Two outlet Malls that opened in Chesterfield Valley last month are expected to bring additional tax dollars to Rockwood School District.
Taubman Prestige Outlets opened on Aug. 2, followed by St. Louis Premium Outlets on Aug. 22.
Tim Rooney, chief financial and legislative officer for Rockwood, said tax dollars from the new malls will be pooled into the districts’ operating budget.
“Each year we go through a budget process to prioritize our needs,” Rooney said. “Then the Board approves it. Our costs go up every year, so it’s
important to have revenue sources that go up too.”
Rooney said he doesn’t know how much tax money Rockwood will get from the outlets because property taxes are valued as of Jan. 1 every year, so the district will only receive a small amount of money this year compared to what will be coming in once the property is assessed again next year.
Rooney said he’s not qualified to know if both outlets can survive, but the developers wouldn’t invest money if they weren’t optimistic.
“They obviously wouldn’t have done it if they didn’t think it would work,” he said.
Colleen O’Niell, general manager at Taubman Prestige Outlets, said business has been good.
“Our opening was fantastic,” O’Niell said. “Many retailers even hit record numbers for a store opening in sales.”
O’Niell said Taubman opened early to take
advantage of tax free weekend, which meant not all of their stores were open at the grand opening. She said this is a normal and beneficial strategy.
“Most shopping centers continue following their opening to announce new tenants so this is not very odd at all,” she said. “We opened 70 percent of our store mix. We continue to add new stores to our mix many of which are new to the outlet industry and to St. Louis.”
O’Niell said competition with St. Louis Premium Outlets is positive.
“Competition makes us work harder and
smarter,” she said. “There is room for all of us.”
She added that while the other outlet presents competition, Chesterfield Mall does not.
“We offer different retailers and our product is outlet.  If anything, it’s complementary,” O’Niell said.
Billy Clince, senior, has shopped at both Taubman Prestige and St. Louis Premium Outlets and said he prefers St. Louis Premium.
“They have a wider variety of options,” he said. “It’s not a strip, [the stores] are interwoven.”
Clince said Chesterfield Mall will have problems, but both outlets will stay.
“The outlets usually have better prices and better deals,” he said.
Erin Alsop, senior, works in the American Eagle store at Taubman Prestige Outlets and also has shopped in both centers. She said she prefers
Taubman.
“Ours is less high end,” she said. “It’s more
economically friendly.”
She agrees with Clince that the Chesterfield Mall will suffer from competition with both outlets.
“I think the mall is going to struggle,” Alsop said. “It’s much easier to drive to one [outlet] or the other than to make a stop at the mall.”
St. Louis Premium Outlets issued only the
following statement from Emily Zimmerman, director of marketing: “Savvy shoppers desire a better brand of outlet shopping that features high-
quality, name-brand merchandise. St. Louis Premium Outlets provides shoppers with the finest brands at impressive savings every day, all in an upscale shopping atmosphere. Shoppers appreciate the impressive mix of brands available in our center and we have already become a popular shopping destination for both residents and visitors to the area.”
Chesterfield Mall could not be reached for
comment.