Empire Outlets New York City is a retail complex in the St. George neighborhood of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Construction on Empire Outlets started in 2015, and the complex opened on May 15, 2019. Tentative plans called for 100 stores, but there is only space for about 70 stores, less than half of which are currently occupied. It is the first

outlet mall An outlet store, factory outlet or factory shop is a brick and mortar or online store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public. Traditionally, a factory outlet was a store attached to a factory or warehouse, sometimes allowin ...

in New York City. The mall is located next to the St. George Terminal, a major ferry, train, and bus hub.

Facilities

The mall, the city's first

, was to feature 100 designer outlet stores and a hotel with 200 rooms as it originally was approved. There are also of outdoor space with a staircase leading to a

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and draina ...

. The mall includes a 1,200-space underground parking lot, as well as 22 escalators and 21 elevators. , tenants leasing significant amounts of space included H&M,

Nordstrom Rack Nordstrom Rack is an American off-price department store chain founded in 1973. It is a sister brand to the luxury department store chain Nordstrom. As of 2021, Nordstrom Rack operates 352 stores in 41 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

Factory, and

Gap Inc. The Gap, Inc., commonly known as Gap Inc. or Gap (stylized as GAP), is an American worldwide clothing and accessories retailer. Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The c ...

's subsidiaries

Banana Republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring c ...

and

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

. Empire Outlets is located near St. George Terminal and

Richmond County Bank Ballpark The Staten Island University Hospital, Community Park (SIUH Community Park) is a baseball stadium located on the north-eastern tip of Staten Island. The ballpark is the home of the Staten Island FerryHawks, a member of the Atlantic League of ...

. The mall is located next to the site of the unbuilt

New York Wheel The New York Wheel was a proposed Ferris wheel to be located at St. George in Staten Island, New York City, next to the Empire Outlets retail complex. The project was announced in 2012 as part of an initiative to make St. George into a touris ...

, a tall giant

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

that was canceled in 2018. The two projects initially went through the approval process simultaneously and shared consultants on issues such as traffic and the waterfront, but were separate projects with separate funding.

History

Construction on Empire Outlets started in 2015. BFC Partners, based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, constructed Empire Outlets under the auspices of the developer, an Economic Development Corp named Empire Outlets Builders, LLC.

SHoP Architects SHoP Architects is an architecture firm in Lower Manhattan, New York City, with projects located on five continents. Led by four principals, the firm provides services to residences, commercial buildings, schools and cultural institutions, as wel ...

provided architectural design services; DeSimone Consulting Engineers was the structural engineering firm; and Casandra Properties and EB were the leasing agents. The original opening date for Empire Outlets was scheduled for fall 2017. However, in early 2017, the opening was delayed to March 2018 in order to coincide with the

's opening. Later that year, the mall's opening was delayed again to late 2018. By July 2018, the mall was mostly complete, and was projected to open that November. However, in September 2018, the mall's opening date was postponed again, this time to spring 2019. The mall's opening date was later set at May 15, 2019. Even though the grand opening was held on May 15, most retailers would open on a staggered schedule through mid-2019. By November 2019, there were thirty stores operating at Empire Outlets, and hundreds of thousands of visitors had traveled to the mall, with international tourists making up almost two-thirds of all spending at Empire Outlets. This, in turn, increased international spending on Staten Island by almost 50%. A 600-seat beer garden and a food market were expected to further increase visitation to Empire Outlets once they opened in early 2020, which they never did. In February 2022, Empire Outlets went into foreclosure; it owed $38 million to Sterling National Bank and $174 million to Urban Investment Group.

Ferry terminal

In January 2019,

NYC Ferry NYC Ferry is a public network of ferry routes in New York City operated by Hornblower Cruises. , there are six routes, as well as one seasonal route, connecting 25 ferry piers across all five boroughs. NYC Ferry has the largest passenger fleet ...

announced that it would start operating its St. George route in 2020. The route opened in 2021 and runs from the St. George Terminal to

Battery Park City Ferry Terminal The Battery Park City Ferry Terminal, is a passenger ferry terminal in Battery Park City, Manhattan, serving ferries along the Hudson River in New York City and northeastern New Jersey. It provides slips to ferries, water taxis, and sightseein ...

and

West Midtown Ferry Terminal The West Midtown Ferry Terminal is a passenger bus and ferry terminal serving ferries along the Hudson River in New York City and northeastern New Jersey. It is located at Piers 78 and 79 in Hudson River Park adjacent to the West Side Highway at ...

in Manhattan. However, due to concerns that the massive

Staten Island Ferry The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, with ferry ...

boats and the small NYC Ferry craft might not be able to share a dock, the

New York City Economic Development Corporation New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a nonprofit corporation whose stated mission is to "leverage the city’s assets to create beneficial jobs that drive growth. This ensures equitable and sustainable development across al ...

announced in January 2020 that a NYC Ferry dock would instead be built close to the existing terminal, at Empire Outlets closer to the

. The St. George ferry stop began operating in August 2021.

References

External links

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Empire Outlets Celebrates Groundbreaking on Staten Island's North Shore
{{New York City Malls 2019 establishments in New York City Commercial buildings in Staten Island History of Staten Island Shopping malls in New York City St. George, Staten Island Tourist attractions in Staten Island