Ontario Mills is a super-regional outlet mall in Ontario, California, within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. With 28 million annual visitors, it is one of the top shopping and tourist destinations in California. It is one of three Mills landmarks in California that are now managed by Simon Property Group since April 2007. Simon owns 50% of it. The Outlets at Orange and The Great Mall are the others. Ontario Mills was designed by the architectural firm, F+A Architects.
The mall is near the Ontario International Airport and Auto Club Speedway, as well as the interchange between the Ontario Freeway (Interstate 15) and the San Bernardino Freeway (Interstate 10), one of the busiest in Southern California.
According to the mall's former owners, the Mills Corporation, it is the largest one-level shopping mall in Western North America (there are larger malls, but they have two or more levels). In addition, it is California's largest outlet and value retail shopping destination.
Like other Mills malls, Ontario Mills is divided into neighborhoods. This mall has the most out of the Mills malls with ten.
Ontario Mills was announced in February 1988 by Arlington, VA-based The Mills Corporation, which at the time was called Western Development Corporation until 1994. The concept for the project would span approximately 1.5 million square feet, featuring around 250 stores of retail outlets, specialty stores, and off-price shops. As common for Landmark Mills malls, Ontario Mills would also feature a movie theater and a food court known as Big Food, divided into themed concourses referred to as "neighborhoods" in a racetrack-like format to help shoppers identify where they are.
The site was selected on the former location of the Ontario Motor Speedway. German-based KanAm Grund Group would help fund and develop the project alongside Western Development Corporation. Melvin Simon & Associates (later Simon DeBartolo Group, now Simon Property Group) held joint venture interests in Ontario Mills, and the mall was originally slated to open in 1991. However, development was delayed due to financial struggles and legal hurdles. As a result, construction started in 1995 under new CEO Laurence C. Siegel, who oversaw the project's completion at a total cost of $150 million. Ontario Mills had its grand opening on November 14, 1996, timed at the holiday season and generating immediate success with over 150,000 visitors and $7 million in sales on its first day.
On December 13, 1996, AMC Theatres (operating as AMC Ontario Mills 30) opened at the mall as the world's largest megaplex at the time with 30 screens. It established a record individual theater gross of $168,932 for the company. In May 2002, Simon Property Group sold its interests in Ontario Mills back to the Mills Corp. and KanAmâÂÂalongside four other Mills mallsâÂÂfor $430 million. In August 2004, The Mills Corporation and KanAm sold a 50% stake in the property to a fund managed by JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management for approximately $243 million, with Mills Corp. retaining the remaining shares.
Ontario Mills was formerly home to a Vans Skatepark, which eventually closed permanently. The closure was announced in May 2003.
In February 2007, The Mills Corp.'s portfolio, including its 50% interest in Ontario 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. This was because The Mills Corporation was financially struggling by 2006. The acquisition was completed in April 2007, and Ontario Mills' branding was relaunched as The Mills: A Simon Company.
The mall's Burlington Coat Factory was expanded to 112,000 sq. ft. in October 2010. In January 2012, Simon announced that Ontario Mills' food court (rebranded as The Market) and exterior would be remodeled for a "contemporary feel", alongside an expansion of the Forever 21 and Nordstrom Rack stores. Banana's Ultimate Juice Bar closed during this time and was replaced by a Dairy Queen/Orange Julius combination, alongside several smaller local vendors. In March 2012, Simon Property Group acquired full control of the property's management by buying out Farallon's stake in the Mills portfolio for $1.5 billion.
JCPenney sold its JCPenney Outlet Store division to SB Capital Group, and the store converted into JC's 5 Star Outlet, which closed its Ontario Mills location in early 2014, alongside the rest as the division. The sale and permanent closure was because JCPenney wanted to focus on its department stores and online operations, while JC's 5 Star Outlet went defunct as a result of the division's unsuccessful rebranding and performance. The former JCPenney Outlet Store space was renovated in April 2016 by Simon to introduce 12 new stores and restaurants, alongside an expansion in Ontario Mills itself known as Fashion Alley, including The North Face, Original Penguin, Samsonite, Uniqlo and Blaze Pizza. The expansion opened on April 29 of that year, with a new mall entrance being added to access the concourse. raSmith of Brookfield, Wisconsin was the architect of the renovations.
Despite the mall turning 20 years old in November 2016, Simon executives stated that they were "not planning anything special" for Ontario Mills. The general manager of Simon Property Group, Marc Smith, publicly stated the 20th anniversary was "not a big deal" to him, preferring to focus on the "transformation" of adding luxury stores. In July 2017, Ontario Mills got seven new stores, including Stickhouse, WeStyle, francesca's, BoxLunch, and Kidpik. Toys "R" Us Outlet, which has only been open for almost one year, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed all of its U.S. stores in MayâÂÂAugust 2018, including the Ontario Mills location.
All Simon properties in the U.S., including Ontario Mills, closed temporarily in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Daiso closed permanently in February 2024. MOIDA debuted in the same duration, alongside Lush Cosmetics, Psycho Bunny, and Vitamin World.
In March 2025, Marc Jacobs and Suit Emporium opened at Ontario Mills, with later additions being Popeyes, Carbonstar, New Balance, and TARANIS opening in the spring and summer months. The mall's Forever 21 closed permanently in May of that year as the company went out of business in the U.S. due to Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Slick City Action Park opened at Ontario Mills in March 2026, giving the mall an additional entertainment tenant, the other being Dave & Buster's.