Castle Rock's mall among top in U.S. (Castle Rock Factory Shops, Denver, Colorado)

Shopping spree

In just seven months of operation, the Castle Rock Factory Shops have become one of the top three outlet malls in the nation, with more than $350 in gross sales per square foot. On an annual basis, at the facility's present size, that would translate into yearly sales of a whopping $64.7 million.

By Christmas, expansions now under way at Castle Rock will have nearly doubled the size of the center to 360,000 square feet. The mall's developers now are eyeing adjacent property for possible further expansion that eventually could lead to 1 million square feet of retail space in Castle Rock, the same size as the Cherry Creek Mall.

"We've been running in the top three since we opened," said Robin Schmidt, general manager for the …