Arundel Mills is a super-regional outlet mall in Hanover, Maryland, United States. It is managed by Simon Property Group, which owns 59.3% of the mall. The remaining shares are owned by the KanAm Grund Group. With of gross leasable area, it is the largest mall in Maryland. Primarily developed by Mills Corporation, the mall is at the intersection of Maryland Route 100 and the Baltimore–Washington Parkway (Maryland Route 295) in northwestern Anne Arundel County (hence the name "Arundel" Mills).
History Mid-1990s–2000: Development and opening
Beginning in the mid-1990s, the Washington, D.C.-based Western Development Corporation, which completed a corporate spin-off as the Arlington, Virginia-based Mills Corporation in April 1994, purchased approximately of former farmland and the defunct Patapsco Ridge Beagle Club in Hanover. German-based KanAm Grund Group was involved with development and funding. In 1997, D.C.-based Somerset Construction Company and its president, Mike Caruthers, alongside his partners sold roughly of this land to the Mills Corporation specifically for the construction of the planned shopping mall on the site.
The project was known as Arundel Mills, and would be proposed as Maryland's largest shopping mall, with over of retail space, directly competing with similar shopping centers in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, such as Owings Mills Mall, and the then-largest mall in Maryland, Towson Town Center. The focus for the project would be on high-quality outlets, entertainment venues, and big-box anchors to attract regional shoppers in the Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Washington, D.C. areas. Somerset Construction Company would lead as the main contractor.
In August 1998, the Anne Arundel County Council approved specialized zoning modifications for the new shopping center development. However, development was criticized in the late 1990s due to concerns about traffic congestion from retail saturation in the Baltimore and D.C. areas, stemming from adjacent Maryland Route 100 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, as well as wetland destruction and increased stormwater runoff. It would cost $28 million in road and sewer construction for the mall, both of which would be funded by Anne Arundel County. In August 1998, The Washington Post warned that the development would essentially repeat the initial problems of Potomac Mills.
The Mills Corp. successfully addressed these concerns. Only of wetland was filled. Arundel Mills began construction in July 1999 during protests against the project, including those from County executive Janet S. Owens. The wetlands fill plan was approved by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) in October 1999, and the mall had its grand opening celebration on November 17, 2000, with over 250 stores. It was the first enclosed mall to feature a Medieval Times dinner theater. Original stores included TJ Maxx and Books-A-Million. Simon DeBartolo Group, later Simon Property Group in 1998, held joint venture interests in Arundel Mills.
Design and architecture
As is common for other Landmark Mills malls, the interior walkway resembles a "racetrack" design and, more noticeably, the outline of a boat. It also featured a summer-themed food court known as The Roundhouse, named after the mall's original train theme, which also paid homage to the B&O Railroad Museum, specifically the B&O Roundhouse. The overall design was part of the Mills Corp.'s "shoppertainment" model, and Arundel Mills was designed by Somerville, Massachusetts-based D'Agostino Izzo Quirk Architects, Inc. (DiQuinzio). The mall's interior was designed by ID8, a subsidiary of local architectural firm RTKL Associates. The architects took inspiration from the Rouse Company's festival marketplaces and shopping malls in Maryland, such as Harborplace (designed by Benjamin Thompson & Associates, Inc.), and White Marsh Mall (also designed by RTKL). Some individual tenants hired their own architects for their spaces, with local firm Development Design Group as the architect for Muvico. The DuClaw Brewing Company restaurant was designed by AHS architects (AHSa/Ammon Heisler Sachs architects) for Aero Service Group.
2000–2007: Early years Arundel Mills drew 14 million visitors in its first year of operation. In addition to 17 large anchor stores, Arundel Mills also features an Egyptian 24-screen megaplex theater. The cinema was the only outlet of its Muvico Theaters chain in the state of Maryland.
In May 2002, Simon Property Group sold its 75% interest in Arundel Mills back to KanAm and the Mills Corp. for $430million.
Design and architecture (continued)
Arundel Mills originally featured colorful assets, including the Mills TV, which would display video loops of music videos, movie trailers, and advertisements for the mall's tenants. Colorful assets also included five themed neighborhoods, featuring "Courts" in each concourse sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company, Toyota, The Baltimore Sun, Comcast, and Discover Card. Additional sponsors included Bank of America and the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center. The original courts included the Bowl-A-Rama Court in Neighborhood 1, the Toyota Court in Neighborhood 2, the Baltimore Sun Court and the Pinball Palace Court in Neighborhood 3, originally anchored by Jillian's Entertainment. The Fashion Avenue Court, and the Lily's Pad Court, were in Neighborhoods 4 and 5, were anchored by Saks Off 5th (hence the name "Fashion" Avenue Court), alongside Bed Bath & Beyond and Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.
H&M opened at Arundel Mills in February 2003, being the store's first location in the Baltimore/D.C. area. The Maryland Daily Record noted the store as "cheap" and "chic". The Crayola Works Creativity & Studio Store opened at the mall in July 2002 and closed permanently in February 2004 for unspecified reasons. The parent company, Crayola, then known as the Binney & Smith Company, redirected visitors to the Crayola Factory (now Crayola Experience) in Easton, Pennsylvania. Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Café, a sports bar and family-friendly arcade, announced an opening at Arundel Mills in November 2005, replacing the defunct Jillian's via a $47 million acquisition deal in May 2004. The former Crayola Works space was taken by Neiman Marcus Last Call in March 2006.
2007–2019: Simon Property Group
In May 2006, The Mills Corporation was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) due to extensive accounting irregularities and fraudulent financial reporting. As a result, in February 2007, the company's portfolio, including Arundel Mills, would be acquired by Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management for $1.64 billion, following the rejection of Brookfield Asset Management's offer to acquire the Mills Corp. for $1.35 billion. The acquisition was completed in April 2007, and the Mills Corporation was rebranded as The Mills: A Simon Company.
In March 2009, Muvico sold the Arundel Mills Egyptian 24, along with three other theaters located in Florida, to Texas-based Cinemark Theatres as part of a multimillion-dollar deal. While the theater was rebranded as Cinemark Egyptian 24 in September 2009, the company initially stated that moviegoers would not notice major changes to the Egyptian-themed decor or operations during the transition.
The Cinemark Egyptian 24 was renovated in May 2010, including the conversion of one auditorium into the company's first "Extreme Digital" large-screen format in the region, featuring a floor-to-ceiling screen and a 24-speaker custom sound system, known as Cinemark XD. New carpeting, aisle lighting, 14 self-ticketing kiosks, and an expanded guest service area were also introduced, alongside a self-serve concession stand and a "Cafe Cinema" serving specialty snacks and drinks. During construction, a worker died after a 30-40 feet wall collapsed on them on July 29, 2011.
In March 2012, Simon Property Group acquired full control of the property's management by buying out Farallon's stake in 26 Landmark Mills malls for $1.5 billion. On June 6, 2012, Maryland Live! Casino (now Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland) opened to the public, adjacent to Arundel Mills. A second phase opened in September 2012. In winter 2013, Forever 21 opened at Arundel Mills, replacing FYE (For Your Entertainment), which relocated to a smaller space within the mall. On July 15, 2016, a 40-year-old worker suffered life-threatening injuries caused by a severe electrical shock while repairing the mall's HVAC units on the roof.
Phase I renovation From 2017 through 2018, the mall interior underwent cosmetic upgrades, including new tile flooring, LED lighting, the installation of kiosks throughout the mall, and seating areas, to align with the more modern aesthetic of the neighboring casino and the newly opened Live! Hotel in April 2018. The renovations were developed by Simon Property Group and designed by the North Carolina-based Bartlett Hartley & Mulkey (BHM). During that time, Neiman Marcus Last Call closed its Arundel Mills location as part of a plan to close ten stores worldwide to focus on full-line stores. In mid-June 2017, Under Armour Factory House opened at the mall.
The renovations included the Roundhouse food court, which Simon Property Group rebranded as the Dining Pavilion at Arundel Mills, replacing the food court's original summer theme with a contemporary architectural aesthetic, charging stations with WiFi connectivity, new LED lights, and updated seating. The remodeled food court added new eateries to the mall, including The Crepe Escape & Creamery, Green Leaf's & Bananas, Suki Hana / Wokaholic, Charleys Philly Steaks, and the first Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar in Maryland. Existing restaurants, such as Sbarro, remained operational. Ulta Beauty opened in May 2019 in the former Neiman Marcus Last Call space.
On June 13, 2019, the DuClaw Brewing Company at Arundel Mills closed permanently. The restaurant stated that the mall was "unfortunately, no longer a place we can call home." It was announced one month later that Yard House would open a restaurant at DuClaw's former spot next year.
2020–2021: COVID-19 pandemic
Yard House announced on March 6, 2020 that it would open the following month, but needed to hire at least 200 staff members to help run the restaurant.
During construction on Yard House, Arundel Mills temporarily closed on March 19, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside Annapolis Mall and other Simon properties in the U.S. It reopened in June 2020 under strict social distancing conditions. In December 2020, multiple vehicles in the Live! Casino & Hotel parking garage were damaged overnight by vandalism, and a possibly related vehicle fled the scene. Bed Bath & Beyond shuttered by the end of 2020. MD Furniture Outlet later took that spot. Modell's Sporting Goods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and also shuttered in March 2020, as part of a plan to close nine Maryland stores, including Arundel Mills.
While the mall reopened in the summer of 2020, some tenants remained closed throughout the pandemic. The Cinemark movie theater did not reopen until January 2021.
In March 2021, the Disney Store closed its doors, as The Walt Disney Company announced that it would be closing at least 60 stores in North America, two of them being Maryland stores per its location website: this one at Arundel Mills, and the other at White Marsh Mall. Disney cited the pandemic and a move from physical retail to its shopDisney e-commerce platform as the reason for the mass closures. Best Buy closed at Arundel Mills permanently in October 2021 after refusing to renew its lease.
2022–present The mall closed temporarily again in October 2022 after a gun was accidentally discharged by a man in the food court. Two people were hurt after running away from the area for safety.
Phase II renovation