Mayor Hopeful That Paragon Outlets Can Open in Livermore, CA by Christmas 2012
Outgoing Livermore, CA mayor Marshall Kamena recently titillated the imaginations of many Tri-Valley residents when he announced that construction at the much-anticipated Paragon Outlets on El Charro Road in Livermore is expected to get underway later this year. Kamena also noted earlier this year that he remains hopeful that the Paragon Outlets will open by Christmas 2012; however, Paragon’s development partner Kelvin Antill more conservatively estimates that the Tri-Valley’s new outlet mall should be ready for business by Fall 2013.
Located on the huge parcel of land that is kitty-corner to the new Target at Fallon Gateway, the Livermore Valley Paragon Outlets will likely be built in phases. The first major phase is expected to include eight buildings that cover over 42 acres with 134 stores and roughly 2,400 parking spaces. Paragon demonstrated incredible optimism in the Livermore Valley project with its purchase of an additional 17 acres. This increase in acreage will bump the project’s square footage from 450,000 to 540,000. Kamena anticipates that Paragon Outlets could have nearly 200 stores at build out. In comparison, Gilroy Premium Outlets has 145 stores, while the Vacaville Premium Outlets has 120 stores.
Paragon Outlets in the Livermore Valley will showcase the nation’s most desirable brands with cutting-edge architecture rooted in the rich local heritage of the California Bungalow and American Craftsman styles found in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has reportedly signed leases with outlet mall darlings such as Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Off Fifth by Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Brooks Brothers, and Tommy Hilfiger. Designed to create an inviting and unique destination, maximize customer flow, and optimize sales, this architecture will integrate recognizable characteristics such as low-pitched roofs with wide overhangs, decorative beam extensions, tapered columns and a combination of materials such as stucco, stone, shingles and clapboard painted in a muted palette of Arts and Crafts-style colors.
A pedestrian concourse will link open-air and sheltered shopping environments with outdoor gathering areas, plazas, and courtyards, all accentuated by decorative pavers, specialty lighting, bench seating, landscaping, way-finding signage and fountains. A grand Food Court will be flanked on each side by an adjoining plaza furnished with outdoor umbrella tables and chairs for leisure dining and relaxation, serving to create a compelling focal point for the center.
Since the mid-1980s, the Livermore area has been the fastest growing in the region, claiming more than one-third of all jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area. More than 95,000 people are employed by 7,000+ businesses located just five miles from the Center. Livermore Valley’s 50 wineries are a powerful draw for 500,000+ travelers each year, a significant percentage of the 16 million domestic and internationals for whom San Francisco is a destination. The Bay Area’s world-class universities foster a culture of business innovation in many sectors including technology and science, and graduate the most productive and highly educated workforce in the nation. The City of Livermore is also home of the highly successful Livermore Valley Charter School (LVCS) and the new Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory High School (LVCP). Serving K-12 students throughout the Tri-Valley, these two world-class public schools in Livermore are committed to setting their students on the college pathway that will one day lead their graduates to join the ranks of this highly educated workforce.
Some residents are not quite ready to buy into the excitement. Livermore resident Susan Young believes that Livermore already has too much unused retail space. “Yes, I want to believe there will be a high-end outlet mall in my Livermore future, but past experience doesn’t make for confidence,” wrote Young. “I have some misgivings about building even more retail space when so much sits vacant.” Young pointed to the false starts at the outlet mall project and the last outlet mall project on Greenville Road that eventually became a business center.
While Paragon Outlets still faces many hurdles, such as the extensions of Stoneridge Drive in Pleasanton and Jack London Road in Livermore, this new outlet mall is expected to provide a long-term boost for the Tri-Valley’s economy and will help bring vibrancy to the East Dublin and Staples Ranch areas. The City of Pleasanton has stalled the extension of Stoneridge Drive for many years and been accused by some in the Tri-Valley of not being “a team player in regional traffic solutions.”
6:15 AM on July 27th, 2011
Good news, finally Livermore can have some development. John, do you know if any thing been planned for Northeast side of Fallon/580, and Northwest side of Airway/580? I know Dublin is planning to develop that Doolan Canyon as senior residential area. Would it cover the two corners? Or if the two corners are planned as commercial area?
6:25 AM on July 27th, 2011
By the way, thanks to that empty Lowes, Promenade is dead and shops will all move to Paragon.
6:51 AM on July 27th, 2011
Hi Anonymous,
As we had discussed back in February this year, Dublin residents are losing faith in the promise of the Promenade. With Paragon Outlets’ aiming to get nearly 200 stores on its expanded parcel, how many more retailers can the emerging in-fill development realistically attract at the heart of Dublin Ranch Villages?
7:00 AM on July 27th, 2011
Most shops come here because the increase of population in the area, and mostly due to east Dublin development. It seems Livermore is taking the advantage of that by placing a huge mall closer to the east Dublin development than Livermore downtown. Dublin on the other hand, lost the initial opportunity to secure the business at first place.
11:53 AM on July 27th, 2011
That’s true. Livermore basically snatched business from could be a Dublin’s Promenade. I wonder what’s the point of securing 200 stores? Could they split or shrink project enough to it in phases instead? Empty lot just in the middle of high density development would be a great spot for caffes, restaurants and small shops. I bet most of locals wold not mind if half of the development was a park.
9:33 PM on July 27th, 2011
Outlets are a whole different game. Those 200 stores are not the same type who would settle in Promenade or other traditional malls. They will help each other by attracting more people rather than compete.
6:23 AM on July 28th, 2011
There is a very thin line between outlets and traditional malls. Outlet are discount stores for high-end brands. But sometime the line is very thin that they are pretty much the same. For example, the great mall in south bay is an outlet, but it function pretty much like a traditional mall.
7:12 AM on July 27th, 2011
I always see comments on Lowes being dead. I go probably about 4 time a month and on a weekend it is always crowded. On weekdays it depends what time you go, but it is always pretty busy. I think that in the next 3 years you will have the build out of sorrento east, positano, jordan ranch, and developments up tassajara. These will all be new customers. I think that people are very short sighted in business that can be in a long term position like Lowes. Now a business at the promenaded that opens an eatery that needs buiness right away may not be able to wait on the population growth. I still believe that grafton station is more of a foot traffic place that needs the people to walk there, the probelm with that is people that live in sorrento can’t get there because that empty swath of land the promenade blocks all traffic. Thanks Toll Brothers
7:40 AM on July 27th, 2011
It’s not that we don’t need Lowes here. The problem is we have too many Lowes like stores nearby. Within 10 minutes drive from east Dublin development, there are 2 orchard, 2 home depot, and 2 Lowes offering pretty much the same products. I bet on most days Fremont Fry’s has more customers than all 6 of these hardware stores combined. Having a popular anchor for Grafton Station could save Promenade.
9:37 PM on July 27th, 2011
Actually, living in East Dublin, I always go to Lowes and unless Home Depot has something unique or much much cheaper, I won’t make a special trip to go there. Same apply to Orchards. Those malls might be quite empty now but at build out, they will be rewarded for having invested there early.
11:56 AM on July 27th, 2011
Dublin’s Lowe’s is not half busy on weekends as other Lowe’s on weekdays. Check for comparison Sunnyvale’s Lowe’s at Wolfe, which is in the middle of nowhere and always packed.
8:48 PM on July 28th, 2011
Livermore dosent need an outlet mall. And forget the idea that this will bring jobs to Livermore. Fact is most retail jobs are nothing more than stepping stone jobs for a real job after one finished school. Who in Livermore, wants there town to be anything like Dublin. Livermore, a good balance between stuffy Pee-Town and crowded-stacked-three-high-and-tight-like-sardines Dublin.
2:05 PM on July 29th, 2011
To Al who wrote “stacked-three-high-and-tight-like-sardines Dublin”.
Hey, watch your mouth! I resemble that remark!
Tim Hall, Sardina da Sorrento
Dublin, CA
10:13 PM on July 28th, 2011
It is so great to finally see Paragon Outlet construction starting after so many years ! Shop all day at the Outlet, go get good food across the highway at Fallon Gateway, Grafton Station. Slowly the synergy will be established and other stores and restaurants will settle all around. I bet 10 years from now this will be the shopping destination for the whole tri-valley being at the intersection of the three cities.
1:57 PM on August 1st, 2011
This morning (8/1/2011), I noticed some sort of construction operation on the east side of El Charro Road, just south of the 580. Does anyone know if construction of the Jack London Blvd extension has started? According to the City of Livermore website the construction was supposed to start in July: http://www.cityoflivermore.net/citygov/cd/eng/roadwork/design.asp
2:28 PM on August 1st, 2011
Hi Anonymous,
Do you mean the west side of El Charro Road? As we had mentioned in the article “Further Delays on Stoneridge Drive Extension Could Benefit Fallon Gateway in Dublin,” the parcel will become the new Staples Ranch.
10:04 AM on August 2nd, 2011
No, it was the east side.
9:59 PM on August 2nd, 2011
Hi Anonymous – it’s probably the Jack London extension since construction for the Paragon Outlet Mall isn’t expected to start until later in the year:
http://www.arounddublinblog.com/2011/07/livermore-ca-hopeful-paragon-outlets-can-open-christmas-2012/
Thx, John Z.
4:03 PM on November 17th, 2011
Such a nice day in Dublin. Paragon Outlet walls are coming up. Fallon Road just opened the remaining stretch to Tassajara, and the enlarged Fallon Road to 580 is taking shape ! We can see the future : )