By JANE SUMNER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
GETAWAY SAN MARCOS – Last year, the fourth-biggest tourist attraction in Texas wasn't a theme park or vacation getaway. It was a pair of shopping centers.
Only the Alamo, Riverwalk and Six Flags Over Texas pulled in more travelers than the San Marcos outlet malls.
And now – get out your credit cards – the shopping destination has grown.
Prime Outlets just completed a nearly $50 million "extreme makeover" and upscale expansion. The center has added 30 new luxury brands, 10 store expansions and a gondola ride. Think of it as Venice on the Interstate.
Next door, shoppers will still find Tanger (rhymes with "hanger") Factory Outlet with more than 100 factory outlet stores, including Liz Claiborne, Banana Republic and Tommy Hilfiger.
Popular shopping stop
Last year, 6 million shoppers made their way to the bargain-hunter's mecca on Interstate 35 between Austin and San Antonio. The drive from Dallas takes about four hours. And at least a quarter of the outlets' visitors come from Mexico to shop.
The Prime Outlets expansion follows a change in ownership. At the end of 2003, The Lightstone Group of Lakewood, N.J., one of the largest private owners of retail property in the United States, acquired ailing Prime Retail. Baltimore-based Prime Retail owned more than 30 outlet centers, including those in San Marcos and Hillsboro, but had added no new ones in the last five years.
"You can expect to see a few changes at Prime," Lightstone chairman and principal David Lichtenstein announced after the deal.
He wasn't kidding.
After a visit to Italy, it was his idea to make over Prime Outlets-San Marcos to mirror the landmarks of Venice's Piazza San Marco, better known as St. Mark's Square, with swanky new tenants.
Mr. Lichtenstein, whose name means "lightstone" in German, either has a puckish sense of humor or a true romantic's flair – or maybe both. The expansion was no small undertaking, with several existing buildings being demolished to open up sight lines and make room for his dream.
As a result, the first thing seen by visitors approaching Exit 200 (Center Point Road) on I-35 South is a 137-foot campanile. The bell tower, which Prime Outlets' Lori A. Kennedy proudly proclaims "the tallest structure between the city limits of Austin and San Antonio," is homage to the Venetian one, that city's highest building.
The store that houses Neiman Marcus Last Call is fashioned after the piazza's Torre dell'Orologio, or clock tower. Other buildings in the expansion are modeled after the Doge's Palace and The House of Gold in Venice.
But the kicker is a mini-canal with two gondolas rowed by gondoliers wearing traditional striped shirts, red sashes, scarves and straw hats. They're even taking singing lessons "for the full experience," Ms. Kennedy says.
In keeping with the Italian theme, the stores Salvatore Ferragamo, famed shoemaker to the stars and a pioneer of fashion in Italy, and Ermenegildo Zegna, a leader in fine men's clothing, anchor either side of the north end of the faux piazza. Nearby is Furla, known for its Italian leather goods and accessories for women.
Ms. Kennedy reports that shoppers can expect to save 25 to 65 percent off retail price with additional unadvertised deals through the center's 1Club membership and the Power Savings Coupon Book available for $3 at Guest Services.
It irks the affable marketing director that so many people still harbor the notion that the outlet merchants sell damaged goods.
"That's a total misconception," she says. "Some stores will carry last season's merchandise and overstocks, but others have some of this season's merchandise and even produce lines just for the outlet."
Parking for 4,000
With its expansion, Prime Outlets-San Marcos now numbers 137 stores with a property footprint of some 750,000 square feet. Unlike the original 11th-century square, which is filled with flocks of pigeons but free of cars, the Texas version has parking for about 4,000. That's a lot of consumer real estate to cover, making the little red trolley that scoots around the center a welcome sight.
One good place to begin a buying expedition is L'Occitane en Provence (meaning "a woman of Provence"), with its fragrant lotions, soaps and oils from that magical corner of France. The little store is warm and friendly, filled with essences of lavender, honeysuckle, sage and thyme. And, in a thoughtful touch, all product labels are printed in Braille.
And when it's finally time to take a break from saving money, you can pretend you're on the Grand Canal and take a gondola ride for $2.50. It's located between the Ann Taylor Factory Store and Pottery Barn Outlet.
O sole mio!
