The Outlet Shoppes in Woodstock Get City Council Approval

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

Muskegon, Mich.-based Horizon Properties plans on moving forward with its new factory outlet retail development—The Outlet Shoppes in Woodstock—as the project has recently received approval from the city council. Construction for the 365,000-square-foot factory outlet shopping center—located at the intersection of Ridgewalk Parkway and I 575—is set to begin in the first half of 2012, and it is estimated to employ approximately 1,000 people in the process.

Upon completion, the developer estimates the center will generate over $130 million in annual sales, of which approximately $3 million will consist of sales and property taxes for the City of Woodstock and will generate $34 million in  combined taxes for the city, Cherokee County and the schools over the next 10 years. Approximately 1,200 permanent jobs are projected to be created and as many as 1,600 seasonal holiday jobs.

Mayor Donnie Henriques of the City of Woodstock embraces the new development, declaring, “We are excited that Horizon Group selected our community to locate a project of this economic significance. We believe that The Outlet Shoppes will draw shoppers from a large region, adding to the local municipalities’ employment and tax base.”

According to an official press release, more details about the project—including other amenities and entertainment choices at the center—will be released as the project commences construction.

Based in Muskegon, Mich., Horizon Group Properties Inc. is a national owner and developer of factory outlet shopping centers and is the developer of a master-planned community in suburban Chicago.