The Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass on track to open July 31 – Louisville – Business First.

List of stores for the Outlet Mall HERE

The Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass will open on July 31, Gina Slechta said repeatedly and emphatically.

Slechta is vice president of marketing at Horizon Group Properties Inc., which is developing the $80 million outlet mall with CBL & Associates Properties Inc. She hosted a media walk-through of the outlet mall Thursday as about 200 construction workers sanded walls, installed light poles and laid stones for an outdoor gas fireplace, among other tasks.

The Outlet Shoppes will have fountains, a children’s play area and a food court with outdoor patio seating. The center is pet-friendly, Slechta said, though whether dogs are allowed inside is up to the individual stores.

The design brings in an aspect of Louisville as well. Statues of baseball plates and bats, similar to the ones outside of The Louisville Slugger Museum, will decorate one of the center’s walkways.

Some of the stores already had shelving where purses, clothing and other products will sit, while other interiors remained barren. But Slechta said not to let that fool you.

“I have watched stores literally transform in a 24-hour period,” she said.

The Outlet Shoppes, which is 100 percent leased, will have 120 businesses, including The North Face, Nike, Coach, Michael Kors, Oshkosh B’Gosh, Oakley, Torrid and Under Armour. The largest store in the center is Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th, with 24,558 square feet.

Although many of the stores had been announced previously, Slechta revealed a new tenant: Gucci. The Outlet Shoppes will be one of seven shopping centers in the nation to have a Gucci store, she said. But it will not be ready in time for opening day.

Three other stores — Kate Spade, Tumi and Toys ‘R’ Us — also are “maybes” for the first day. But everything else will be ready July 31.

“They are pushing to get open as fast as they can,” Slechta said.

Between 20,000 and 40,000 people are expected to turn out for the first day of shopping, she said.

Regular hours for The Outlet Shoppes will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

If anyone was most excited for the preview tour of The Outlet Shoppes, it was Simpsonville city administrator David Eaton.

“It is really impressive,” Eaton said.

The city has been ready for The Outlet Shoppes to open since before work even got started.

“It means a lot in terms of future development,” Eaton said.

A Culver’s restaurant is expected to open soon on nearby properties. Also, a Bob Evans Restaurant is in the works, he said.

The new shopping center also means about 1,500 jobs and an estimated $30 million payroll. During peak times and the holidays, The Outlet Shoppes’ employment could reach 2,000 to 2,200, Slechta said.

Many Simpsonville-area residents drive to Lexington or Louisville for work, Slechta said, so those who will work at The Outlet Shoppes are happy that “they don’t have to commute anymore.”