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BURLINGTON - The first phase of Alamance County's largest retail center opening this morning to fanfare and a crowd of hundreds.

The initial portion of Alamance Crossing comprises 660,000 square feet of open-air shopping and is 90 percent leased and committed, said officials with developer CBL & Associates Properties.


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Upon completion in 2009, the massive shopping center will include 840,000 square feet of shops, restaurants and entertainment. It represents a capital investment of more than $100 million by Tennessee-based CBL and could create more than 1,500 jobs. It is located on 142 acres near University Drive and Interstates 40 and 85.

"The size of this development is nothing like Burlington has ever experienced before," Burlington Mayor Stephen Ross said at a morning ribbon-cutting.

CBL, which owns and manages N.C. retail centers including Oak Hollow Mall and Hanes Mall, expects Alamance Crossing to generate more than $200 million in annual retail sales.

Ross added that the jobs and investment will bring money back to Burlington that otherwise might have gone to Greensboro or Durham. Developers hope the shopping center will compete with Friendly Center in Greensboro and The Streets at Southpoint in Durham.

The nearly 30 shops and restaurants that opened in Burlington today included Dillard's, JCPenney, Coldwater Creek, Chico's, Eddie Bauer and Barnes & Noble. Belk will open in October, and the 16-screen Carousel West End Cinema will open next summer.

About 200,000 square feet of additional shopping will open there by 2009, in a collection of national shops called Alamance West.

Look for more in tomorrow's News & Record.

Contact Michelle Jarboe at 373-7075 or mjarboe@news-record.com.