Outlet mall breaks ground in El Paso
Hilfiger store among 62 to open in October
By Vic Kolenc / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 02/02/2007 12:00:26 AM MST
Sun Valley Factory Shoppes officials announced Thursday that the outlet mall has 62 tenants that will help fill the $70 million, 380,000-square-foot mall, scheduled to open in October. (Horizon Group Properties Inc.)
(Horizon Group Properties Inc.)Sixty-two national brand stores have signed leases to be tenants in a $70 million factory outlet shopping center under construction near Interstate 10 and Trans Mountain Road on the West Side, the developer of the center announced Thursday.
Sun Valley Factory Shoppes is leasing up more quickly than average and should be full or close to full when it opens in October, said Gary Skoien, chairman, president and CEO of Chicago-based Horizon Group Properties Inc., the center developer. He made his remarks after having what Horizon labeled a groundbreaking ceremony even though a building is already rising on the site.
The 385,000-square-foot center will have 80 to 90 stores, along with the possibility of a second phase being added with an additional 15 to 20 stores "if the center does well," Skoien said.
Horizon, which is building the center with partner Grand Misuma, a Los Angeles real estate development company, projects that the center will generate about $110 million in annual sales. It expects to attract shoppers from Mexico,
(Horizon Group Properties Inc.)New Mexico and people traveling on I-10, Skoien said.
Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, and Gap Outlet are among the big names on the center's list. Other tenants have already committed but have not yet signed leases, Skoien said
Trisha McNamara, 23, a Northeast resident who was eating lunch Thursday at a Taco Bell near the Sun Valley site, said she liked the list of stores.
The tenant list includes "some of the stores I shop at when I'm out of town," McNamara said. "I'll go (to the new center) when it opens."
Only one food outlet, Hot Dog on a Stick, has been announced so far, but others will be added, Horizon officials said.
Hector Heras Jr., vice president of El Taco Tote Real Mexican Grill, an El Paso-based chain of Mexican fast-food restaurants, said Taco Tote was looking at locating at the center.
"I feel it will have a lot of traffic; we'll need to be here," Heras said after the groundbreaking ceremony.
Bob Cook, president of the El Paso
(Horizon Group Properties Inc.)Regional Economic Development Corp., said the new center is a "quality of life" element that helps in recruiting new companies to this area.
El Paso Mayor John Cook told those huddled inside a tent for the groundbreaking ceremony on a brisk morning that the new center is "about economic development, growing a tax base, and putting people to work."
Horizon projects that the Sun Valley stores will employ about 800 people. "Will they be the world's best-paying jobs? No," Cook said. "But we have a lot of people looking for jobs and this will be a fit for them."
Vic Kolenc may be reached at vkolenc@elpasotimes.com, 546-6421
For more information: www.horizongroup.com
Sun Valley lineup
Tenants that have signed leases for the Sun Valley Factory Shoppes:
Adidas, Aéropostales, Anne Klein, Banana Republic, Bas, BCBG, Brooks Brothers.
Calvin Klein Underwear, Carter's, Casual Male, The Children's Place, Claire's, Converse.
Disney Store, Dress Barn, Easy Spirit, EcKo, Famous Footwear, Fragrance Outlet.
Gap Outlet, Geoffrey Beene, Le Gourmet Chef, Guess, Gymboree, Hot Dog on a Stick, Hot Topic.
IZOD, Kasper, Johnston & Murphy, Jones NY, Journeys, KB Toys, Kitchen Collection.
Lane Bryant, Levi's, Dockers, Maidenform, Naturalizer, Nike, Nine West, Old Navy, OshKosh.
Rack Room Shoes, PacSun, Petite Sophisticate, Perry Ellis, Puma, Quicksilver, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.
Samsonite, Skechers, Strasburg Children, Stride Rite, Sunglass Hut, Timex, Tommy Hilfiger.
Ultra Diamonds, VF Outlet, Van Heusen, Vitamin World, Wilsons Leather, and Zumiez.
Source: Horizon Group Properties Inc.
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