A Priceless Opportunity
on the corner , and stepped out of the car together . Ben pointed eastward in the direction of Bromley Mountain and Stratton Mountain , and said , ‘ Is this 5th Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan , or am I dreaming ?’” Lana , who was head over heels in love with her new husband , looked into his eyes and immediately said , “ Yes .” At that moment , Ben had already envisioned MDO along that route . In the years that followed , his vision materialized , and MDO became one of the largest attractions in the State of Vermont .
The Haubens quickly acquired their first properties in the early 1980s , including the Battenkill Arcade , which formerly housed Harrington ’ s of Vermont , The Cupola Deli , Manchester Country Properties , and Business World , Inc . On a weekday afternoon in 1983 , they opened their first store : Polo / Ralph Lauren . To the utter amazement of the Haubens , over 400 people showed up on opening day . Unbeknownst to them , some
of those in attendance were retail and manufacturing executives who had second homes in Stratton . The executives called the headquarters of their companies from Maine to California , took some pictures , and sent them off . Afterwards , word of the Manchester Designer Outlets began to quickly spread throughout the retail industry .
As Ben worked tirelessly with architects , builders , and local tradespeople to get the plans for additional buildings done , Lana Hauben went back to their New York office . With the help of a dedicated staff member , she sent out hundreds of letters to major companies and invited them to come and see what was being built in Southern Vermont . While Ben was going through the extremelychallenging permitting process , Lana travelled around the country trying to create interest in retail in Manchester . “ The idea of locating major companies in a beautiful town in Vermont – and actually opening up designer outlets hours away from major populations – was foreign to these corporations who already had full-price stores in New York City , Boston , and other big cities ,” notes Lana Hauben . “ Only skiers knew about Manchester , because of its proximity to Stratton , but most of them thought we were crazy . They queried , ‘ Manchester where ?’ However , when we were able to convince these companies to drive up to meet us , they understood the opportunity immediately . After they saw how beautiful the Polo / Ralph Lauren building was , major companies began to really respond to what us two kids from Brooklyn and the Bronx were trying to do .”
Over the course of the next decade , the Haubens acquired and renovated many additional buildings , including a former factory at the intersection of Depot Street and Richville Road that became known as Manchester Square . Manchester Square opened
The Armani and Eddie Bauer storefronts at The Marble Mill
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