Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Tenants for Lancaster Outlet Mall Announced : Retail: Apparel makers tentatively agree to lease stores at site set to open in the fall. City is banking on new sales tax revenue.

Brooks Brothers, Bass, Carole Little, Jockey and Jones New York are among the nationally known apparel makers that have tentatively agreed to lease stores in a new factory outlet mall expected to open here this fall, city officials said Wednesday.

Lancaster City Council members said they are banking on the 24-acre mall to generate millions of dollars in sales tax revenue that can be used to pay for critical city services, including law enforcement.

“It’s going to be a tremendous asset to the community,” said Councilman George Root.

City officials also said the outlet center will sell shoes and clothing that are not available elsewhere in Lancaster.

They said the city has been losing sales tax dollars because local residents have been shopping in Palmdale, where the Antelope Valley Mall is located, or at stores in other cities.

“I think this is going to fill a void that we needed to fill in the city of Lancaster,” Mayor Arnie Rodio said.

Yehuda Netanel, president of Woodland Hills-based California Factory Stores, said he hopes to break ground within 45 days and begin turning over the stores to the merchants by Oct. 15.

Many outlets will be open by Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, Netanel said.

Other clothing makers that have leased spaced or made commitments to move into the mall are Oshkosh, Jones New York, JH Collectibles, Van Heusen and Geoffrey Beene, Netanel said.

The outlet mall, made up of about 65 stores, will be built on the north side of Lancaster Boulevard, just west of the Antelope Valley Freeway.

Netanel said he expects it to attract shoppers from throughout Southern California, including travelers bound for ski areas and vacation spots in Northern California.

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At factory outlet centers, merchants generally sell overstocked, discontinued and slightly flawed goods, as well as first-quality items, at discount prices. Councilman Frank Roberts said the prices are lower partly because outlet centers are less expensive to operate than traditional enclosed shopping malls.

Lancaster’s outlet mall tenants were announced less than a week before three of the five City Council members will compete against 10 challengers in a bid for reelection. Many of the challengers have criticized incumbents Rodio, Root and the Rev. Henry Hearns for approving financial incentives to lure the outlet mall and other large retailers to town.

The 24-acre site where the mall will be built was owned by the city’s redevelopment agency. The agency made a 20-year loan to Netanel’s company to allow it to buy the land for $2.27 million.

The agency also made a separate $555,000 “pre-development loan” and agreed to pay more than $700,000 in fees the city charges to developers. Also, the agency agreed to build a new road alongside the mall.

In return, the mall is expected to create 340 new jobs and produce $19.5 million in sales tax revenue for the city over 20 years.

Some critics have complained that the incentives were too high and that the outlet stores will force existing merchants out of business. But council members have said that the city needs to boost its sales tax revenue to maintain local services without raising taxes.