Cypress Construction

Exciting news for our neck of the Cypress woods... (thanks Ruth W. for passing it on!)

"Construction Begins on Houston Premium Outlets- FirstCall Simon's Chelsea Division to Open Upscale Outlet Center in Spring 2008 - CYPRESS, Texas, Simon Property Group, Inc. announced today that its Chelsea Property Group division began construction on Houston Premium Outlets. The 430,000 square-foot outlet center will bring upscale outlet shopping to the Houston market.The 75 acre property is located in northwest Houston off of U.S. Highway 290 between Mason Road and Fairfield Drive in Cypress , TX . Chelsea, a division of Simon, is the leader in the outlet industry based on its proven concept of Premium Outlet Shopping(R). The center will be a single-level, village-style project with a Southwest architectural theme and will be the company's fourth Premium Outlet Center in Texas . Round Rock Premium Outlets and Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets opened in the Lone Star State in 2006, joining Allen Premium Outlets. Houston Premium Outlets will house 120 outlet stores and will feature high-quality designer and name brands serving the area's permanent population as well as visitors to the area."Our trademarked concept of Premium Outlet Shopping(R) differentiates Chelsea centers from other outlet centers and entertainment megamalls. We are confident that we will be bringing together an excellent mix of upscale and high quality merchants befitting this area's desirable demographics,"said John R. Klein, co-president of Chelsea . "We selected the Houston market because we felt there was a synergy in the type of quality centers we build and the brand conscious and quality-minded consumers who live in and visit this region. Shoppers who seek the finest brands at outlet prices and desire a more upscale shopping atmosphere will appreciate the difference in what we will be bringing to the Houston metro area."Houston Premium Outlets, scheduled to open spring 2008, will create approximately 800 to 1,000 quality jobs and is projected to generate millions of dollars in sales tax and real estate property tax revenue. To the east of this project, a 100 acre project, Fairfield Towne Center, is being developed by the Simon Community/Lifestyle Center Division. This 800,000 square foot project is slated to open fall 2008/spring 2009. Both projects combined will create over 1.2 million square feet of high quality retail space in this corridor."

So, Dash and I are desirable. O, and there was some other stuff mentioned to, but if this is similar to the Round Rock outlets (well, Georgetown in my mind) then I will be in shopper's heaven in a year or two. At least I have my new found treasure, Stein Mart, to sustain my work attire until then! It will be nice to have more retail and things to do around here. You know you live far out in the 'burbs' when you hear a wild pack of coyotes howling near to your house like I did last night when I was playing tennis. Not to mention the HUGE snake Dash and both ran over last weekend - over 5 feet long and definitely fatter than my arms. Civilization will be a nice addition to our section of the boondocks.