ST. GEORGE — Work has officially begun on the city's first outlet mall opening in Staten Island in 2016.
Empire Outlets held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Thursday where developers and elected officials heralded it as the start of the North Shore's "renaissance."
"This is a red letter day in the history of the borough," Borough President James Oddo said.
The mall will have more than 100 retail stores, a 190-room hotel, restaurants and a parking garage that will serve as a barrier to protect the project from storm surges, said Joseph Ferrara, principal of developers BFC Partners.
"It gives me great pride to be able to allocate our company's resources to changing the landscape and quality of lives of Staten Island residents," Ferrara said.
Nordstrom Rack, H&M, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Starbucks, Applebee's, Gap, White House Black Market, Banana Republic Factory Store, Columbia Sportswear Company, Guess Factory Store, Wilsons Leather, G.H. Bass & Co., Lids, Obey Your Body, Innovation Luggage, Walgreens, Haagen Daz, Krispy Kreme and Nathan’s Famous have already signed leases for space in the mall.
The mall will rise in the lot next to the Staten Island Ferry and the planned New York Wheel. Thursday's ceremony was originally slated to include the wheel, but they will host a separate one in the coming weeks, said developer Rich Marin.
Aside from building the mall, BFC teamed up with the New York Wheel, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, the Staten Island Yankees and the St. George Theatre to create "Destination St. George" to collaborate and attract more visitors to the borough.
"We have all witnessed many chapters in Staten Island’s history, but none as exciting as what we are embarking on here today," said Councilwoman Debi Rose.
"Empire Outlets will help give Staten Island's North Shore a prominent place on everybody's map."