126 KSF Dillard’s Announced as Anchor of Summit Fremaux Phase II

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

CBL & Associate Properties Inc. and Stirling Properties have announced that Fremaux Town Center Phase II will be anchored by national fashion apparel and home furnishings retail chain Dillard’s Inc. The retailer is set to open a single-level, 126,000-square-foot store featuring the company’s newest store design and presentation layout. The location will offer fashion apparel, home furnishings and cosmetics, including the chain’s exclusive label, tailored to the shopping preferences and habits of the Slidell region.

Phase II of Fremaux Town Center is expected to open in spring 2015, with groundbreaking set to take place around the March 2014 opening of Phase I, now in development. Phase II will feature 320,000 square feet of fashion-oriented retail space.

“With construction underway on Phase I, we are pleased to welcome a key department store such as Dillard’s to Phase II,” declared CBL Development and Administration Executive Vice President Michael Lebovitz, adding, “The traction we are receiving from retailers for both phases is a statement to the strength of the market and its increasing demand for retail.”

The 330,000-square-foot Phase I of the Slidell retail hub will be anchored by national brands such as Kohl’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy and T.J. Maxx. Other retailers will include Rack Room Shoes, ULTA Beauty, PetSmart and LongHorn Steakhouse. All in all, Phase I currently boasts a 70 percent lease rate.

Fremaux Town Center is being developed on 80 acres at the corner of Fremaux Avenue and I-10 in Slidell, a municipality located in Northshore — on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain in the New Orleans metro area. As previously reported on this page, the project — initially imagined as a 400-acre mixed-use development with office, retail and residential components — sat in limbo for years after the ’08 market crash before Louisiana-based Stirling Properties took it over last year. In January 2013, Striling Properties entered into a 35/65 joint venture with CBL Properties to develop what is expected to become a premier shopping destination.  Read more about the deal here.

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Image courtesy of Stirling Properties’ Facebook page.