Groundbreaking Held For New Outlet Mall in Blackwood, NJ
By Mike DeNardo
BLACKWOOD, N.J. (CBS) -- Shopping alert! Construction is officially underway on a new outlet center in South Jersey.
Bulldozers have been at work for weeks but, with a "3-2-1..." and a pose for news cameras, a groundbreaking this morning made it official.
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The Simon Property Group is building more than eighty outlet stores on former farmland off Route 42, in Gloucester Township.
Simon already operates the Philadelphia Premium Outlets, in Limerick, Pa., but VP Danielle DeVita says the South Jersey market is underserved.
"It's a different demographic, different people," she notes. "I think that we needed a center on this side of the (state) line so that people didn't have to travel."
Gloucester Township mayor David Mayer says the Gloucester Premium Outlets will create 300 construction jobs and up to 800 permanent retail jobs.
"This project is an economic development engine that's going to create more businesses in our community and help existing businesses in Gloucester Township," Mayer said.
Completion is expected next summer.
