Asheville Outlets
Asheville, North Carolina
With natural attractions like the Blue Ridge Parkway and cultural attractions from the historic Biltmore Estate to one of the country’s top farm-to-table food scenes, Asheville has its fair share of tourist draws. This traffic garnered the attention of New England Development, whose new Asheville Outlets will open at the intersection of interstates 40 and 26 on May 1.
As Asheville is known for its strong homegrown culture, both in cuisine and shopping, the 75 stores of the 325,000-square-foot outlet will mix local specialties with national brands to which residents don’t currently have access.
“We will have a lot of national stores that residents are asking for, but we also actively go out and look for top retailers and restaurants in the local community,” said Jennifer Rotigliano, vice president of property marketing for New England Development. “We will also have a push-cart program through the center, which is a great opportunity for small businesses to start something and help them grow while offering a good mix for the tourist.”
Each of the outlet centers New England Development operates is designed to evoke the ambiance of the area, such as tented structures that look like sails in the recently opened Palm Beach location. The Asheville Outlets will draw inspiration from the wooded environment of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Outlets at Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Also from New England Development, the 325,000-square-foot Outlets at Little Rock, taking inspiration from the famous waters of nearby Hot Springs, Arkansas, as opposed to Asheville’s lauded greenery, will open near the Clinton Presidential LIbrary on October 16.
Situated between Hot Springs and Little Rock, on the route for locals migrating to second homes at the springs, as well as visitors from Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana and Mississippi, the Outlets at Little Rock will fill a crucial void in Arkansas, where there are no outlet centers in the state or within 145 miles, according to New England Development’s Rotigliano.
“People who live in the area are used to driving a distance to find quality shops,” she said. “The setting of the center will be more the feeling of Little Rock. It’s not in the city proper, but right there by the city.”
Two months before the outlets open, tickets sales will open for the preview event “Open Doors, Open Hearts,” to be held on the day before the mall’s official opening. All 5,000 tickets typically sell out.
Tickets include advance entrance to the mall and an evening of entertainment, food and prizes, and are fixed at $20 per person, with 100 percent of proceeds going to the consumer’s choice of charity. “People can pick which charity they want to support, as well as get in before everyone else,” said Rotigliano. “We’ve raised $100,000 with previous events.”
