Twin Cities Premium Outlets in Eagan announces opening date

Twin Cities shoppers who want to check out an outlet mall will no longer have to leave the 7-county metro to get there. Twin Cities Premium Outlets in Eagan will open Aug. 14 with more than 100 outlet stores. The center is currently 94 percent leased. More stores are yet to be announced.

It will be slightly larger than the Premium Outlets Mall in Albertville. The Eagan location will have a number of outlet stores exclusive to Minnesota including American Eagle, Asics, Calphalon, Cole Haan, Crabtree & Evelyn, Helzberg Diamonds, Watch Station and White House/Black Market. Highly anticipated stores include Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth, Calvin Klein, Coach, Michael Kors, Polo Ralph Lauren, Gap, Hot Topic, J. Crew, Johnston & Murphy, Talbots, Torrid, True Religion, Under Armour and Lucy. .Full list of stores.

The $100 million center, which is located at the southeast corner of Highway 13 and Highway 77 in Eagan, is expected to bring traffic congestion to the area on busy shopping days such as Black Friday. Should the center be as popular as Albertville on weekends in the summer, traffic management plans will need to be in place, according to the Eagan City Council. SRF Consulting Group in Minneapolis has been hired to create plans for high-traffic times.

The oval racetrack design should make crisscrossing the stores easier than in Albertville, which uses a shuttle to get shoppers between the two buildings separated by a street. Even traversing between Polo Ralph Lauren at one end and Nike at the other can be a hike for power shoppers in Albertville. Parking in Eagan will be around the perimeter of the racetrack design. A walkway from one side to the other splits the center of the racetrack for easier access to stores.

There will also be a food court with indoor/outdoor seating, a two-sided fireplace, and covered walkways.