The Fashion Outlet Center (FOC) Montabaur on the edge of the Westerwald received a positive response to its application for sales area expansion from the Structure and Approval Directorate (SGD) North in August 2024. The plan is to expand the current area of 10,000 square meters by 9,800 square meters to a total of 19,800 square meters.
After a total of seven years of intensive planning and coordination, the Montabaur outlet reached a crucial milestone last week: after the city council passed the statutory resolution on the development plan and the building permit was granted, the official groundbreaking ceremony took place last Friday.
“After a long and careful process, we are pleased to now officially initiate this important step together with our partners and the city of Montabaur. The expansion is a crucial step in making the outlet sustainable and competitive and offering our visitors an even more attractive and comfortable shopping experience,” commented Philipp Dommermuth, Managing Director of Fashion Outlet Grundimmobilien GmbH & Co. KG, in a statement.
New businesses, jobs and target groups
With the expansion, the Fashion Outlet Center (FOC) Montabaur – already one of the largest in Germany – will move into the top five, after Outletcity Metzingen (40,000 square meters), the Zweibrücken Fashion Outlet (21,000 square meters) and the Designer Outlet Neumünster (20,000 square meters), and ahead of the Designer Outlet Berlin (16,500 square meters).
In addition to the expansion of space for around 60 new stores, around 600 new jobs will also be created, both directly in the outlet and in accompanying service areas.
The attractiveness of the location will continue to increase for the region, and new, additional target groups such as international shopping tourists will be gained through planned intensive marketing.
The groundbreaking ceremony marks the official start of the construction phase. Completion of the expansion is planned for “the coming years,” according to the statement.
