Why Should Delaware Care?
The Concord Mall was once a hub for shopping and entertainment in the Wilmington area. But nationally shoppers are not going to most malls as much as they used to. Now, it appears a Pennsylvania-based real estate company has plans to tear down the existing structure.
The Concord Mall could soon be demolished, according to plans submitted last month to New Castle County.
The exploratory plan shows the center of the 57-year-old mall being replaced with a detached one-story building, identified only as “commercial retail.” The current anchor-store buildings that sit on either end of the mall would be preserved.
The former Sears store is independently owned from the remainder of the mall, despite sharing entrances. The Boscov’s store holds a long-term lease that could prevent its redevelopment.
The demolition plans follow years of decline for the mall that once served as a thriving retail center for the northern Wilmington suburbs. Recently, it has struggled with low foot traffic and shuttered stores. The southern anchor building that used to host a Sears is vacant.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Concord Mall’s parking lot was mostly empty and dotted by potholes. Few people entered the mall, and a sign hung on the Sears building advertising it for lease by real estate company, KLNB.
Last year, the mall was briefly listed for sale with an asking price of $30 million. The listing was deleted shortly after, and the owner said it was a mistake, according to a report from Delaware Public Media.
Then this spring, the News Journal reported that Pennsylvania-based Abrams Realty and Development wanted to purchase the mall and turn it into a community hub with a grocery store, fitness center, and outdoor green space.
An LLC listed on the current plans to demolish the site lists the same business address as Abrams Realty and Development.
Officials for the development company declined a request for comment.
Representatives with Concord Mall and the property’s current owner, Namdar Realty Group, did not respond to requests for comment.
Namdar took over the 800,000-square-foot shopping center in 2020 after the mall’s former owner, Allied Properties, neared foreclosure on the property. At the time, the company said it “boasts a strong line up of national retailers and restaurants including H&M, American Eagle, Hollister, Rue21, Bonefish Grill and Grub Burger Bar.”
Today, the Concord Mall has 26 vacant storefronts, not including the anchor building that once housed a Sears store, according to a list on property management company J.C. BAR Property’s website. Together, they cover just under 100,000 square feet, about 12% of the mall’s retail space.
Greg Jones, an executive vice president at J.C. BAR Properties, confirmed that his company is still leasing vacant properties on the site.
Correction: This story originally reported that Boscov’s owned its store, but it actually only holds a long-term lease with Namdar Realty.
