The battle for St Louis - Taubman Breaks Ground, Simon Signs Saks

Prestige Outlet

By Robert Carr  - GlobeSt.com

CHESTERFIELD, MO-Both Simon Property Group and Taubman Centers are competing to see which company can build an outlet mall here first. Simon had the first cohesive statement by announcing Tuesday that it has signed anchor Saks OFF 5^th to St. Louis Premium Outlets and Taubman countered Thursday by breaking ground on its project Prestige Outlets Chesterfield.

Indianapolis-based $85 million Simon’s project, a venture with Woodmont Outlets and EWB Development, is part of the mixed-use Chesterfield Blue Valley development at Interstate 64 and US Highway 40. The first phase will have 350,000 square feet. The Saks would be the first store by the brand in Missouri.

Taubman’s site is across from the current Chesterfield Mall, and is set to include about 100 stores in 450,000 square feet. Nico Schultz, development manager for the Bloomfield Hills, MI-based Taubman, tells GlobeSt.com that the firm is the first to gain all city approvals to develop its outlet center. “We have the clear time advantage, we’ve been working to put together our site for more than a year,” he says. “They have a ways to go. We have firm commitments from retailers.”

However, he says can’t reveal the names of the tenants. “We typically announce tenants after our ceremonial groundbreaking, which we’re targeting for June,” Schultz says. He says he also can’t reveal the cost of the project, which is a venture between the REIT and OutletPartners LLC.

Taubman has 27 owned, leased or managed mall properties, including the outlet centers Dolphin Mall in Miami and Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills, MI.

In a statement Thursday, COO William Taubman said his property is by far the superior site, and will be completed by fall 2013. “We will be the dominant outlet shopping destination in the region,” he said. Simon, which has 70 outlet centers, said its property should also be finished by fall 2013.

This week has seen a number of outlet center projects announced throughout the Midwest, including a project by Muskegon, MI-based Horizon Group Properties to reportedly a 355,000-square-foot center in Louisville and recent city preliminary approval by Eagan, MN to allow Baltimore-based Paragon Outlet Partners LLC to open a 100-store project. Schultz says outlets are finally starting to get their due. “People are starting to understand the benefits of outlet malls,” he says.