The time has finally arrived, after much anticipation and a VIP opening event on Wednesday July 17th to benefit Elm Street Cultural Arts Village, The Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta is officially open to the public. A crowd numbering in the 100’s descended on the Ridgewalk Parkway site to watch city and county leaders, business owners, politicians and others to cut the ribbon that signaled the official opening of the long awaited outlet mall.
“I firmly believe this is the biggest thing to hit Woodstock since the railroad” said Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques.
In the first few days of opening, including the VIP event, one of the biggest topics being talked about by Cherokee county residents has been the traffic generated by the initial opening rush. Parking lots at the center have been overwhelmed and satellite parking at sites such as Woodstock elementary school with shuttle buses has been utilized for both shoppers and employees. Mall management expects that once initial interest in the mall subsides, traffic and parking will become more normalized.
The outlet mall is a joint venture of CBL & Associates Properties and Horizon Group Properties, with Horizon heading up leasing and managing the center.
With 370,000-square-feet of retail space, the mall will include national brands and designer outlets such as Adidas, American Eagle, Auntie Anne’s, GH Bass & Co., Calphalon, Chao Praya, Chicken Now, Chico’s, Clarks, Coach, Crabtree & Evelyn, Crocs, Fossil, Fragrance Outlet, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Hartstrings, Johnston & Murphy, Jones New York, Juicy Couture, Kasper, Kate Spade, Lane Bryant, Lenscrafters, Lids, Lids Locker Room, Little Tokyo, Loft Outlet, Luggage Factory, Naturalizer, Papaya, Skechers, Sunglass Warehouse, The Children’s Place, Tommy Hilfiger, True Religion, Ultra Diamonds, Van Heusen and Yankee Candle.
The center features covered walkways, landscaped court yards and includes other features such as a children’s play area. The center court area features fountains and an outdoor fireplace. The site is designed to accommodate an additional 30,000 square feet of retail space and there are seven outparcels for restaurants and other retail related businesses.
Projections show that the project will generate in excess of $130 million in sales annually, as well as, provide three million dollars in sales and property taxes for Woodstock and Cherokee County.
The outlet mall is located along Ridgewalk Parkway just east of Interstate 575, directly off the new Exit 9 interchange.
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