Tanger Outlet
Interstate 35 & State Highway 114
Fort Worth 76101
336-292-3010
www.tangeroutlet.com
Major retailers planned for the center are H&M, The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, The Children’s Place, Nike, Levi’s, Banana Republic, Express, Guess, and Restoration Hardware
Ever since the announcement of plans for two outlet malls in north Fort Worth, city officials and residents have been waiting for dirt to start turning. It has. On Thursday, Oct. 6, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and other officials broke ground for the Tanger Outlet Center near Texas Motor Speedway.
Not surprisingly, Price was thinking about fashion – at least about the coordination between her outfit and the hard hat she donned for the groundbreaking.
“It matches my dress perfect. Tanger red,” she said as she and numerous other dignitaries grabbed gold shovels and scooped up dirt to signify the beginning of the new shopping center 18 miles north of Fort Worth next to the Texas Motor Speedway.
Price and the other dignitaries were in a good mood and no wonder. Officials believe the new outlet center at Interstate 35 West and State Highway 114 will also be a perfect match for the communities of Fort Worth and Denton County. The center, which will feature approximately 350,000 square feet of retail space and more than 80 upscale brand names, is planned for a November 2017 opening.
“This exciting project that has been a long time coming,” Price said. “We anticipate that the amenities it provides will be an incredible draw for the region and to further diversify our attractions in Fort Worth to live, work and play.”
Bob Jameson, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau, compared the arrival of the center to the Super Bowl North Texas hosted a few years ago.
“This could be the Super Bowl of shopping,” he said.
Among the major retailers planned for the center are H&M, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, The Children’s Place, Nike, Levi’s, Banana Republic, Express, Guess, and Restoration Hardware.
Jameson noted that eight million visitors arrive in Fort Worth each year. That, he said, is a lot of shopping money.
“When people ask for an outlet experience, we’d like to keep those dollars in Fort Worth, not send them to Grapevine or Grand Prairie,” he said.
Steven B. Tanger, president and CEO of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc., added to Jameson’s statement, citing that the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport has about 1,800 flights arriving daily – with potential shoppers.
“I’ve heard some folks are coming here with empty suitcases to fill up and take home,” he said, chuckling.
Fort Worth City Councilman Dennis Shingleton said the new center will bring about 400 jobs during the construction phase. Then, upon opening, about 900 more full-time and part-time jobs will be created.
“Tanger has a long history of success,” he said.
Price praised the partnering of Tanger, Fine Line Diversified Development Company, and the City of Fort Worth to bring the center to the area. She said it will bring an estimated $100 million or more in tax revenue to the area.
“The beauty of this is it’s a private-public partnership,” she said.
Price also said the name Tanger will be painted on the roof of the buildings in the center so people arriving on planes to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport can see them. She added they can already see Big Hoss, the giant screen TV at Texas Motor Speedway across the street.
Also welcoming the retail center was neighbor Eddie Gossage, president and general manager of Texas Motor Speedway.
“We are pleased to welcome Tanger Outlets as our new neighbor and look forward to future partnerships,” he said.
Bill Boecker, president and CEO of Fine Line, said the center will anchor the Champions Circle Development. Currently, the area has a Marriott Hotel, Churchill luxury apartments and a Buc-ee’s mega-convenience store, which Boecker jokingly called the “Eighth Wonder of the Texas highway world.”
Other projects for the development include numerous restaurants, some big box retail chains, more apartments and office buildings.
“It should be in full swing about time we can enjoy Tanger,” Boecker said. “We have a lot of digging ahead of us.”
Boecker then lauded all of the involved parties, saying, “They’re the best partners anyone could ever hope for.”
The Tanger Center is one of two outlet centers hoping to corral business in north Fort Worth. The other is from the Woodmont Company, a planned 580,000-acre center across from Cabela’s on I-35W and State Highway 170, about 15 minutes from Tanger’s site.
However, Tanger made it clear his company does not want to share the territory.
“This will be the ONLY outlet center in Fort Worth,” he said.
“I think it will be very difficult to have two viable centers in such close proximity,” said Robert Sturns, Fort Worth director of economic development. “Tanger has somewhat of a competitive advantage with coming out of the gate first, so it will be interesting to see how both properties develop and what kind of overall impact having two centers so close to each other will bring.
“Obviously, our best case scenario is that both developments find their own specific niche of the retail market and are able to achieve success.”
The city council approved Tanger’s economic development grant in May 2015. The agreement was a $56 million grant over a 15-year period, with the developers promising to invest $235 million for all three phases of the project. The Woodmont outlets group also received a $20 million economic development grant over a 15-year period. In order to receive this grant, the outlets are required to invest at least $100 million on development by the end of 2019.
In the meantime, Sturns said the addition of the Tanger Center is definitely a plus for the area. He noted that the revenue generated will have a widespread positive effect.
“A project of this size and scope will have a significant capital investment in the city and should spin off some very high sales tax dollars as a result. Outlet malls are typically regional draws that could locate in neighboring jurisdictions, so having the opportunity in Fort Worth allows us to capture those dollars that we might have otherwise lost,” he said.
“This project will also provide substantial dollars to not only the City general fund, but to the crime control and prevention district and the T (rail system) as a result of the increase in sales tax generated.”
Tanger said this will be his company’s 45th outlet center since opening with what he said was the nation’s first in 1981 in Burlington, North Carolina. This will be the fourth in Texas, joining centers in Terrell, San Marcos and Texas City.