The Biggs Family, in control of K.M. Biggs, Inc., has brought some of the most popular retail brands to Lumberton, N.C. for around 60 years at Biggs Park Mall. A new $18 million investment by the longtime property owner is set to continue that tradition. 

K.M. Biggs Inc. will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 16 for its newly renovated and overhauled mall. 

The mall is set to welcome several highly sought-after national retailers in Robeson County, including TJ Maxx, Burlington and Five Below. Existing mall stores like Shoe Show, Tomlinson’s, and Bath and Body Works will be renovating their stores as part of the $18 million redevelopment. Belk and Maurice’s will also be completing renovations after recently renewing their leases.

The company is also negotiating leases for additional popular retailers, like Ulta and several restaurants that, K.M. Biggs officials say, have expressed strong interest in joining the center. 

Officials say that the mall’s location, right off Interstate 95 and Highway 211 in midtown Lumberton, will position Biggs Park Mall as the premier shopping destination for Robeson County and its surrounding counties — Scotland, Hoke, Cumberland, Bladen and Columbus.

The mall’s proximity to Hardee’s, Bojangles and Sonic is also a strategic advantage. 

“The family of K.M. Biggs would like to thank the community for its continued support of the retailers who provide services and jobs at Biggs Park Mall,” Vice President of Biggs Park, Inc. Chelsea Biggs said in a press release. “There were many partners who helped make this renovation possible, including the Lumberton City Council, the Robeson County Commissioners, their respective staffs and our utility provider, ElectriCities [of N.C.].”  

Biggs said the company is keeping tabs on consumer trends, noting that open-air shopping centers and a focus on community gathering spaces have prompted the latest redevelopment for K.M. Biggs. The mall’s new look will feature a state-of-the-art hybrid design. 

New retailers will be allowed to occupy the former JCPenney space while preserving a smaller enclosed common area for seasonal community events — a tradition that will continue to welcome Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and other community festivities for years to come. 

“Our property has gone through several phases over time,” Biggs said. “This shift reflects where retail is heading today and how people prefer to shop — with convenience, accessibility and strong national brands combined with local relevance.”

Retailers coming into the new redevelopment will also have positive spillover effects on the community. 

“Equally important, these new retailers are creating jobs and generating additional economic activity for the area,” Biggs said. “Our hope is that this redevelopment creates a positive ripple effect — encouraging people to shop locally, supporting employment and ultimately strengthening the community we’ve been proud to serve for generations.”

The Biggs family’s roots in Lumberton date back more than a century. Chelsea Biggs said the family has learned several lessons in the past 60 years of owning the Robeson County shopping center. 

“Over the years, one of the biggest lessons our family has learned in the retail and mall industry is the importance of listening — both to the marketplace and to the community we serve,” Biggs said. “Retail is constantly evolving, and success requires the willingness to adapt rather than resist change.”

K.M. Biggs began his mercantile business in downtown Lumberton in 1903 as a sole proprietor, laying the foundation for what would become one of the region’s most enduring family-owned enterprises. 

The business was incorporated in 1934, with early operations focused on grocery, hardware and agricultural supply services.  

In 1957, the family formed a new company, Biggs Park, Inc., to develop a 22-acre property near the city’s growing residential area known as Tanglewood.  

Biggs Park was home to major retailers, including Woods Stores, Sherwin-Williams, Shoe Show, JCPenney, Sugars Men’s Store, Merrimac Music, Winn-Dixie, Eckerd’s, Johnson Drugs and Smith’s Cleaners, alongside the family-operated Biggs Stores divisions by 1962. 

The property underwent a redevelopment in 1984 in response to evolving consumer trends, Biggs wrote in a press release. Biggs Park Mall then became the first and only enclosed mall in Robeson County, replacing a portion of the traditional strip center. The tenants at the time included Belk, Tomlinson, JCPenney, Waldenbooks, Maurice’s, Foot Locker, Radio Shack, General Nutrition Center and Maurice’s. 

After those redevelopments at the mall, and with its most recent one coming in February, the family reflected on its time serving the Lumberton area.

“It has meant everything to our family,” Biggs said. “We are incredibly grateful and truly blessed to have built a family business here and to have experienced that success alongside a community that has supported us for generations. We would not be where we are today without the loyalty of the people who have shopped with us, supported the retailers inside the mall and continued to believe in this property over the years.”

The new infusion of life into the project, Biggs noted, represents both a renewal and an opportunity.

“It allows us to reimagine the shopping experience in a way that reflects today’s retail environment while still honoring our roots in the community,” Biggs said. “With new retailers, updated spaces and renewed energy we are excited to create fresh opportunities — from job growth to increased local investment — and to continue providing a welcoming, high-quality shopping destination for Lumberton and the surrounding areas for many years to come.”