Crews were out this week clearing the land near the intersection of State Road 56 and Interstate 75 for a new outlet mall, and it looks like come this time next year, there will be a new place for residents to shop.
Simon Property Group told investors in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday, that construction has started on Tampa Premium Outlets, a 441,000-square-foot center that is now expected to open next October. That is later than what Simon had hoped to complete construction, originally saying last year that it would open by the end of 2014, and then pushing that back to July 2015 a short time later.
It’s one of two new projects Simon has started in the most recent quarter, according to the filing, joining a 366,000-square-foot center start in Tucson, Arizona.
The Indianapolis-based company didn’t say how much it was spending on construction of the outlet mall in the general Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes area, but said all of its current construction projects totaled about $2.2 billion. That includes the Tucson project, as well as recent premium mall openings in North Carolina and Minnesota, and construction and expansion of at least 30 other projects throughout North America.
Tampa Premium Outlets LLC purchased the more than 48 acres of land on three parcels for $14.1 million on Oct. 3, according to Pasco County property records. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Simon Property Group, according to state corporate records, and Simon’s financial filings with the SEC.
The full project will be built in seven phases, according to plans filed with the county last February, which would include the main outlet mall in the first phase located in nine buildings. It will include nearly 2,400 parking spaces, far more than the 1,600 spaces required by the county for a project of this size.
Simon has not made any formal announcements on tenants for the property, or who will anchor, although some of those announcements are expected by the end of the year.
