It features 185 stores, with anchor stores including Burlington, Primark, Bass Pro Shops, TJ Maxx, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Marshalls; other notable attractions include a 1,000-seat food court, a 25-screen AMC Star movie theater, Round1, Legoland Discovery Center, and Sea Life Michigan.

[8] Taubman Centers made announcements in June 1996 to buy the land from Union Bank and build an outlet mall on the site.

[9] Taubman Centers had owned the land in the 1980s when it was still zoned residential, but sold it to Western Development in 1989 after that company expressed interest in building a mall.

[17][16] Steve & Barry's was also selected as an anchor store; it would be not only their first location in a mall, but also their first in a "superstore" format which expanded their clothing line beyond collegiate apparel to men's and women's casual wear.

Taubman predicted that the mall would have over 17 million visitors within its first year, and that its location would be convenient for tourists traveling to northern Michigan.

[19] Many major tenants were still under development at the time of the mall's grand opening, including Bass Pro Shops, Oshman's, Star Theatres, Stir Crazy, and Wolfgang Puck Cafe.

[20] Opening ceremonies lasted for four days and included appearances by Miss Michigan 1998 Laura Welling; performances by the University of Michigan marching band, jugglers, comedians, and magicians; souvenirs for the first 10,000 shoppers; and a prize drawing whose grand prize was a power boat offered by Bass Pro Shops.

[21] A directory published in the Detroit Free Press just before the mall's opening indicated that a large number of stores had opened their first Michigan locations at Great Lakes Crossing, including Charlotte Russe, Ann Taylor Loft, Bebe Stores, The Icing, Rack Room Shoes, GameWorks, and restaurants Ben & Jerry's, Hot Dog on a Stick, Stir Crazy, Alcatraz Brewing Company, and a Dick Clark's American bandstand grill.

[15] Several other stores joined in 1999, including Victoria's Secret, White Barn Candle Company, Limited Too, Forever 21, and Zales Jewelers.

[22] Two other strip malls were built across Interstate 75: The Auburn Mile and Baldwin Commons, whose tenants featured such big-box stores as Costco, Kohl's, Meijer, and Target.

By 2001, vacancy had begun to increase at Summit Place Mall in nearby Waterford Township by more than ten percent since Great Lakes Crossing's opening.

[26] Taubman Centers assumed total ownership of the mall in 2003 after buying out a fifteen percent minority stake held by UBS Group AG, successor to Union Bank of Switzerland.

[32] Art Van Furniture also opened a 43,000 square feet (4,000 m2) store at the mall on Black Friday 2010, replacing Circuit City which had gone out of business in 2009.

[33] The rebranding was accompanied by a grand reopening ceremony which included free gift cards and tote bags for customers, along with several performances by local musicians and a ribbon-cutting.

[43] On March 5, 2020, Art Van announced that it would be closing all of its company-owned stores, including its Great Lakes Crossing Outlets location, as it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

[47] In March 2024, it was announced that Irish fashion store Primark and Dick's Sporting Goods will be added to the mall, replacing the vacated Art Van Furniture and Bed Bath and Beyond respectively.