As Black Friday approaches, shoppers will scour advertisements for deals and map out a strategy to make the most of savings.
And this year, for the first time in Pasco County history, consumers will be able to shop at an outlet mall and a traditional mall within 2 miles of each other.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
There was a time when the prospect of having a new mall so nearby would have been a cause for concern, said Greg Lenners, general manager at The Shops at Wiregrass.
But, that was when plans called for a traditional mall on the land where Tampa Premium Outlets opened on Oct. 29.
The landscape of Wesley Chapel has changed dramatically in the seven years since The Shops at Wiregrass opened, Lenners said.
Back then, State Road 56 ended at the mall’s entrance to Dillard’s, and Bruce B. Downs was a two-lane road.
Now, the area is popping.
State Road 56 has been extended to Meadow Pointe Boulevard, with a proposal to make it four lanes all the way to Zephyrhills. Bruce B. Downs is now a six-lane road.
Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel opened 3½ years ago, is undergoing a $78 million expansion, 2 ½ years ahead of schedule.
Plus, Lenners noted, there’s an 85,000-square-foot medical office building going up next door, Pasco-Hernando State College opened its Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch down the street, and there are about 1,000 homes under construction within a 3-mile ring of the mall.
“You’ve got Estancia. You’ve got The Ridge. Seven Oaks has got a lot of development. You’ve got Arbor Woods. Standard Pacific has a couple of developments on Meadow Pointe, as well, and you’ve got all that coming by the mall,” Lenners said.
“All of this is happening in our backyard, everything east of (Interstate) 75,” he said.
The primary customers at The Shops at Wiregrass are between the ages of 25 and 44, Lenners said. The average annual household income ranges from $85,000 to $90,000. And, the mall’s annual performance has improved every year since it opened, Lenners said.
The general manager doesn’t view Tampa Premium Outlets as competition to be feared.
Instead, he said, “it’s a perfect complement to what we have.”
An outlet center typically draws customers from roughly a 50-mile radius, Lenners said, His mall draws from a 10-mile ring.
The retail expert expects Tampa Premium Outlet’s longer reach to bring more people into the area, with some of those people deciding to check out The Shops at Wiregrass, at State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.
“The benefit for us is that customers that wouldn’t have come typically all of the way up here to visit — from Tampa, or some outer-lying areas — now they’ll come to the outlet (mall),” Lenners said.
The Shops at Wiregrass, just 2 miles away from Tampa Premium Outlets, will likely serve customers who want to eat at its restaurants or explore additional shopping options, he said.
The addition of Tampa Premium Outlets has not prompted The Shops at Wiregrass to rethink its game plan or amp up its events, Lenners said.
“We’ve established ourselves as a staple of the community, and that’s because of the events that we do,” he said. For example, this is the eighth holiday season that The Shops at Wiregrass has hosted “Symphony in Lights.”
This year, the show, presented by Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, has been revamped.
But, that’s not because of the new outlet mall, Lenners said.
The old tree wouldn’t work with current technology, and problems cropped up when it rained, Lenners said.
The new tree is 54 feet tall, including the star, and is about 27 feet in diameter.
“The presentation is much more dramatic,” Lenners said. There are four shows a night, with music from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for two shows and a mix of holiday songs — that were suggested by mall shoppers — for the other two.
In between the sound and light shows, local groups give live performances on a stage in the mall’s center court, in front of the giant Christmas tree.
That’s been a tradition for years.
“Every night, there’s a different group. They’ve got their 45 minutes of fame,” Lenners said.
The mall will continue to have assorted events, including the Suncoast Arts Festival, car shows, fresh markets and charity walks for various causes, Lenners said.
It also continues to consider new possibilities.
“We’re constantly evolving things. We’re massaging. We’re constantly looking at events: What works? What doesn’t? What’s starting to get stale?” Lenners said.
Having the Tampa Premium Outlets and The Shops at Wiregrass in such convenient proximity adds to the Wesley Chapel area’s growing cache, Lenners said.
“We’re turning into a shopping mecca, destination. You can pretty much make a day of it,” Lenners said.
Published November 25, 2015
