Despite announcements that the redevelopment of Steeplegate Mall was back on the books, the owners of the aging retail complex are still held up in court and owe the city more than $600,000 in unpaid taxes, public records show.
Concord City Manager Tom Aspell proclaimed earlier this month that the project had regained momentum after Steeplegate and JCPenney, a longtime tenant who sued the developer in 2024 over plans to tear down the mall, had reached an agreement. Onyx, the developer with plans to turn the mall into hundreds of apartments and a Costco, had come back to the negotiating table with the city, officials said. Multiple city council members in attendance confirmed the update, noting they had met in a non-public session to discuss the resumption of negotiations. But none said they knew the details of any agreement.
The dispute with JCPenney, however, shows no signs of resolution in court.
Ahead of a status conference in the case scheduled for April 30, the developer and department store jointly requested and received another 60 days to negotiate from the court. The conference has been rescheduled to June – the sixth delay since the case’s last hearing in Feb. 2025.
JCPenney challenged the demolition of the majority of Steeplegate in August of 2024, citing its lease, which runs through 2030 and says the mall will remain a mall. A superior court judge granted an order blocking demolition there until the dispute ended. While the project has yet to receive final city approvals, Onyx had sought to tear down most of the vacant structure, citing trespassing and safety concerns.
A joint court filing from the two sides outlines their optimism about reaching an agreement soon – but they’ve been saying this for over a year.
Beyond the city’s announcement, little public information is available indicating progress with the mall development. Real estate listings calling for new tenants at the existing building remain open online, but no new tenants have arrived.
In response to an inquiry about the city’s knowledge of the status of the project, a city spokesperson provided no comment, only referring the Monitor back to Aspell’s April remarks when he made the announcement:
“We’ve been told all the legal issues have been – that’s what’s been holding things up – they’ve worked out a deal with JCPenney,” Aspell said at the Chamber of Commerce’s State of the City event. “So we’re waiting to see how all that’s going to play out.”
No further or updated information was available, public information officer Stefanie Breton wrote in an email to the Monitor.
The developer did not respond to requests for comment, including a detailed list of questions asking about the status of negotiations with JCPenney and the reason the developer had not paid its taxes.
Meanwhile, Onyx is two years delinquent on property taxes to the city for the mall and former movie theater properties.
The debt stretches back to 2024 and, as of the most recent bill-due date at the end of March, totalled $632,307 between the two properties, according to a list of tax delinquencies provided by the city. It means Onyx is responsible for 13% of all outstanding property taxes owed to the city recorded over the last ten years.
Concord’s Mayor Byron Champlin framed it as a likely negotiating tactic, not an indication of financial hardship.
“It’s not unusual for these developers or large developing organizations to leverage their dollars,” he said. “My assumption would be that they’re choosing not to pay.”
Champlin said he had not discussed the delinquency directly with Onyx’s management and declined to answer questions about how it might affect negotiations between Onyx and the city about an investment of public money in the project, which have been happening behind closed doors.
The city manager’s office has rejected public records requests from the Monitor for communication between the developer and City Hall, including requests for access to a publicly funded third-party report about a potential taxpayer investment.
Meanwhile, on the Seacoast, plans to demolish the Fox Run mall are moving ahead. No housing is planned for that project – the new owner intends to rebuild the shopping center under a more contemporary retail model of separate, clustered buildings – such as has been growing near the Exit 17 Market Basket.
Fox Run also included a JCPenney, which closed in 2025. A Costco is planned for that development, too, with a targeted 2027 opening, multiple outlets reported this week. New Hampshire currently only has one Costco.
