ASHLAND, Va — After nearly a decade of fits and starts, plans for an outlet mall in Ashland have been officially scrapped.

A representative of California-based developer Craig Realty confirmed Thursday that the Outlets at Richmond, a long-anticipated 350,000-square-foot retail center planned on 43 acres near Lakeridge Parkway and Lewistown Road, will not be built.

“At this point, given the transition in retail as an industry itself, the owner has decided to not pursue the outlets,” said Kay Pangraze, Craig Realty’s local project manager.

The tale of the Ashland outlets dates back to 2009, when a group including Water Street Development had land across Lewiston Road under contract for an outlet mall. That plan would have put the mall on the same side of the road as the Bass Pro Shops-anchored Winding Brook development.

That deal never closed, and four years later Craig Realty bought the current site for $5.79 million from Northlake Land Investments, an entity tied to local developer Gibson Wright.

Over the next few years, Craig Realty – which has developed over a dozen outlet centers nationwide in California, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Mississippi and Wisconsin – claimed it had leased out 15 percent of the proposed mall’s space and was waiting to break ground until it hit the 50 percent lease mark. Ground was never officially broken.

Meanwhile businesses continued to be drawn to the area, particularly on the Winding Brook side. Restaurants, retailers and a hotel opened, some saying they were drawn by the expected arrival of the outlet mall.

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