Empire Outlets
Empire Outlets in June 2022
LocationSt. George, Staten Island, New York City, U.S.
Coordinates40°38′40.7″N 74°4′29.1″W / 40.644639°N 74.074750°W / 40.644639; -74.074750
Address55 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301
Opening dateMay 15, 2019
DeveloperEmpire Outlets Builders, LLC
OwnerGoldman Sachs[1][2]
ArchitectSHoP Architects
No. of stores and services100
Total retail floor area350,000 sq ft (33,000 m2)
Parking1,250
Public transit accessStaten Island Ferry, Staten Island Railway, and MTA bus routes at St. George Terminal
Websitehttps://empireoutlets.nyc

Empire Outlets New York City is a 350,000-square-foot (33,000 m2) retail complex in the St. George neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City. Construction on Empire Outlets started in 2015, and the complex opened on May 15, 2019. Tentative plans called for 100 stores, but there is only space for about 70 stores, less than half of which are currently occupied. It is the first outlet mall in New York City. The mall is located next to the St. George Terminal, a major ferry, train, and bus hub.

Facilities

The 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m2) mall, the city's first outlet mall,[3] was to feature 100 designer outlet stores and a 120,000 sq ft (11,000 m2) hotel with 200 rooms as it originally was approved.[4] There are also 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) of outdoor space with a staircase leading to a green roof. The mall includes a 1,200-space underground parking lot, as well as 22 escalators and 21 elevators. As of July 2018, tenants leasing significant amounts of space included H&M, Nordstrom Rack, Nike Factory, and Gap Inc.'s subsidiaries Banana Republic and Old Navy.[3]

Empire Outlets is located between St. George Terminal and SIUH Community Park.[4][5] The mall is located next to the site of the unbuilt New York Wheel,[6] a 625-foot (190.5 m) tall giant Ferris wheel that was canceled in 2018.[7] The two projects initially went through the approval process simultaneously and shared consultants on issues such as traffic and the waterfront, but were separate projects with separate funding.[6][8]

History

Development

Empire Outlets under construction in August 2017

Construction on Empire Outlets started in 2015.[3] BFC Partners, based in Brooklyn, constructed Empire Outlets under the auspices of the developer, an Economic Development Corp[4] named Empire Outlets Builders, LLC. SHoP Architects provided architectural design services; DeSimone Consulting Engineers was the structural engineering firm; and Casandra Properties and EB were the leasing agents.[9]

The original opening date for Empire Outlets was scheduled for fall 2017. However, in early 2017, the opening was delayed to March 2018 in order to coincide with the New York Wheel's opening.[10] Later that year, the mall's opening was delayed again to late 2018.[11] By July 2018, the mall was mostly complete, and was projected to open that November.[3] However, in September 2018, the mall's opening date was postponed again, this time to spring 2019.[12] The mall's opening date was later set at May 15, 2019.[13][14]

Operation

Even though the grand opening was held on May 15,[15][16] most retailers opened on a staggered schedule through mid-2019.[17] By November 2019, there were thirty stores operating at Empire Outlets, and hundreds of thousands of visitors had traveled to the mall, with international tourists making up almost two-thirds of all spending at Empire Outlets. This, in turn, increased international spending on Staten Island by almost 50%. A 600-seat beer garden and a food market were expected to further increase visitation to Empire Outlets once they opened in early 2020, which they never did.[18] By late 2020, Empire Outlets was struggling to make payments on loans.[19]

In February 2022, Empire Outlets went into foreclosure; it owed $38 million to Sterling National Bank and $174 million to Goldman Sachs' Urban Investment Group.[20][21] Foreclosure proceedings continued through mid-2023, when Empire Outlets was still 60 percent vacant.[22] In August 2023, a foreclosure auction for the complex was scheduled for that September.[23] At the auction, which took place on September 21, 2023, Goldman Sachs acquired Empire Outlets for $10 million.[1][2]

Ferry dock

In January 2019, NYC Ferry announced that it would start operating its St. George route in 2020. The route opened in 2021 and runs from the St. George Terminal to Battery Park City Ferry Terminal and West Midtown Ferry Terminal in Manhattan.[24][25][26][27] However, due to concerns that the massive Staten Island Ferry boats and the small NYC Ferry craft might not be able to share a dock, the New York City Economic Development Corporation announced in January 2020 that a NYC Ferry dock would instead be built close to the existing terminal, at Empire Outlets closer to SIUH Community Park.[28] The St. George ferry stop began operating in August 2021.[29][30]

References

  1. 1 2 Jones-Gorman, Jessica (September 21, 2023). "NYC Empire Outlets sold at auction for $10 million". silive. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Manna, Victoria (September 21, 2023). "Empire Outlets sold to Goldman Sachs for $10 million in auction". Spectrum News NY1. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Schram, Lauren Elkies (July 20, 2018). "Empire Outlets: The Biggest Thing to Hit SI Is Opening This November". Commercial Observer. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Goldman, Henry; Deprez, Esmé E. (September 27, 2012). "World's Biggest Ferris Wheel Will Anchor Staten Island Complex". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  5. ↑ Randall, Judy L. (April 24, 2013). "Staten Island outlet mall planned near New York Wheel to include Nike, Adidas, Coach". SILive.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Jorgensen, Jillian (October 9, 2012). "New York Wheel CEO says Staten Island neighborhood will be riding high". SILive.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  7. ↑ McGeehan, Patrick (October 23, 2018). "A 630-Foot Ferris Wheel Meant to Boost Staten Island's Image Is No More". The New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  8. ↑ Farinacci, Amanda (July 24, 2013). "More Parking, More Green Spaces Part Of Updated Plans For SI Ferris Wheel, Outlet Mall". NY1. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  9. ↑ Lavis, Ryan (August 1, 2013). "Empire Outlet developers says they'll deliver jobs for Staten Island (photos and video)". SILive.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  10. ↑ Porpora, Tracey (March 27, 2017). "Empire Outlets may delay opening to coincide with NY Wheel launch". SILive.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  11. ↑ Porpora, Tracey (November 27, 2017). "Exclusive: Empire Outlets opening delayed until fall 2018". SILive.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  12. ↑ Porpora, Tracey (September 21, 2018). "Exclusive: Empire Outlets opening delayed until spring 2019". silive.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  13. ↑ Farinacci, Amanda (May 10, 2019). "Even Without Wheel, Empire Outlets Ready to Roll". www.ny1.com. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  14. ↑ Porpora, Tracey (May 10, 2019). "Exclusive: Sneak peek of Empire Outlets: Here's the list of stores opening in May". silive.com. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  15. ↑ Rajamani, Maya (May 16, 2019). "Empire Outlets opens its doors on Staten Island". am New York. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  16. ↑ Porpora, Tracey (May 16, 2019). "Stores report high traffic on first shopping day at Staten Island's Empire Outlets". silive.com. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  17. ↑ Porpora, Tracey (March 1, 2019). "Exclusive: Empire Outlets opening delayed again". silive.com. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  18. ↑ Fickenscher, Lisa (November 29, 2019). "Empire Outlets mall boosts Staten Island tourism". New York Post. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  19. ↑ Michel, Clifford (September 1, 2020). "Staten Island Outlet Mall Struggles to Pay Back $8.5M City Debt". The City. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  20. ↑ Jones-Gorman, Jessica (February 11, 2022). "Exclusive: NYC's first outlet mall, Empire Outlets, to enter into foreclosure". silive. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  21. ↑ Young, Celia (February 11, 2022). "Lenders Foreclosing on Staten Island's Empire Outlets Mall". Commercial Observer. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  22. ↑ Jones-Gorman, Jessica (May 29, 2023). "NYC Empire Outlets: As foreclosure process continues, many storefronts remain vacant". silive. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  23. ↑ Jones-Gorman, Jessica (August 25, 2023). "NYC's first outlet mall, Empire Outlets, to be sold at auction next month". silive. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Routes and Schedules: St. George". NYC Ferry.
  25. ↑ Barone, Vincent (January 10, 2019). "NYC Ferry is adding 2 new routes". am New York. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  26. ↑ Plitt, Amy (January 10, 2019). "NYC Ferry will launch service to Staten Island, Coney Island". Curbed NY. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  27. ↑ "2020-2021 Expansion". New York City Ferry Service. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  28. ↑ Michel, Clifford (January 30, 2020). "NYC Ferry's a No-Go at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal". The City. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  29. ↑ Gartland, Michael (August 23, 2021). "De Blasio touts NYC Ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  30. ↑ Liotta, Paul (August 23, 2021). "NYC fast ferry is finally citywide as St. George route launches". silive. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
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