TINTON FALLS, NJ-Chelsea Property Group formally unveiled to the local planning board its detailed plans for Jersey Shore Premium Outlets, a 435,000-sf, 130-store enclosed mall shopping center on 70 acres near the intersection of Route 66 and the Garden State Parkway here. Chelsea officials say they hope to break ground as early as next month and have the center up and running by the spring of 2006.
Under plans offered up to planning board members this week by Mark Silvestri, Chelsea's senior director of development and acquisitions, Jersey Shore Premium Outlets would be made up of eight retail buildings ranging from 25,000 sf to nearly 100,000 sf. Individual stores would generally range between 3,000 sf and 5,000 sf. The site would also include nearly 2,200 parking spaces.
Chelsea officials have declined to name any potential tenants other than it will be "an upscale national-brand" roster, according to Silvestri. However, some of the names that have already surfaced, according to industry sources, include Saks Fifth Avenue, Brooks Brothers, Armani and Nordstrom.
The plans were revealed at what is expected to be the first of two such sessions, after which the planning board is expected to pass its judgment. The proposal is getting some opposition locally from a coalition of environmental groups, notably because of its proximity to the Shark River. The site is mostly open space, with some peripheral wetlands and a wooded area.
The unveiling follows the borough council's decision, in late fall, to designate the site as a redevelopment area. Also last fall, the Roseland-based Chelsea completed its assembly of the 70-acre site, buying an adjacent seven-acre parcel containing a law office for an undisclosed price. Chelsea's proposal calls for razing the 11,500-sf building to accommodate a highway overpass providing access to the site.
Among its more than 60 outlet centers in the US and abroad, Chelsea operates two others in New Jersey. If it proceeds, Jersey Shore Premium Outlets would be the largest of the company's three properties in the Garden State. Currently, the Jackson Outlet Village in Jackson and the Liberty Village Premium Outlets in Flemington combined are about the size of the proposed center. Chelsea operates as a division of Simon Property Group, which acquired the company last fall in a $5.1-billion deal.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.