Area officials and representatives from Simon Property Group and Woodmont Outlets got their hands dirty this morning, breaking ground on the new St. Louis Premium Outlet Mall in Chesterfield Valley.
The outlet mall is being built in a competitive retail area: the longest strip mall in the United States is next door, and Chesterfield Mall is only 6 miles from the construction site. But Chesterfield Mayor Bruce Geiger isn't worried the new mall will detract business from other area retail centers. He says the overlap in customers between Chesterfield Mall and the new outlet mall is 10 to 15 percent, but that the impact “won’t be significant.”
Simon Premium Outlets President John Klein says the prime location of the site and support of the Chesterfield community are what drew the company to the West County suburb. The new outlet mall will be located directly off highway 40 just east of the Daniel Boone Bridge.
Klein expects the project to generate over $140 million annually in sales and $11 million in sales tax. Chesterfield Mayor Bruce Geiger expects Premium Outlets to draw two to three million shoppers to the region. Geiger says it will not harm the mile-long stretch of businesses next-door to the site, nor will it harm the nearby Chesterfield Mall.
The project is expected to create 800 jobs during the construction phase, and another 800 permanent retail jobs once the mall opens in 2013.
