Real Estate & Construction  April 27, 2007

Outlets at Loveland looks forward to brand new year

Anyone who thought the 13-year-old Outlets at Loveland wouldn’t survive the fancy new developments popping up all around better think again. Polo Ralph Lauren opened a new store at the outdoor mall on April 13, and the Nike Factory Store and Coach Factory Store are opening in May.

The list of stores coming soon numbers eight. And while some of those on the way are still hush-hush, Peggy Ziglin can hardly contain her enthusiasm for what’s happening in Loveland. After managing the Outlets at Loveland – previously known as Prime Outlets – since their inception, she’s now regional public relations and tourism director for the Outlets of Colorado, which also includes the Outlets at Silverthorne and Outlets at Castle Rock.

Take a look at Silverthorne and Castle Rock if you want to see what’s on the way for Northern Colorado. Silverthorne doesn’t have a vacancy, and features only premier fashion outlets – brands like Calvin Klein, Coldwater Creek, Gymboree and Jones New York. Castle Rock is in the midst of a major resurgence.

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“This is the year for Loveland,” Ziglin said the morning of Polo Ralph Lauren’s opening, “starting as of today.”

Her confidence in the resurrection of this mall on the west side of Interstate 25 and U.S. Highway 34 has a lot, if not everything, to do with its current owner, Craig Realty Group of Newport Beach, Calif.

“Steve Craig, the founder, has been the most make-things-happen developer that I’ve ever worked for and I’ve worked for the big ones,” she said. “He makes things happens for his investors, bankers. Everyone believes in him.”

Craig Realty Group owns, operates and manages nearly 3.5 million square feet of existing retail development. The company purchased the Outlets at Loveland, along with those in Silverthorne and Castle Rock, in August 2005 from TGS Real Estate Investment Trust, based in Calgary, Canada. In the months leading to that sale, TGS had done renovation work on the Silverthorne and Castle Rock malls while Loveland was left waiting.

Investment in marketing

“A couple of years ago, Prime Outlets’ owner hadn’t put a whole lot of effort into this location,´ said Loveland Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Gaye Stockman. “It was a shame. I do know Craig is putting more investment into all of the outlets and has stepped up the marketing.”

That’s part of what has Ziglin so ecstatic. She’s been doing fashion segments for local TV news that give her a chance to boast about the outlet brands. She also has gotten her tenants featured in Frontier Airlines’ in-flight magazines and videos.

Ziglin even won one of 20 national Shop America Salutes Innovation, or SASI, awards at a January conference in Las Vegas for her marketing of the three outlet centers with promotions including television appearances, radio fashion tips, a magazine editorial, in-flight airline segments and a Las Vegas getaway giveaway. Shop America, which honors innovative and effective promotion of shopping and dining, credited Ziglin for scoring free advertising worth more than $100,000.

One of the first improvements Craig made to the Loveland mall was a new entrance off U.S. 34 that opened last year. Now the location is undergoing significant upgrading, including a pedestrian bridge to the nearby Medical Center of the Rockies.

With the Chamber of Commerce office just two blocks away, Stockman has noticed the construction. She’s optimistic about the outlets, and excited for some of the new stores she’s heard are coming in.

“The gentleman that owns Craig is very smart,” she said. “He owns outlets all over the country. He would not have invested money if he had not thought it was a good market.”

Grand Station good for all

And while there’s been some concern that the Outlets at Loveland might die in the shadow of the planned 1-million-square-foot Grand Station development near I-25 and U.S. 34, the Loveland Chamber sees only good things coming from McWhinney Enterprises’ massive mixed-use project. “It just brings more people to the area,” Stockman said. “We are becoming more of a destination.”

Grand Station will include not only shopping but dining, entertainment, residences, hotels, gyms and a Grand Square gathering area complete with a fountain, stage and fire pit.

Stockman said an abundance of shopping is not a bad thing because there’s so much variety among the developments. People go to the outlets when they’re looking for quality brand names at a bargain price. They go to downtowns when they want to linger and window shop and stop in at a restaurant. Malls offer something different, as do indoor malls versus outdoor malls.

“What’s so unique about all of Northern Colorado is the variety,” Stockman said. “We’re pretty fortunate and the choices are getting better. Even when I moved here, there were not many choices. Seven years makes a lot of difference.”

About Grand Station, Ziglin says, “Bring it on.”

“We’re so excited,” she said. “McWhinney’s an outstanding developer. All it does is make us more centralized. We’re the hub. We’re the gateway to northern Colorado.”

Ziglin has to stop herself, more than once, from bragging about the outlets, about her job, about Craig Realty, about the successes in Loveland. “It’s just that there are a lot of facets that are making the whole area what it is,” she said. “We’re getting it all. One-stop shopping. Come over if you want to get something great.”

Anyone who thought the 13-year-old Outlets at Loveland wouldn’t survive the fancy new developments popping up all around better think again. Polo Ralph Lauren opened a new store at the outdoor mall on April 13, and the Nike Factory Store and Coach Factory Store are opening in May.

The list of stores coming soon numbers eight. And while some of those on the way are still hush-hush, Peggy Ziglin can hardly contain her enthusiasm for what’s happening in Loveland. After managing the Outlets at Loveland – previously known as Prime Outlets – since their inception, she’s now regional public relations and…

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