ANTIOCH, Tenn. (WKRN) — A new obstacle hits the long-awaited Tanger Outlets in Antioch as crews tackled a fire at the construction site Friday.

“Tanger is my baby, it’s everything, right,” said District 32 Council Member Joy Styles.

The development has been an ongoing effort for Styles since she first got into office in 2019, so when flames and smoke billowed from an HVAC unit at the Tanger construction site on Friday, April 21, of course it raised concern.

“The thought that something was happening with the project certainly gave a lot of concern, but I feel a lot better having been on site, having spoken to Tanger, having spoken with everyone on site,” she said. “I’m grateful it’s not a whole building, grateful no one was injured and we are back on track.”

The project is key in the revitalization of Antioch, a trek that has no doubt been difficult from talks of developing the Global Mall space and Ikea’s plans to open in the area to the pandemic putting a pause on the construction for Tanger.

“I spent a lot of time during the pandemic telling people, ‘No, they are not going away, this isn’t an Ikea moment. They are just trying to handle business like everyone else is and how to move forward.’ You know, every good story right has interesting chapters and I would say the story of the revitalization of Antioch is no different,” said Styles.

The Tanger Outlet Mall broke ground last year on Century Farms, a mixed-use development the council member said Antioch has needed for years, calling the area “a retail and food desert for over a decade.”

“Century Farms provided the vehicle for the kick start for our retail and also food opportunities to resume in this area. Century Farms provides that for us and Tanger of course is going to have four to six restaurants in there that are going to bring us some really great names,” Styles explained.

It’s a development the community is eager to see come to fruition.

“I am looking forward to it,” exclaimed Nancy Peddy, an Antioch resident.

When it comes to shopping in the area, Peddy said the choices are few and far in between, so she makes the trip to Mt. Juliet. 

“A good 20 minutes depending on the traffic, when you get up there it’s just jammed,” said Peddy.

Tanger Outlets is set to have 70 retailers, including Nike, Levi’s, Michael Kors and Vera Bradley. Peddy is hopeful Tanger Outlets stays on track and looks forward to seeing the boost it gives Antioch.

“Right now, what we are doing is doing assessments for today and focusing on the site and how we move forward from now. There haven’t been any discussions in the timeline,” said Styles.  

News 2 previously reported that Tanger Outlets planned to open in September, but a representative wouldn’t address a timeline when we asked Friday following the fire.

The following statement was released to News 2 on behalf of Tanger Outlets Management:

“This morning’s small construction fire was contained to the roof of a single building and promptly extinguished. We appreciate the Nashville Fire Department’s swift response and are grateful that no injuries were sustained. Our management team is continuing to collaborate with local authorities as construction resumes.”