NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Community leaders gathered in Antioch on Wednesday to celebrate the ground breaking of Tanger Outlets Nashville.
City officials think it’s going to be the start of something new for the Antioch Community.
The six-building, 290,000-square-foot open-air outlet shopping center, located along I-24 at the Century Farms development, is slated to open in fall 2023 on a 32-acre parcel.
The outlets will be located near Hickory Hollow Parkway in the Century Farms mixed-use development site. In fact, it’s only about 12 miles from downtown Nashville.
The project was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This was not easy due to COVID it was a marathon and not a sprint. But Tanger stayed the course, They stay positive about Nashville. They stay positive about century farms," said Bill Oadacre and his partner at the firm Oldacre McDonald LLC, are shepherding the Century Farms project.
Century Farms is a 300 acre campus which will include office buildings, retail buildings, medical office buildings, a freestanding emergency room and the corporate headquarters for the Nashville SC Training Center.
Metro Councilmember Joy Styles, who represents the district where the development is being built, said several delays held up this project, so many she said people started to question if Tanger Factory Outlet would become a reality.
The company reports the area is a premier location and the cost of doing business in the area is 10% lower than the U.S. average. This will be the company’s second site in Tennessee, with the other location in East Tennessee.
Styles said some community members have expressed concerns about the new open-air outlet center possibly changing her district's affordability.
"We are very affordable, but I do think that frustration is still here with residents that are currently living in the area. Some are feeling like well, how can I stay? This is certainly something I am working on by talking to developers to find out how do we provide for individuals that want to stay. We need to be able to give them options. We can't just push them out," Styles explained.
Styles said the public will be surprised by the new outlets. She said it’s going to be the flagship for Tanger Outlets moving forward, which will include a variety of stores and entertainment options.
She said the outlets will not only be an economic driver, but it’s going to bring people back to Antioch in the same way the Hickory Hollow Mall did years ago.
Tanger Outlets Nashville will help play a role as an economic driver to Davidson County, while helping further a sense of community around the Century Farms development.
Tanger partners will employ approximately 700 jobs during construction, and the development will create approximately 1,100 full- and part-time retail and management positions upon completion.
"We cannot keep looking backwards and complaining about what happened before. New things are happening. Things that we have wanted for a long time. We have to look to the future and continue to push forward. We have to push for more things that we want to see," Styles said.
According to Styles, Tanger Outlets is also committed to investing in the community by joining nonprofits with their missions.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held at 11 a.m. and with several people in attendance including Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe, Nashville Mayor John Cooper, Councilwoman Styles, Tanger Outlets CEO Stephen Yalof, and many more.
Brands like Nike, Oakley, Vera Bradley, Levi's, Ralph Lauren, Under Armour and Puma.
