Nike signs for 17K sf space at Empire Outlets on Staten Island

Sports apparel giant Nike is the latest retailer to commit to BFC Partners’ Empire Outlets development on Staten Island after signing on for 17,000 square feet of space at the outlet mall.

At a Staten Island Economic Development Corporation conference, BFC principal Joseph Ferrara announced the deal, which will see a Nike Factory Outlet join the likes of H&M, Nordstrom Rack and a Banana Republic Factory Store at Empire Outlets.

The 100-store retail development, located near the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island’s North Shore, is currently 60 percent leased, according to DNAinfo. The Staten Island Advance first reported the Nike lease.

In addition to 340,000 square feet of retail space, Empire Outlets will also include a 190-room hotel, a 1,250-space parking garage and a 40,000-square-foot food hall.

The project, which is slated to open next year, received nearly $47 million in state subsidies – including $16.5 million from a controversial budgetary pool created by disgraced former state Senate majority leader Dean Skelos. The state funding came after BFC contributed $85,000 to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s reelection campaign.

Last week, the Empire State Development Corp. announced it had shifted funding sources for nearly $22 million approved for Empire Outlets, from the Skelos-created fund to the New York Works Economic Development Fund.

The development is one of several, alongside the New York Wheel and Triangle Equities’ Lighthouse Point project, that hope to transform Staten Island’s North Shore into a residential and commercial destination. [DNAinfo and SI Advance] – Rey Mashayekhi