consolidates City Center ownership into local investors committed to sustaining the development as the premier mixed-use business and residential center on the Virginia Peninsula. Pointe Hope’s members include many of City Center’s original founding partners and several local entrepreneurs who are new investors. The principals are “hands-on” and wholly committed to expanding the entertainment and retail venues of City Center to build and continue the community’s vibrancy.

Leading to the successful acquisition, EDA staff worked with Pointe Hope to consolidate various existing parking license agreements into a comprehensive Master Parking Agreement governing use of all three public parking garages owned by the EDA, as well as an off-street parking lot and various other on-street parking locations. Among its many functions, the new agreement preserves free public parking in City Center for a number of years, while ensuring that funding will be available for the proper maintenance and repair of the parking garage structures, as necessary.