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BALTIMORE-Prime Retail's 29 retail outlets, which are spread out across the country from California to Massachusetts, will be given new life now that the Baltimore-based REIT has revealed it will have spent $100 million upgrading the properties by the end of this year as part of a program that got under way in 2004. One of this year's projects that is currently in the works is the expansion of Prime Outlets-Queenstown in Queenstown, MD.

The 220,000-sf shopping center will get an extra 80,000 sf of retail space, and will undergo additional physical enhancements, as well as tenancy changes; further modifications are to come next year. And a $25 million expansion and renovation to Prime Outlets-San Marcos in San Marcos, TX also began this year.

"We were not able to invest properly over the last five years due to the previous ownership's financials," Prime Retail president Bob Brvenik tells GlobeSt.com. But the company was rescued in 2003 when the Lakewood, NJ-based Lightstone Group LLC purchased the REIT. "Lightsone's intention coming into it was to infuse cash into the properties."

While all 29 of Prime Retail's outlets will be submitted to improvement programs, the alterations will vary. Many of the properties will be re-tenanted to bring in better brands, other centers will undergo renovations as warranted, and those outlets that are already doing very well will be considered for expansion. "We have some of the best performing centers in the business," Brvenik says. "Outlet centers are still a strong long-term business investment that still has a lot of potential incentives."

Instant Insights /

Prime Retail Outlets To See $100M in Upgrades by Year's End

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