Plans were announced in June 1994, for a shopping mall bounded by Monticello and City Hall Avenues, Freemason Street and St. Paul's Boulevard.

The original mall was intended to have Macy's, who had signed a letter of interest during the early stages of development for the property.

[6] At the end of the 2010s, the MacArthur Center experienced a wave of store closures due to changing customer spending habits and the effects of the retail apocalypse.

In 2018 and 2019, J Crew,[7] Fossil,[8] Yankee Candle,[9] Banana Republic,[10] Williams Sonoma,[11] Pottery Barn,[12] Eddie Bauer,[13] Charlotte Russe,[14] Forever 21,[15] Brighton Collectables,[16] Chicos,[17] Zales[18] and many other stores announced their closure at the mall.

[38] In mid-July 2023, the development authority voted to allocate $4 million to purchase Dillard's, meaning that the mall was now be entirely under City of Norfolk control and will potentially pave the way for redevelopment plans.