Outlets at Albertville to Expand

ALBERTVILLE, MN-After a successful first phase opened in April, JMJProperties said this week that it will start buildingthe second phase of Outlets at Albertville.

The 248,000-sf center, which is just northwest of theTwin Cities off Interstate 94 and Minnesota Highway19, opened nearly 100% leased with high-profiletenants such as Polo, Nautica, Nike and Eddie Bauer,according to Mike Scott, a retail broker at UnitedProperties.

“The center has been an overwhelming success,exceeding all performance targets,” he said in arecent report on the Twin Cities retailing market.The second phase will add 58,000 sf of retail spaceand will include from 12 to 15 stores. The new storesare scheduled to open in the summer of 2001, and willbring the center’s size to 306,000 sf. It is alreadythe largest outlet center in the state.

The first phase opened 49 outlet stores and tworestaurants, including five that are new to the Twin Citiesmarket: Polo Ralph Lauren, Nautica, Tommy Hilfiger,GAP Outlet and Harry and David, says Laura Opsahl,director of marketing for the center. Since the grandopening, BOSE Factory Store and Waterford Wedgwoodhave opened as well.

“Our business since opening has been outstanding,which has allowed us to add some of the industry’shottest names to round out our tenant mix in thesecond phase,” Shane Bullough, president of JMJProperties says.

JMJ also said it would add more stores and restaurantsto the current phase this fall, such as the CosmeticsCo. Store, which is scheduled to this month, andGeoffrey Beene, expected to open on Nov. 2. GloriousBeans Cafe, a European coffee cafe that will alsoserve meals and desserts, will open the first week ofNovember, as will LT Express Food Court, which willfeature a variety of American and ethnic cuisine.

JMJ Properties, a real estate development companybased in Muskegon, MI, has developed more than 1.3million sf of retail space over the lastseven years, including three other outlet centerprojects.