Simon Launching New Development At 4 U.S. Outlet Centers
The largest U.S. retail owner is renewing its push to add space to several projects, including building new shops and hotels at the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in New York's Hudson Valley, one of the largest outlet centers in the country.
Simon Property Group is commencing development at four outlet properties, including adding 160K SF of new shops and two hotels at Woodbury Common, it announced Wednesday. It also reached an agreement to resolve a legal dispute with the city of Carson, California, to resume the development of a 400K SF high-end fashion outlet along Interstate 405.
The project was initially pitched as a joint venture between Simon and Macerich Co. in 2018, but in April 2020, the partnership filed an $80M lawsuit against Carson, alleging the city's “pattern of astonishingly gross financial and project mismanagement” in efforts to remediate what was a former dump led to the project being economically nonviable, the Daily Breeze reported at the time. In March 2021, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge tossed out most of Simon and Macerich's lawsuit.
It is unclear if Macerich remains part of the development team on the 40-acre project, which is scheduled to open in 2024.
Simon also announced plans to develop a 300K SF luxury outlet in Nashville in a joint venture with Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners that it said would be on par with Woodbury Common and its Desert Hills Premium Outlets in California, with construction slated to start next year.
Simon also is restarting construction on the Tulsa Premium Outlets off Interstate 75 in Jenks, Oklahoma, this year. Development of the 300K SF outlet started in 2020, but the pandemic forced Simon to hit pause. The property will feature nearly 100 retailers and is expected to open in 2024.
