Sugarloaf Mills, formerly Discover Mills, is a super-regional outlet mall in the Atlanta metropolitan area, in Lawrenceville at Gwinnett County, Georgia, near the interchange of Interstate 85 and Highway 316. Opened in 2001, the mall features 14 anchors, 200specialty retailers at its peak, and a variety of theme restaurants, casual dining, and entertainment venues.
History 1999–2001: Development and opening
Mills Corporation began planning Sugarloaf Mills in August 1999 as a joint venture with KanAm on a site at Interstate 85 and Sugarloaf Parkway in Gwinnett County, and an initial budget of $170 million. The original (and has been used since 2012) name, Sugarloaf Mills, was named after the mall's planned situation near Sugarloaf Parkway. The site began getting ready for construction in early 2000. 80% of the property was cleared by March. The architect for the mall was local firm MSTSD, Inc., led by Walter Grant Moseley, Jr.
The "Discover Mills" name The mall opened on November 2, 2001. From then until 2012, Sugarloaf Mills was named Discover Mills pursuant to a $10 million naming rights partnership with Discover Card. The slogan for the mall was "Where Discover Card is the Smart Choice" and the card was promoted in stores. It was the first shopping mall to have granted naming rights.
After opening
Discover Mills became a "shoppertainment" mall following additions of AMC Theatres (operating as AMC Discover Mills 18 in December 2003), and Medieval Times in August 2006.
In February 2007, The Mills Corp.'s portfolio, including Discover Mills, would be acquired by the Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management for $1.64 billion, following the rejection of Brookfield Asset Management's offer of $1.35 billion. Mills was acquired because it was financially struggling by May 2006. The acquisition was completed in April 2007, and the Mills Corporation was rebranded as The Mills: A Simon Company. In November 2009, Dave & Buster's opened at Discover Mills, replacing Jillian's Entertainment.
In March 2012, Simon Property Group acquired full control of Discover Mills by buying out Farallon's stake in 26 Landmark Mills malls for $1.5 billion. In October 2012, the naming rights with Discover Card expired. Instead of renewing the naming rights or finding a new sponsor, Simon Property Group reverted the mall to its original planning name, Sugarloaf Mills.Discover Mills renamed Sugarloaf Mills NBC 11 Atlanta (11 Alive), September 21, 2012. Following the renaming, Simon renovated Sugarloaf Mills to reflect the new name. This included the rebranding of AMC Discover Mills 18to AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18.
In September 2015, Simon announced that Rue21, Samsonite, and Crescent Jewelers would open at Sugarloaf Mills. The mall's Guess Factory Store was renovated. Zumiez also opened, alongside Fragrance Outlet, Justice, and Journeys. In June 2016, H&M announced that it would open in the spring of 2017. In December 2017, Worldwide Soccer, Xios, Unique Events Unlimited, Styletto Boutique, Sugarloaf Rugs, and ATL Linen Outlet were announced to open during the holiday season.
Simon Property Group struggled to refinance over $100 million in debt of Sugarloaf Mills in September 2018, leading to concerns regarding imminent default. CWCapital Asset Management took over a $105M and $18.4M loan held by Omega Advisors on September 13. Simon corrected the issue by reducing the principal balance by over 25% on the senior note from $135 million to about $100 million, preventing the risk of foreclosure.
In October 2025, Primark announced that it would open a store at Sugarloaf Mills; the opening date was announced to be in September 2026, replacing the former Neiman Marcus Last Call. Gift-wrapping stations were introduced to the mall in December 2025, alongside Go! Calenders, Swiss Leather, and Kitchen & Home. In January 2026, Saks Off 5th was announced to close permanently as part of a corporate restructuring by Saks Global, which made the decision to close 57Saks Off 5th stores nationwide after they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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