Last week, I made my first trip to the Prime Outlets mall in probably ten years. The outlet mall, across I-40 from the RDU airport, was a very popular place to shop in its prime (pardon the pun). It was also an even more popular place for RTP workers to grab lunch as there were very few restaurants in RTP for the longest time. It was obvious from last week’s visit, though, that times have changed for the mall. I was shocked at how empty it was, with storefront after storefront dark. Fortunately for me, my clothing store was still around but few other stores were.
Still, I was struck by how clean and tidy the mall was, in spite of its lack of tenants. It was obviously being well kept. There was no decline in its care. I told Kelly later that night that if I had a few million lying around, I would buy that mall. We agreed that the Triangle was a good market for an outlet mall.
Turns out someone beat me to it, someone with plans to make it the Triangle’s Chinatown.
Continue reading