August 14, 2026
Damian Giletto/USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
The Concord Mall in Wilmington, Delaware was built in 1968 and opened the next year. A proposal in New Castle County would demolish much of the property to create a new commercial space between the Boscov's and former Sears.
The Concord Mall in Wilmington could be partially demolished as part of a proposed redevelopment plan under review by officials in New Castle County.
Built in 1968, the mall sits about a mile south of Pennsylvania's border with Delaware, near the intersection of Route 202 and Naamans Road. The 850,000-square-foot property has been in decline for years. Commercial real estate firm J.C. Bar lists 26 vacant storefronts, including the former Sears anchor that closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mall was about 77% occupied as of last December.
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The proposed redevelopment would be led by Montgomery County-based Abrams Realty & Investment, the same firm that has been tied up in a legal dispute over the proposed redevelopment of the shuttered Exton Square Mall in Chester County. Abrams Realty is under contract to purchase the mall from Namdar Realty Group, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported in May.
Plans submitted to the county call for the demolition of the middle section of the mall that sits between the former Sears and a Boscov's department store, which would remain open. Abrams has proposed building a detached, one-story structure in the middle that would be used for commercial retail. The new building would span 233,100 square feet. The building that housed the former Sears would remain at the site.
Earlier this year, the News Journal reported Abrams' plans could include a grocery store, fitness center and green space. The developer did not list any potential plans for the proposed new building in its submission.
New Castle County is Delaware's most populous county, and the mall's close proximity to Interstate 95 offers easy access from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Namdar took ownership of the Concord Mall in 2020 after its previous owner, Allied Properties, faced foreclosure on the property. Abrams Realty also is reportedly under contract to purchase the Namdar-owned Berkshire Mall in Berks County.
The proposal comes as a slew of dying malls in the region move toward a sale or redevelopment.
The Franklin Mall in Northeast Philadelphia — formerly Philadelphia Mills — was put on the market in December. The nearby Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem was purchased last year by Paramount Realty and Edgewood Properties, which have not yet revealed plans for the site.
A large section of the Plymouth Meeting Mall in Montgomery County is on track for a $100 million redevelopment that includes residences, a youth sports complex, hotels and restaurants. A portion of the Willow Grove Park Mall, also in Montgomery County, was put up for sale earlier this year.
Delaware County's Springfield Mall, owned by PREIT and Simon Property Group, recently was appraised at $30 million — a 73% decline from its value in 2015, BizNow reported — and has been floated for a possible sale or merger for several years. The former Granite Run Mall was demolished in 2016 to make way for residences that are surrounded by anchor stores including TJ Maxx, Kohl's, Michaels and a Boscov's that has been there since the early 1990s.
In South Jersey, the former Echelon Mall in Voorhees is slated for a mixed-use redevelopment that will bring about 300 homes, new retail and entertainment to the property. The Moorestown Mall, owned by PREIT, has plans for a 200,000-square-foot Parky's entertainment center that will have a go-kart track, mini golf, axe-throwing and an arcade in the coming year. PREIT sold a pair properties surrounding the mall to be redeveloped for new housing, and construction began last year on a 375-unit apartment complex next to the mall on Route 38.
In Exton, Abrams Realty is awaiting a court ruling on its appeal of the West Whiteland Township Board of Supervisors' decision to reject the firm's redevelopment plan for the mall that closed earlier this year. The developer is seeking to build a mixed-use town center that would bring about 700 new homes to the community.
