Developers Plan 'Yuppie' Mall

Seek permits for outlet stores at I-25

August 30, 1989

By Coleman Cornelius

A new kind of mall, called Santa Fe Factory Stores, has been proposed for the outskirts of Santa Fe, and its New York- and California-based developers contend it will help the town by boosting tourism.

Development applications are now in the works proposing a factory outlet mall near the intersection of Cerrillos Road and Interstate 25. Developers Ginsburg, Craig and Associates will begin submitting plans for Santa Fe Factory Stores to Santa Fe city and county planning groups with week.

Craig said the site of the proposed mall consists of about 25 acres. He would not say whether Ginsburg, Craig and Associates is negotiating to buy the property, on the grounds that the information was “not pertinent.”

While plans as of last week had not been submitted—much less approved—the developers are already trying to attract manufacturing companies as tenants at Santa Fe Factory Stores. 

If plans are approved and a building permit is issued—a process likely to take several months—a cluster of buildings with a total of 100,000 square feet will be constructed with a target opening date of summer 1990. A second and third phase of construction will be proposed, which would increase the total space to 175,000 square feet, developer Steve Craig of Newport Beach, Calif., said. The completed mall, which would compete for business with other malls and retailers in Santa Fe, may house between 20 and 30 factory outlet stores. 

Craig said he and his partners have developed similar outlet malls in Palm Springs, Fresno and Rancho, Calif., and Williamsburg, Va. Manufacturers at the mall in Palm Springs include Van Huesen, Bass, Maidenform, Izod, American Tourister and Corning Glass. Tenants have not yet signed contracts for space at the proposed Santa Fe center. A relatively new marketing phenomenon, the outlet mall is a way for consumers to buy namebrand products at 30 to 60 percent below the usual retail price. The outlet mall is an appealing marketing alternative for manufacturers because it offers them a way to make a profit on overproduced, slightly defective and off-color merchandise…

In hopes of attracting manufacturers to the proposed development, [an] August ad [in Value Retail News] promotes Santa Fe as “a major, upscale vacation center…Santa Fe is fiestas and Ferraris—the greatest little upscale town in the West.” 

The ad describes the proposed development site, which is several miles past Villa Linda Mall, as being “in the heart” of Santa Fe on “Cerriollos Road [sic], just five minutes from the famous Town Plaza” [sic].  

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This year marks SFR's 40th anniversary. Celebrate with us  by reading excerpts of stories that have graced our pages through the years. Santa Fe Factory stores now goes by the name Fashion Outlets Santa Fe.

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