Hilltop Virginia Beach New Stores in 2026: Openings and Plans

On April 14, Painted Tree Boutiques closed its marketplace at Hilltop North without warning. The closure hit its locations across the country, not just the one here. Within two months a new company, The Boutiques at Virginia Beach, said it would reopen the same space at 1624 Laskin Road. Before anyone else could rent a booth, it called the shop owners who had sold there and offered them their original spots back.

The same building got a new operator and kept its format, and many of the same vendors were invited back. That is how Hilltop has changed all year. Its 2026 news comes almost entirely from leases, renewals and storefront renovations inside centers that never closed. The one national retailer on the way is also the furthest off.

For Alanton, Hilltop is the closest errand district. The Alanton Civic League places the neighborhood in the Great Neck Corridor, with an entry off Mill Dam Road via Woodhouse Road. Hilltop sits at the corner of Laskin and First Colonial roads, to the south. What follows is everything dated so far, followed by the parts that are still only targets.

The Year So Far, in Order

The first row is there for context. According to VDOT's project page, the long Laskin Road bridge and widening job wrapped up in May 2025. So 2026 is the first full calendar year in which Hilltop's changes have been about storefronts rather than the road in front of them.

The Marketplace That Came Back

The Painted Tree space shows the pattern most clearly. It was a Stein Mart before Painted Tree arrived. After Painted Tree closed, the large shared-booth format could have left with it. It stayed. The Boutiques at Virginia Beach is a newly formed company under The Collective Boutiques. It said remaining booths would go to other small-business owners once returning vendors had a chance to reclaim their spaces.

"Shared retail environments like this are rare and special," the company's leadership team said in its release, as quoted by The Virginian-Pilot.

Not every vendor came back. Melissa Smith told the Pilot she would put her time into Lucky Leaf Plant Studio, her houseplant and botanical goods boutique in Wayside Village Shoppes. For anyone who used to shop her booth at Hilltop, that is where to find her now.

The marketplace is open. The Collective Boutiques' location page lists The Boutiques at Virginia Beach at 1624 Laskin Road, open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Regency Hilltop Renovates Around Its Tenants

Regency Hilltop has the biggest project on the calendar, and it follows the same logic. The center's ownership is a joint venture of partners tied to McLeskey and S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. On May 18 it announced new building façades, redesigned storefronts, more landscaping and a central pedestrian walkway through the property. TS3 Architects designed the work, Hemmis Construction is the general contractor, and Cadenz is managing the project. The center will stay open throughout, and completion is expected before the 2026 holiday shopping season.

The same announcement said ownership plans to rebrand the property but did not name it. More details are to come as the project moves along. The Regency Hilltop name may change on the sign, even as the tenants inside stay the same.

The latest deal records point to tenants staying, not leaving. In its October/November 2026 Transaction Action roundup, CoVaBiz recorded three Regency Hilltop deals:

• Ollie's exercised an option at the center.
• Dragon Restaurant extended its lease.
• GoldFish Swim School leased new space.

Clothes Mentor, which opened at 1940 Laskin Road, Suite 301, with a 9:45 a.m. ribbon cutting in late March, is part of this center too.

The Smallest Leases Have the Firmest Dates

The square footage shows why Hilltop has kept changing without a big redevelopment. Here are this year's announced arrivals, largest first:

1. Ross Dress for Less, 28,609 square feet at Regency Hilltop, targeted for 2027
2. GoldFish Swim School, 5,964 square feet at Regency Hilltop
3. Dainty & Dazzled, 2,240 square feet at Hilltop South
4. True Pilates, 1,670 square feet at Hilltop North

Together, the three smaller leases come to 9,874 square feet, about a third of the Ross space alone. Spaces that size can be filled one at a time across three different centers, so the area can change without any single project setting the pace.

The smallest of them also has the most concrete date. A Dainty & Dazzled post dated October 1 says its last day at its current studio is Sunday, October 25. It plans a grand opening at its new Hilltop storefront on Saturday, November 7. The largest has the loosest. The May announcement said Ross's exact opening timeline was "still being finalized," with 2027 as the current target. No public opening date has turned up for GoldFish Swim School or True Pilates.

Pure Green fits the same small-format pattern. It chose an existing storefront in the Marketplace at Hilltop at 737 First Colonial Road for its first Virginia Beach location and opened on August 29, WAVY reported.

What Is Settled and What Is Still a Target

For anyone planning holiday errands or keeping track of what's coming, the year so far falls into two groups.

Already open or on a published calendar:

• Clothes Mentor at Regency Hilltop
• Pure Green at the Marketplace at Hilltop
• The Boutiques at Virginia Beach at Hilltop North, open daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Dainty & Dazzled's November 7 grand opening at Hilltop South

Stated as targets, with no update since:

• Regency Hilltop's renovation, expected before the 2026 holiday season
• The center's new name, not yet announced
• Ross Dress for Less, targeted for 2027
• Opening dates for GoldFish Swim School and True Pilates

The renovation target came from the May 18 announcement. No public progress report has come out since, so the walkway and new storefronts are best treated as expected rather than confirmed until the work is visibly finished.

When the shopping centers next door change, it shapes how buyers see the homes nearby. Michael Rowland follows Hilltop's leases and openings alongside the Alanton market for that reason. If you'd like to know how this year's changes could figure in a sale or purchase near Laskin and First Colonial, start your tailored market consultation.