Rich Richardson, director of marketing for Spectrum Capital, says the second phase will take 14 months to complete. The 166-acre project is rising at the junction of Interstate 20 and Trustmark Road. The first phase has Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World and Trustmark Park baseball stadium up and running and a Holiday Inn under construction. Around the same time that the outlets break ground, work will begin on a 132,000-sf Sam's Club store. Bentonville, AR-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has just bought the site.

"We've been getting a lot more destination travelers out there than the typical suburban mall," Richardson says. "That's why we thought outlet centers were best for the next phase." He says national credit tenants are starting to visit the outlet mall site, which is undergoing infrastructure development. ACM Architects of San Diego, CA is the project designer, and Yates & Sons Construction Co., also from Jackson, is the general contractor.

The Outlets of Bloomfield's third phase will be an entertainment complex, but it's still on the drawing board. Richardson tells GlobeSt.com that about 20 to 30 additional acres must be acquired before construction can begin. "We're making some offers for the land in the area," he adds.