Surrounded by office and other development, the mall anchors the southern Ann Arbor commercial area around Eisenhower Boulevard and I-94.

Briarwood is considered a Class A mall property by developers based on its sales per square foot.

In 1998 Taubman Centers simplified its corporate structure and turned over full ownership to its financial partner, the GM Pension Trusts.

[7][8] Briarwood received a major renovation in 2013 with new flooring, new lighting and redesigned mall entrances.

[9] In August 2014, Forever 21 opened a newer, larger store in the JCPenney wing, replacing space that was formerly occupied by Payless ShoeSource, Zales Jewelers, GameStop, Icing by Claire's, a salon, and a vacant Arby's.

[11] MC Sports closed in 2017 and the space was split up between Colby Bounce and Signature Nails & Spa.

On October 15, 2018, Sears announced that its Briarwood location would close after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.