THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603160109
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Chesapeake Business Review
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
When Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal Cinemas Inc. was considering where to open a new theater and family games center, company officials had some specific criteria.
``We're obviously a movie theater and entertainment complex, so we're really looking at communities that are either very tourist or family-oriented,'' said Michael L. Levesque, director of marketing for Regal Cinemas, which has theaters in 17 states.
``We found that the demographics for Chesapeake were exceptional,'' Levesque said. ``We found that the military bases and the family orientation were really ideal for our type of business.''
Regal Cinemas' 95,000-square-foot Funscape, with 13 screens and a huge variety of indoor family games, opened in Chesapeake's Greenbrier section in August.
Business so far has been good, Levesque said. ``We're very pleased.''
Other merchants are looking to Chesapeake for the same sort of gratification.
Figures provided by the city's commissioner of the revenue show that the city's retail climate continued to be favorable in 1995.
A little more than 580 new merchants came to Chesapeake last year, continuing a trend of increases since 486 new businesses came in 1991. That brought the total number of licensed retail merchants to 5,756. In 1990, there were 3,226 retail merchants in Chesapeake.
``I think it indicates that businesses are locating in Chesapeake,'' said Commissioner of the Revenue Ray A. Conner.
Among them, large retailers like Lowe's, a hardware chain that opened the doors to a new store on Battlefield Boulevard early last year, and smaller merchants such as Taste Unlimited, a gourmet food store that arrived in Great Bridge in November.
Conner's figures also show that businesses find a healthy sales atmosphere once they get to Chesapeake.
Business license taxes and penalties, an indicator of the overall strength of retail sales, continued a steady six-year climb. Merchants paid about $11.5 million to the city in 1995, an increase of nearly 11 percent over the $10.3 million paid in 1994.
``It would appear to me that businesses in Chesapeake are doing very well,'' Conner said. ``They obviously had a good year in terms of increases in their gross receipts, and that corresponds to a jump in the business license tax figure.''
The city treasurer's office reported that the total amount of retail sales also continued to rise in Chesapeake in 1995, reaching nearly $1.7 billion, an increase of 7.5 percent over 1994 sales of $1.6 billion. That netted the city almost $17 million in sales tax revenues last year.
The increase was lower than double-digit rises in previous years, said City Treasurer Barbara O. Carraway. But Carraway said it's still encouraging that sales tax revenues flowing into city coffers since 1991 have risen steadily.
``I think Chesapeake has been very fortunate to see the growth that we have,'' she said.
Revenue Commissioner Conner said, ``It's good that we've got places to shop and places for people to spend their dollars in Chesapeake, because it comes back to help the city, in terms of the revenue necessary for providing adequate services.''
There's evidence that the trends toward retail growth in Chesapeake will continue in 1996, with several new retailers arriving or on their way.
A Circuit City superstore, the chain's largest Virginia outlet, opened its doors in Greenbrier in February. Construction is under way along Greenbrier Parkway on a series of other major retailers, including a Barnes & Noble bookstore.
Said John W. Whaley, director of economics for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, ``Chesapeake's a big city these days.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Conner
Chart
New merchants
by CNB