Developer Targets Big-Box Tenants for Planned Concord Mills Venture

CONCORD, NC-Preliminary plans have been filed by various developers to build a 108,000-sf BJ’s Warehouse Club, Chuck E. Cheese and Chick-Fil-A at Mills Corp.’s planned 35-acre, 300,000-sf shopping center across Interstate 85 from Concord Mills, 20 miles northeast of Downtown Charlotte.

Virginia-based Mills Corp. is seeking a diverse range of big-box retailers such as home improvement centers, clothing retailers and discount stores to create a shopping destination at the Speedway Boulevard and I-85 interchange location.

Mills Corp. bought the land from Tanger Outlet Center Inc. in September 1998 for $5 million or $142,857 per acre ($3.28 per sf) after Tanger cancelled plans for a mall. Tanger had been planning 400,000 sf of stores, restaurants and a movie theater but decided later the site was too small to accommodate the project.