STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If you drive along Bay Street in St. George these days, you can't help rubbernecking to gaze at the towering steel structures taking shape next store to the Staten Island Ferry.
Empire Outlets construction -- scheduled to be complete before opening the more than 100 designer shops' doors in March -- is proceeding and is becoming more visible to passersby.
Located adjacent to the St. George Ferry Terminal, Empire Outlets will feature more than 100 designer outlet retailers, a boutique hotel with a rooftop venue and a 1,250-space parking garage.
Major retailers already signed on to open at the center include Nordstrom Rack, H&M, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Francesca's, Starbucks, U.S. Polo, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic Factory Store, White House Black Market, Columbia Sportswear Company, Guess Factory Store, Wilsons Leather, G.H. Bass & Co., Lids, Obey Your Body, Innovation Luggage, Walgreens, Haagen Dazs, and Krispy Kreme.
Empire Outlets' diverse group of dining options will include Shake Shack, Two Boots Pizza, Mighty Quinn's Barbeque, Nathan's Famous and MRKTPL, which will be12,723-square-foot artisanal food hall with a 3,000-square-foot outdoor dining space and more than 30 food concepts.
The majority of Empire Outlets' retail and restaurant spaces are already leased and BFC Partners is in negotiations with several "prominent tenants" for the rest of the available space.
The project will be situated next to the New York Wheel, which will be one of the tallest observation wheels in the Western hemisphere and is expected to draw millions of riders per year.
Watch the video above to see how it's all coming together.
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