Woodbury Common Premium Outlets facts for kids
Promenade at Woodbury Common
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| Location | Central Valley, New York, U.S. |
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| Opening date | 1985 |
| Developer | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | Simon Property Group |
| No. of stores and services | 220 |
| Total retail floor area | 845,000 ft² (72,000 m²) |
| Website | [1] |
Woodbury Common Premium Outlets is a huge shopping center in Central Valley, New York. It's owned by Premium Outlets, which is part of Simon Property Group. The center is named after the town it's in, Woodbury.
It first opened in 1985 and has grown a lot since then. Today, it has 220 stores! This makes it one of the largest outlet centers in the world. It covers more than 800,000 square feet, which is a lot of space!
Because it's so big, the different areas are color-coded. This helps visitors find their way around. On weekends, you can even ride trolleys. These trolleys take shoppers from the parking lots and around the center.
Woodbury Common is very popular with tourists. Many people from other countries visit it. It's especially popular with tourists from Japan and China.
To help these visitors, the center offers special services. There are tour buses and shuttles from New York City. The staff includes interpreters who speak different languages. You can also exchange money and send packages home from the center. They greet guests in languages like Japanese, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
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Why Woodbury Common is Important for the Area
Woodbury Common is very important for the local economy. Officials in Orange County sometimes call it their "cash cow." This means it brings in a lot of money. The sales tax collected on clothes and shoes sold here helps fund many local services.
The center also pays a lot in property taxes. This money helps support local schools. For example, it's a big help for the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District.
How to Get to Woodbury Common
The shopping center is easy to find. It's located on Route 32. This is just north of Route 17. It's also west of Exit 16 on the New York State Thruway (Interstate 87).
On weekends, there's a shuttle bus that runs from the mall. It goes to the nearby Harriman station. This station is on Metro North's Port Jervis Line.
Managing Traffic at the Mall
While the mall brings in money, it also brings a lot of traffic. This is especially true on busy shopping days. Days like Black Friday can cause huge traffic jams. Cars can get stuck on the roads leading to the mall for hours.
Local officials and residents have worked with the mall. They want to find ways to make traffic better. They have tried new plans to manage the flow of cars. For example, they set up a command center. Here, police and mall officials work together to make decisions.
Sometimes, even with plans, traffic can be very bad. On a busy Sunday in 2006, roads were backed up for miles. Officials have asked the state to build a new exit ramp. This ramp would help drivers get to the Thruway more easily. It would also help keep traffic moving smoothly.
In 2007, the mall held a "Midnight Madness" event on Black Friday. This attracted so many shoppers that traffic was held up for 15 miles on the New York State Thruway.
Future Plans for Woodbury Common
In 2011, the mall announced big plans for the future. They proposed a $100 million expansion. This plan includes building a new three-level parking garage. It will also add 60,000 square feet of new stores.
The expansion also includes new store designs and better traffic flow inside the mall. This project is expected to create many new jobs. It will create jobs in construction and permanent jobs at the new stores.
The new parking garage opened in August 2015. It has a smart system with red and green lights. These lights guide drivers to empty parking spots. This helps make parking easier, even though construction continues in other parts of the mall.
