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Still Life at St. Louis Outlet Mall; New Venues, More in the Plan Stages
Story and photos By Ralph Schaffer
The St. Louis Outlet Mall opened its doors in 2003 as St. Louis Mills Mall, and many tenants have came and gone within the past 14 years. The amount of vacant space in recent years has been on the rise, with the few tenants remaining, being far and few across the six “neighborhoods” on the property. But there is still several of signs of life at the mall.
The Mall has, however, seen some new attractions including the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience that was introduced earlier this year. In addition, Hope Church recently signed a lease to occupy 40,000 square feet that was formerly a bookstore.
General Manager Matt Murphy has a plan to bring more to the once booming outlet mall, slowly but surely. “While we plan to bring more retail tenants back into the mall, we are exploring all leasing possibilities, including additional entertainment/amusement tenants,” said Murphy.
Alongside the Rusty Wallace attraction, Midwest Clearance Center occupies a 30,000 square foot space that was once Bed Bath and Beyond.
“We have plenty of spaces left to fill- we’re working hard every day to make that happen-and we have some specific needs such as food-court tenants and at least once full-service restaurant.” Murphy has stressed that management is taking a quality-over-quantity approach in revitalizing the property.“…We are looking to bring in quality tenants who offer more to the mall than just a storefront sign above an open gate.”
The St. Louis Outlet Mall’s website lists 30 tenants currently occupying the space, including the Ice ZONE where the St.Louis Blues still practice; Putting Edge; Regal Cinema, and Ross. Mall-goers can still grab a snack at Wetzel’s Pretzels but all the other food locations in the are gone. There are restaurants just outside the mall.
Murphy noted that moving in to the property has several benefits for future tenants. “The main advantage for new tenants is the variety of reasons we are giving the public to visit the mall. Whether a customer is coming to the mall to shop, attend a church service, or visit one of our entertainment/amusement tenants, we will focus on driving that customer into as many other tenant spaces as possible during their visit.”
To keep up on what’s in store with what’s going on at the Outlet Mall, log on to http://www.stlouisoutletmall.com/.
