Many of the remarks offered by state, local and business officials at a groundbreaking ceremony for Delaware County's future outlet mall touched on a common notion: just wait until next year.

Many of the remarks offered by state, local and business officials at a groundbreaking ceremony for Delaware County's future outlet mall touched on a common notion: just wait until next year.

Steven Tanger, CEO and president of North Carolina-based Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, said the mall and its more than 80 stores are expected to open in about a year.

"When y'all come back this time next year, there will be a brand-new shopping center here with the world's finest brand- and designer-name outlet stores," he said.

Tanger and its partner on the project, Indiana-based Simon Property Group, hosted the ceremony Thursday, June 25, at the site of the future development.

The mall will be built on 56 acres southeast of the Interstate 71 interchange in Berkshire Township west of Sunbury. It is expected to employ 900 full- and part-time workers after it opens in 2016.

Tanger said the development represents a $110 million investment by Simon and Tanger.

While the full slate of stores has not been announced, a brief fashion show during the ceremony included models with outfits from Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, Coach, the Children's Place, Loft and the North Face.

Steve Dworkin, a senior vice president with Simon, said the project will transform a beanfield into an "engine of economic development." Although rain forced the groundbreaking ceremony under a tent, Dworkin said the weather could not dampen his high spirits.

"There were many twists and turns along the way," he said. "We ran into more than one ... we thought would be a dead end."

The project survived two ballot issues in two years. Berkshire Township residents voted against reversing a zoning change for the site in 2013 and against dissolving a joint economic development district centered on the mall in May.

The JEDD will allow Berkshire Township and Delaware to collect the city's 1.85 percent income tax from workers at the mall. It also will allow for the creation of a new community authority, which can charge fees to future site tenants to use toward area infrastructure improvements.

Dworkin joked that the mall project already stimulated the central Ohio economy by employing all of the region's attorneys.

Berkshire Township Trustee Rod Myers said his board can focus on making sure development and infrastructure improvements near the site go smoothly now that the controversies have died down.

"The trustees plan on doing everything to make this area the best in Delaware County," he said.

Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor said the outlet mall should boost other area businesses and lead to future development. She said many individuals and groups, both private and public, deserve to be congratulated as the project moves forward.

"These types of projects only come to fruition and are successful because of partnerships," she said.