Forest Fair Village

Forest Fair Village, formerly Forest Fair Mall, The Shops at Forest Fair, Cincinnati Mills and Cincinnati Mall was a two-level shopping mall 25.1 miles (40.4 km) northwest of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, between Cincinnati Mills Drive, Forest Fair Drive, South Gilmore Road and Interstate 275 in Forest Park, a suburb of Cincinnati. The mall currently has one open anchor which is Kohl's.
== History ==
Forest Fair Mall opened on July 11, 1988 as the first phase of construction. It opened with one anchor which was Bigg's with approximately 20 other store spaces. Higbee's was originally gonna be an anchor to the mall but withdrew from the project after being purchased by Dillard's. As a result of Higbee's withdrawing from the project, parts of the mall was delayed in construction and B. Altman was forced to relocate into the space originally slated for Higbee's. Immediately after the Bigg's wing of the mall opened, Elder-Beerman was confirmed for the vacated anchor left behind by B. Altman's relocation. As a result, the rest of the mall's opening was delayed to October 1988, and again to March 1, 1989. About one-third of the mall's tenants were open by this day, including Bonwit Teller, B. Altman, Parisian, and the food court. By mid-year, Elder-Beerman and Sakowitz had also opened. Other tenants included Wallaby Bob's, Koala Klubhouse, Oshman's Sporting Goods and an eight-screen movie theater called Super Saver. Another major tenant present at opening day was a 100,000 square foot entertainment complex called Time Out, featuring a carousel and miniature golf course. However by October 1990, Bonwit Teller closed, followed by B. Altman and Sakowitz in November. Soon after the mall opened, LJ Hooker filed for bankruptcy due to massive amounts of debt accrued by the company's expansion in the United States. In January 1991, FFM Limited Partnership acquired the mall from LJ Hooker, occupancy was then dropped to 56% because of uncertainty in the shopping center's future. The mall was described as struggling due to the close proximity to both Northgate Mall in Northgate and Tri-County Mall in Springdale. In May 1992, FFM changed the mall's name from Forest Fair Village to The Shops at Forest Fair as part of a $25 million project which included dividing the concourses into four retail themes centered around entertainment, fashion, lifestyle and value. In June 1992, Dawahares opened in the former Sakowitz space. By June 1993, further new tenants opened, including a Sam Goody, Suncoast Motion Picture Company and CompUSA. In September 1994, Kohl's opened in the former B. Altman space. In January 1996, The Shops at Forest Fair was sold to Gator Investments. Also in 1996, Meijer opened across the street from the mall. In November 1996, Dawahares closed down. In June 1998, Parisian closed its anchor store. In July 1998, Showcase Cinemas opened on the lower level in the food court, replacing the Time Out arcade. In August 1998, Guitar Center replaced the former CompUSA. In late 1999 and early 2000, Gator Investments began a second renovation plan which attracted several new tenants. Under these plans, they worked with Glimcher Realty Trust as leasing agent. In October 2000, Bass Pro Shops opened in the former Parisian space, Burlington Coat Factory replaced the former "Festival" wing and Stein Mart opened a temporary outlet store in the former Dawahares. During 2000 and 2001, Media Play, Steve & Barry's and Saks Off Fifth joined the mall. A nightclub called Metropolis was also added to the mall during this time and a new children's playground called Wonderpark. In September 2002, Mills Corporation bought the mall from Gator Investments and announced major renovations and further redevelopment plans. As part of the redevelopment, Mills forced many small independent businesses out of the property. Renovations began in January 2003, which included new paint, floors, and signage throughout, along with differently-themed decor for each wing of the mall, typical of properties developed by Mills at the time. During the renovations, Elder-Beerman had closed down in April 2003. On August 19, 2004, the mall's name was changed once again from The Shops at Forest Fair to Cincinnati Mills. As part of the Mills' development, Babies R Us replaced Stein Mart and Johnny's Toys had opened in the upper level of the former Elder-Beerman. The Super Saver Theater was sold to a local theater chain in Danbury and was renamed to Dollar Saver Theater. Inline tenants at this point were focused mainly on discount stores and amenities suitable for families, as was typical of other properties developed by Mills Corporation. By January 2005, the mall had a 90 percent occupancy. Despite these renovations, the mall's tenancy began to slump again in 2006. This included the loss of Media Play, which went out of business entirely and Johnny's Toys, which closed so that Steve & Barry's could create a larger store using all of the former Elder-Beerman store. In addition, the president of Bigg's reported that their store in the mall constantly struggled in sales due to it being located at the back of the property. Also during this time, a newer outdoor mall, Bridgewater Falls in Hamilton opened which caused most stores to relocate from Cincinnati Mills to the new complex. In 2007, Simon Property Group acquired Mills Corporation.
== Decline ==
The mall's major decline began to happen in 2008. Bigg's closed down in June 2008 as well as Berean Christian Stores and Wonderpark closed. In January 2009, North Star Realty acquired the mall from Simon Property Group. North Star proposed to begin converting portions of the mall to office space, call centers, or other non-retail uses, they also renamed the mall from Cincinnati Mills to Cincinnati Mall in April 2009. Also in 2009, Steve & Barry's closed due to going out of business while Saks Off Fifth, Guess, Lane Bryant and Dressbarn relocated to the Cincinnati Premium Outlets in Monroe. Other tenants such as MasterCuts and GNC had closed. Totes Isotoner operated a temporary 30,000 square foot warehouse store in a vacated retail slot near the food court. In addition, the property owners had fallen delinquent on property taxes. In 2010, Cincinnati Holding Company purchased the mall right as Showcase Cinemas closed. In 2011, three local businessmen planned to open an ice skating rink in the former Bigg's space, the idea never came into fruition. By this time, Guitar Center had also closed and a studio was proposed for its space, while a hotel was slated for the former Steve & Barry's space, those plans never came into fruition either. In January 2013, Cincinnati Mall was renamed to Forest Fair Village. In February 2013, Burlington Coat Factory relocated out of the mall to Springdale. In October 2013, Bass Pro Shops announced plans to relocate to West Chester Township. In 2014, the Dollar Saver Theater closed down. The proposed relocation of Bass Pro Shops, combined with the continued delinquent taxes, created delays in any further attempts at redevelopment. By 2017, only Kohl's, Bass Pro Shops, an arcade and a children's entertainment complex remained in operation. In September 2022, Arcade Legacy, one of the last remaining tenants, moved out of the mall and relocated to Sharonville. The mall was finally closed on December 2, 2022 after the city of Forest Park Fire Department closed all remaining businesses (except Bass Pro Shops and Kohl's) due to number of fire code violations. In February 2024, Bass Pro Shops would finally relocate out of the mall to a new building in West Chester Township, leaving Kohl's as the only remaining open anchor store at Forest Fair Village.
Category:Malls in Ohio
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Dead Malls
Category:Multi-Level Malls
Category:Cincinnati Area Malls
Category:Butler County, Ohio
Category:Former Mills Malls
Category:Mills Corporation
Category:Kohl's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Bigg's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Elder-Beerman-anchored Malls
Category:Former B. Altman-anchored Malls
Category:Former Bonwit Teller-anchored Malls
Category:Former Parisian-anchored Malls
Category:Former Dawahares-anchored Malls
Category:Former Burlington-anchored Malls
Category:Former Steve & Barry's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Saks Off 5th-anchored Malls
Category:Former Stein Mart-anchored Malls
Category:Former Babies "R" Us-anchored Malls
Category:Former Malls
Category:Abandoned malls
Category:Hamilton County, Ohio
Category:Former Bass Pro Shops-anchored