Foxwoods' Tanger mall opening drawing near
Mashantucket — Foxwoods Resort Casino officials Tuesday joined a hard-hat tour of the Tanger Outlets at Foxwoods construction site, barely containing their enthusiasm for the $125 million mall’s May 21 opening.
“It’s the greatest thing to happen to Foxwoods in many, many years, if not a decade,” Felix Rappaport, Foxwoods’ president and chief executive officer, told reporters on the tour.
Rappaport, a Las Vegas casino veteran who arrived at Foxwoods well after the mall project was conceived, called it a major development in Foxwoods’ transformation from a gaming-centric venue to a “full-service resort.”
With much interior work yet to be completed, construction officials recently added a third shift at the site, said Matt Armstrong, president of Gordon Group Holdings. The Greenwich-based company has partnered on the project with Tanger Factory Outlets of Greensboro, N.C., which will own and operate the mall on land it’s leasing from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, Foxwoods’ owner.
"Something magical happens when you put retail together with gaming," Armstrong said.
The mall quite literally ties the Foxwoods property together, linking the Grand Pequot Tower to The Fox Tower, the freestanding structure formerly known as MGM Grand. Up until now, the two towers have been connected by an elevated footbridge.
Entrances in each tower will provide the only access to the quarter-mile-long concourse containing the mall’s 80 outlets.
Tanger announced Tuesday that the mall will officially open at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 21, the start of a celebration that will continue through the Memorial Day weekend. Jonathan and Drew Scott, hosts of TV’s “Property Brothers,” will appear at the ribbon-cutting. Rappaport also promised a full lineup of entertainment.
While Tanger has yet to disclose a complete list of mall tenants, markings at the construction site revealed many of the stores’ names. The roster includes: American Eagle, Ann Taylor, Bath & Body Works, Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, Charlotte Russe, Children’s Place, Clarks, Coach, Columbia Sportswear, Cosmetics Company, Crocs, Easy Spirit, Ecco and Eddie Bauer, Famous Footwear, Finish Line, Fossil, Francesca’s, G.H. Bass & Co., GAP, Giorgio Armani, Gymboree, Hagger, Hartstrings, H&M, It’Sugar, J. Crew, Kate Spade, Kay Jewelers, Kitchen Collection, LOFT, Michael Kors, Nike, Nine West, New York & Company, Old Navy, Perfumes 4 U, Skechers, Steve Madden, Sunglass Hut, Talbots, Tommy Hilfiger, Torrid, Under Armour, Vitamin World, White House/Black Market and Wilsons Leather.
Many of the stores' 900 full- and part-time jobs were filled following a March 19 job fair at Foxwoods, according to David DelVecchio, the mall's general manager.
Twitter: @bjhallenbeck
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