Shoppers shopping Clay Terrace before official opening

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Chris Proffitt/Eyewitness News

Hamilton County, Oct. 14 - Twenty-four hours before its official opening, Clay Terrace, the $100 million so-called lifestyle shopping center, was crowded.

DSW, one of the project's anchors, is one of four stores open and busy. The Clay Terrace store is a prototype for the shoe retailer, adding its third Indianapolis area store. New are high-end designer handbags and shoes, names like Prada and Versace.

Chris Bayless with DSW thinks, "the malls are a dying breed. I think this is the type of thing we're looking to get into because this caters to our customer. This is what we're striving to become."

The outdoor shopping center, with a stable of one-of-a-kind stores, is surrounded by affluent Carmel. It's 77,000 square feet of a five to six-year-old concept in retailing, taking consumers out of the mall and onto Main Street.

"The first few were evolving," says Eric Mallory with Lauth Property Group. "They worked in dense areas with affluent demographics and developers have seen the benefit of trying to force this."

With shopping and strip malls surrounding the city, Clay Terrace had to be different, from its lineup of 77 shops and restaurants to the outdoor small town concept with sidewalks and roundabouts.

It's also a test for stores like Wild Oats. The 28,000 square foot natural and organic market opens its second Central Indiana store with a prototype design, including a holistic health section.

"I think the store is great," says Angela Lisec from Zionsville. "Great products, we want to see what it's all about."

The question now is, will enough shoppers stick around after the ribbon is cut and keep their money on Main Street instead of the mall?