Prime Outlets St. Augustine

[reednavy]

Damn, $2.3 billion?!

[chipwich]

Yah, the interior of this outlet mall is really quite dark and depressing and lacks most good retail .  For the exception of a few good stores on the outside, I try to avoid the center if I can.  They landed some pretty good tenants in the new phase, but it almost looks like they forgot about the rest of the center.  Hopefully Simon may be able to help turn it around a bit more.

[Jason]

Man, didn't see that one comming.  I didn't know that Simon already owned the "old" outlet mall. 

From what I've seen, the Prime Outlet has been doing some descent buisness.  I wonder if Prime as a whole was starting to go under?

[Lunican]

$2.3 Billion seems like way too much. Is that right?

[Jason]

That's for the entire Prime Outlets corporation, not just for the St. Aug mall.

[chipwich]

I think $2.3 billion was for the entire chain which is I believe 22 outlets., so it comes out to $100 million per mall, which at a 10% rate of return means that each mall would need to net $10 million in rent.  Not easy to do in the current environment, but again, not too far fetched either.  Each mall probably has at least 50-100 stores on average, so the deal seems pretty fair.

[Cricket]

SJC residents will tell you that they love shopping at both the Prime and Premier Outlets, almost within walking distance of each other. Beats having to deal with the long haul to the SJTC for decent stores. I suspect that those who don't have anything good to say about the Outlets, just wish it was in their own background.

[Lunican]

Ok, I thought it was for just one property. That makes more sense.

[blizz01]

So, should we expect an overall better experience/selection with Simon, or, no noticeable difference?  I suppose that outlet malls have always been sort of bland or generic - almost clinical.  You know what to expect, but Prime could have done much more with the inside portion of the mall - especially considering the "facade" that was created with the newer tenants like Saks & Gucci.  It was really disappointing to walk inside just to find newly stained carpet and humming lights.  There were a few more decent shops, but they were mixed in with a granny-panty outlet store, NASCAR & wolf clothing, & surplus tools. Given that, the existing Simon property across I-95 isn't exactly awe-inspiring.  But I'm optimistic.

[chipwich]

Prime has an outlet center in Orlando that is great.  They basically gutted the interior halls and replaced them with large outdoor covered walkways.  The center is huge and very bright and vibrant.  I hope Simon decides to expand on this design.  Prime Outlets didi a nice job on the outside of the St. Augustine mall.  Let's hope some decides to bring the rest of the mall up to par with the front.