Tanger is planning a "racetrack design" with 380,000 sf ofleasable upscale retail in a garden-type setting with waterfeatures as its first test of urban infill markets, according toHerbert Gears, Irving's mayor. "It's not your grandpa's outletmall," he emphasizes to GlobeSt.com. "They believe there's anopportunity. Simply because of the reputation of the quality ofmanufacturers and widely recognized brands, that it works in themarketplace."

The Greensboro, NC-based Tanger team, including its presidentand COO Steven B. Tanger arrived last night in the metroplex fortoday's press conference. Neither he nor his teammates wereavailable by deadline to discuss the development timetable.

[IMGCAP(2)]"This is a very significant announcement for Irvingand Tanger. It takes a lot of land to set it up in this upscalefashion," Gears says, adding a hotel site has been included in theplan. Tanger will buy the 50-acre site from the university, whichkicked in 200 acres of its land claim toward a 488.4-acreredevelopment proposal launched in 2005 whenthe NFL team's owner Jerry Jones opted to plant his newretractable-roof stadium in Arlington after pitting Irving, Dallasand other cities against each other for a sports project nowtouting a $1-billion price tag. "We've been working very hard togenerate activity for three years now," Gears says.