Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
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Here’s a look at a rendering I haven’t seen before of Asheville Outlets, the new name for the Biltmore Square Mall, which will be remade into an open-air outlet mall. It looks like the company renovating the mall is pumping up publicity. Here’s a quick rundown from the company, New England Development:
Asheville Outlets will be the destination for outlet shopping in the greater Asheville, North Carolina, market when it opens spring of 2015. This 325,000 square foot open air center will feature approximately 75 top manufacturers and retail outlets. With no other outlet center within 80 miles, the retailers at Asheville Outlets are sure to thrive from the strong residential and tourism markets.
Ideally located five miles southwest of downtown Asheville at the I-26 and Route 191 interchange, Asheville Outlets has excellent regional access. The Asheville metropolitan market is a regional and economic hub for western North Carolina and Asheville itself has a strong and growing visitor market. More than 9.35 million people visit the Asheville region each year, of which more than 3 million stay overnight.
Asheville is a thriving mountain city with an eclectic downtown, which includes art galleries, a world-class culinary and craft beer scene, a burgeoning live music scene, and the awe-inspiring scenery of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This unique city has earned national acclaim by numerous media outlets and publications as an ideal place to live, visit, and do business.
Excellent regional access with location on I-26
Location at Exit 33 is one of the region’s primary entrances to the Blue Ridge Parkway
Five miles southwest of downtown Asheville
More than 9.3 million annual visitors to Asheville region
3 million visitors stay overnight, with an average stay of 2.8 nights and an average party size is 2.6 persons
Average household income of typical visitor is in excess of $100,000
Barron’s has named Asheville as #1 of the 15 Best Places for Second Homes.
Hello. And Bye.
What is going to happen to that wonderful sculpture that is inside the mall now? That was a big part of my early childhood and I would hate to see it get scrapped. Will it be preserved or sold?
I think they have sold it, or are selling it. Can’t remember…. they may have given it away…
NOt sure about the selling or gifting…
but one of them is now part of the new Town Square Park in Black Mountain- it’s the one of the black bears…
they donated many of those sculptures, some over to haywood county
would love to have an IKEA………………..
I just hope they pave the damn road thru there when they are finished cause its hell on my poor tires…..lol
I live in the area, and was thrilled to hear about the new outlet mall but not thrilled it is to be outdoors. It would be better as an indoor mall with opening skylights during good weather. Seems a shame to ruin the building in light of all the bad weather we had last year.
Come on, Apple Store! They’ve been going for the open air shopping malls in largish cities now. I’m thinking Friendly Center in Greensboro.
Been away from Asheville for over 35 yrs. Are there any real outlets left? The kind where my mom used to shop.
For all you naysayers, what about all the jobs this will bring, or the boost to that area that has struggled with the current “mall”. That place was becoming a joke. Rather than spend your time being negative, why not embrace it and find a reason to look forward to the change? Would you rather it stayed a mostly vacant mall with no hopes of improvement? Come on now. I work in that area, and most of us are looking forward to the fresh new face of the existing establishment. Yeah it will bring more traffic, but much more convenient access to what is currently unavailable in this area, too.
Great! Let’s give the tourists a place where they can pump their money into the corporations they have at home and distract them from all the local artisans and businesses that make Asheville “eclectic”! Hooray for another one-size-fits-all economic plan! Yay, gentrification!
I think you’ll probably find that in the end, the hordes piling into town to shop at the outlets will spend a day or two there… and a day or two off in the eclecticism of downtown or the RAD. Unlike places like Commerce, Georgia, where the outlets are the only thing worth going to see, Asheville has much, much more. It will in all likelihood end up being just another tourist attraction jewel in our crown.
And besides, what else are you going to do with a dead mall? It’s not like anything of value is falling to make way for this thing.
Outlet malls are everywhere now, people don’t travel any real distance because of outlet malls, and it’s not the type of thing that most visitors to the area are going to be interested in visiting. I’d wager that a significant majority of the customers for the mall will be people who live 50 miles away or less. Why are you against people having choices of places to shop?
I would rather have a Bass Pro Shop!! Just what we need, more outlet stores selling junk!
I would like a bass pro shop, wasn’t under our control, because the City of Asheville messed that one up.. But, I am still happy with Good Quality Name Brand items with lower prices.. Works for me.. “Amen, Sisters? and some Brothers? lol
After going to Cabela’s grand opening in Greenville, SC last week, I was just thinking they need a Bass Pro Shop on Long Shoals Rd. They seem to be clearing a lot of land where some old house where. Maybe they could move in there.
Mocked up store names (“K. Krew”, “Banana Nation”) so no word on who might be setting up shop there for now. The precinct design is interesting, though: different from the standard Tanger plan which is just a gigantic strip mall.
Outlet malls are often a charade these days, selling lower-grade products to people who think they’re getting a bargain or don’t care how crappy something is made as long as it has a brand name.
anything that draws the masses away from downtown is a good thing. Hope it has a chick fil a.
lol
Where are the protesters?
protestors?
wonder WHEN construction will begin? said april but there is no work started other than surveying, when i was over there 2 weeks ago
just found out that interior demolition has begun
If you go around to the back, they have started stripping the facade, too.
Their fact sheet’s Arial Site Plan also shows a future Biltmore Estate entrance nearby on Brevard Road.
That “future” entrance is already there.
It is a gated access point to the west side of the Estate which includes the vineyards, and other agricultural sites (including the “Legacy of the Land” tour)…
I do not believe that there are any plans for that to be an access point for guests anytime soon: as there is no bridge across the French Broad river from back there.
Actually, there is a bridge.
There most certainly is a bridge across the French Broad on the Biltmore Estate.
http://bit.ly/1lImqA3
https://www.vaughnmelton.com/projects/biltmore-estate-bridge/
The Estate built a bridge 3-4 years ago for furture use. The new entrance will (eventually) be on the west side. Or, at the very least, it will be a second entrance open to the public.
Source: I am a 12-year Biltmore Employee.
Closing the current entrance would certainly be a finger in the eye of Biltmore Village, the city of Asheville, and all the hotels that have opened up between there and I-40, though it might make some sense from a business perspective since it increases the value of their on-estate hotel(s).
There is a bridge across the river connecting Biltmore’s West side to the main part of the Estate.
A great addition to that area, maybe it will help clean up the garbage along 191 Brevard Road in that area.