The stretch of Route 1 between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach was once mostly farm fields. That all changed with the introduction of outlet mall shopping in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In summer 1988, Land Design Inc. of Ocean View paid $165,000 per acre for 13 acres of land just north of Rehoboth Beach. That land was used to build the first 90,000 square feet of Ocean Outlets, which is now Tanger Outlets Seaside.

The first outlets opened in April 1989 with 30 stores. It cost $10 million to build the first mall. In May 1990, 13 stores and a mini golf course were added. Also in 1990, the Seaside Ocean Outlets, now Tanger Outlets Bayside, opened with 83,000 square feet of retail space. It was expanded by 151,000 square feet in 1995. 

Ocean Outlets was purchased by Charter Oak Partners of Vienna, Va., in March 1994. Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. purchased Charter Oak Partners’ portfolio of nine factory outlet centers in December 2003.