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(May 1, 2015 – ASHEVILLE, NC) Asheville Outlets opened with great fanfare on May 1st as thousands of shoppers flocked to the new open-air outlet center located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville Outlets is the newest destination for shopping in the greater Asheville market – the regional and economic hub for western North Carolina with a strong and growing visitor market. Shoppers will find many of the most popular names in the outlet industry, including Ann Taylor Factory Store, Banana Republic Factory Store, Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Coach, Cole Haan, GAP Factory Store, J. Crew Factory, Nike Factory Store, Tommy Hilfiger, Under Armour, and Vera Bradley Outlet.
Grand opening weekend kicked off on the evening of April 30th with Open Doors. Open Hearts. Charity Preview Night, a special ticketed event that allowed shoppers to get a sneak peek at Asheville Outlets while raising approximately $70,000 for local charities. All proceeds from the ticket purchases supported 20 area non-profits, including Manna Food Bank, the Council on Aging of Buncombe County, Meals on Wheels, and Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. Many of the non-profits will be on-site all weekend with interactive displays and an animal adoption on Sunday.
Grand Opening Day began May 1st with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9:00 a.m. Area elected officials, dignitaries and local business leaders were on-site for the event, which included remarks from New England Development President Douglass Karp, Asheville Vice Mayor Marc Hunt, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kit Cramer, and Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Stephanie Brown.
In his remarks, Douglass Karp lauded the many people involved with opening a project of this magnitude. “I’m thrilled to be here today to celebrate the Grand Opening of Asheville Outlets with the hundreds of people who have helped make this day possible” he said. “We truly appreciate the dedication of the men and women who have worked so hard on this project. I’m especially pleased to welcome the stores and the nearly 1,000 local employees who will be instrumental in making Asheville Outlets a special, regional shopping destination here in Asheville.”
A highlight of the Saturday Grand Opening Weekend festivities is the Looks for Less fashion show hosted by Celebrity stylist and Emmy award-winning television personality Carson Kressley. Looks for Less will feature the latest spring fashions for a fraction of the cost. Attendees will learn how to put together a stylish, current wardrobe within their budget. Shoppers will also enjoy exclusive savings, prize giveaways and more. The fashion show takes place on Saturday, May 2nd at 3 PM and is free and open to the public.
Sunday’s Grand Opening festivities kick off at noon with Kids Day, featuring balloon artists, face painters, jugglers, magicians and more. Performers include local entertainers Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina and Crest Mountain Dinner Theatre.
Asheville Outlets serves the greater Asheville market, along with upstate South Carolina and east Tennessee, and is located at the intersection of two major interstates – I-40 and I-26 at Brevard Road (Route 191). More than 1,300 jobs in Buncombe County and $33 million in annual, additional local income are being created with the opening of the outlet center.
Asheville Outlets is a project of New England Development, which made a conscious effort to be smart stewards of the environment as they renovated the former mall site. Over 280 trees were saved on the property and over 780 new trees will be planted above and beyond those that were persevered. The landscaping is predominantly species native to the area. Pedestrian, parking and roof canopy lights are all LED. The new property also includes four electric car charging stations and Asheville’s first dog watering fountain and way station.
Asheville Outlets
Real Brands. Unreal Savings. Save up to 70 percent off on America’s most desired brands at Asheville Outlets, an open-air lifestyle destination developed by New England Development in partnership with Tremont Realty Capital. Located at the intersection of I-40 & I-26 at Brevard Road, this open-air lifestyle destination includes close to 75 stores and eateries, featuring some of the most popular brand names. Visit ShopAshevilleOutlets.com. Follow us on Facebook @ashevilleoutlets, Twitter @shopasheville and Instagram @ashevilleoutlets. For group tour information, email tours@shopashevilleoutlets.com.
New England Development
For more than thirty-five years, New England Development has taken a creative, entrepreneurial approach to real estate development and management––delivering and sustaining successful projects across a wide range of property types––and across the country. New England Development’s growing portfolio of retail projects now includes an exciting mix of outlet centers in dynamic markets nationally. This collection of centers includes Palm Beach Outlets in West Palm Beach, Florida.; Asheville Outlets® in Asheville, North Carolina and Outlets of Little Rock in Little Rock, Arkansas. – opening in 2015; and Outlets of Des Moines in Altoona, Iowa, Clarksburg Premium Outlets ® in Clarksburg, Maryland, and Outlets of Michigan in Romulus, Mich. – opening in 2016.