Concord Mills is a super-regional outlet mall in Concord, North Carolina. The mall is in Cabarrus County, just a few hundred feet from the Mecklenburg County border and Charlotte city limits, and about from Uptown Charlotte. It is one of two malls in Concord, the other being Carolina Mall.
The mall is a single-floor oval building with a floor area of .
Concord Mills was designed by the St. Louis-based Kiku Obata & Company, and was developed as a joint venture with German-based KanAm. The mall also featured seven themed neighborhoods, including "Courts" in each one, such as Urban Stage Entertainment Court with nightlife aesthetics, Fashion Court, Style Court, Basketball Court, with rims and netting attached to the ceiling, Best Fest Food Court, Music Court, the NASCAR Racing Court with black-and-white checker flags and vehicle murals (sponsored by NASCAR), another Entertainment Court, and the Runaway Court.
2000s–2010s
Simon sold its interests in Concord Mills to KanAm in May 2002. In March 2012, Simon Property Group acquired full control of the property's management by buying out Farallon's stake in the Mills portfolio for $1.5 billion.
Borders Bookstore closed its Concord Mills store in September 2011, as the chain went out of business in the U.S. Sea Life Aquarium opened at Concord Mills on February 20, 2014, with 5,000 marine creatures, acting as an educational family-friendly attraction.
In April 2016, Simon announced that Concord Mills would undergo an interior renovation starting in May that would deliver an improved shopping experience for families, tourists, and locals. This included the rebranding of the mall's food court into the Dining Pavilion at Concord Mills, with new tile flooring, a white-and-gray color palette, updated LED lighting, and charging stations with WiFi connectivity. Bonefish Grill, Outback Steakhouse and Chipotle Mexican Grill were announced to be coming to the mall. The first phase of the renovations was completed in January 2017. H&M opened in the spring of 2017, replacing Saks Off 5th, which closed in 2016. Phase II of the renovations, announced by Simon in March 2018, would modernize Concord Mills' exterior, including new signage (Simon's "Double-Diamond"/"Infinity" logo, with the "A Simon Center" wording below it), LED lighting, and a new 70-foot tall tower sign visible from I-85. These renovations were slated for completion by August 2018, but were finished in April 2019 instead. Both renovation phases were designed by Bergmann Associates (now part of Colliers Engineering & Design), and the main contractor was Graycor Construction Co.
On September 17, 2019, Concord Mills celebrated its 20th anniversary, and Simon held a three-week event titled "20 Days of Style", featuring special and promotional items from the mall's flagship stores and luxury stores. The payphones were replaced with over 50 cell phone charging stations. Concord Mayor Bill Dusch participated in the event, noting that the mall had grown to provide 4,000 jobs and generated over $20 million in annual sales tax for the region since its 1999 opening.
Simon Property Group implemented a Youth Supervision Policy on July 31, 2021, requiring minors under 18 to be occupied by an adult after 3 p.m. ET on Fridays and Saturdays. This was a direct response to teen disturbances in the area, initially reported by November 2020, which is when the weekend policy was announced by Simon.
Primark opened at Concord Mills in May 2023 as part as a global expansion effort.
Concord Mills celebrated its 25th anniversary in September 2024. Similar to the 2019 event, Dusch also pointed out how the mall had an economic impact in suburban Charlotte. Dusch stated: