The 80-store outlet mall is being built on the Interstate 40/85 in Mebane and is scheduled for a grand opening on 5 November 2010. Spread over 317,572 square feet, the Mebane Tanger Outlet Center will specialise in high-end fashion, as well as house mid-level stores like Le Gourmet Chef, Gymboree Outlet, Uniform Destination and Yankee Candle.
The Mebane Tanger centre is designed on the lines of a ‘racetrack’ in which shoppers park on the outside, enter the centre, follow the track with stores on each side in a circle and can exit back where they parked, without having to backtrack. The centre will resemble a small town with shops lining the sidewalks. A few walkway areas have open-air roofs with skylights while others feature no roofs. The design of the Tanger centre does not include any food court, but include several restaurants in the planning stages.
According to Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc., the Mebane Tanger outlet centre is expected to draw between four to five million visitors every year. The centre is expected to employ about 800 full- and part-time people.
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, a real-estate investment trust based in Greensboro, owns 32 outlet centres. The Tanger in Mebane will be its third in North Carolina with the other two in Blowing Rock and Nags Head.
