FOREST PARK, Ohio — The demolition of Forest Fair Mall has stirred a blend of sentiment and optimism among local officials who toured the site for the final time on August 20. Opened during the peak era of American shopping centers, the 1.5 million-square-foot complex once hosted high-end retailers such as Bonwit Teller, B. Altman, and Sakowitz Destinations—names that marked a retail milestone for Cincinnati.
Few anticipated in 1989 that the mall would vanish before reaching 40 years of age.
Mayor Aharon Brown recalled childhood visits to Time Out, an indoor amusement park featuring a carousel, Ferris wheel, and mini-golf. As a teenager, he frequented the cinema, watching blockbusters from the ‘Transformers’ and ‘Fast and Furious’ franchises. During the walkthrough, Parks and Recreation Coordinator Jay Dennis suggested relocating an abandoned indoor playground to a public park, but City Manager Don Jones dismissed the idea due to logistical constraints.
Mayor Brown noted the structural integrity of parts of the building, expressing interest in preserving a section for historical purposes. However, Jones emphasized that the new owner, Texas-based Hillwood Investment Group, has a strict development timeline. The company acquired 55 acres of the 89-acre site from New York’s World Properties, the mall’s owner since 2010. Hillwood also settled $10.5 million in bonds from a 2004 renovation and secured $7.9 million in state-funded demolition support through the Butler County Land Bank.
The plan includes constructing a 716,000-square-foot distribution center by 2027. Mayor Brown highlighted the economic potential: while the new facility will occupy about 50 acres, nearly 20 additional acres remain available for future development.
The Hillman Group, a Forest Park-based hardware distributor serving North American retailers, will consolidate operations on approximately 50 acres, potentially establishing its corporate headquarters there.
World Properties retains ownership of about 40 acres, including 22 in Fairfield and 17 in Forest Park. Jones indicated the city may purchase the Forest Park portion fronting I-275 and Winton Road to resell to developers. He envisions mixed-use construction with community-focused amenities, noting that the mall once served as the hub for dining, shopping, and social life.
Full demolition is expected to begin by mid-September and conclude by summer 2025. This marks the second major mall removal in Greater Cincinnati, following Swifton Center’s 2013 demolition. Two other vacant malls—Tri-County Mall and Towne Mall—are also slated for redevelopment.
Wade Williams, corporate site selection director at Montrose Group, which advised on the redevelopment, reflected on the cultural role of malls for those who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. “It’s where you met your friends, where you spent time with family,” he said. But changing consumer habits, accelerated by e-commerce giants like Amazon and digital social platforms, have diminished the mall’s relevance.
Despite the melancholy of seeing the decaying structure—its ceilings damaged, floors stained, and Time Out’s vibrant lights replaced by a forgotten fish mobile—Williams sees promise in the transformation. “It’s exciting to see a project become viable and revenue-generating,” he said. “Retaining a company and attracting a strong developer creates real opportunity for the region.”
— news from WCPO 9 News
— News Original —
One last look | Demolition of Forest Fair Mall triggers nostalgia, hope for economic revival
FOREST PARK, Ohio — The wrecking crew has arrived at Forest Fair Mall, inspiring a strange mix of excitement and nostalgia for the small group of Forest Park city leaders who walked through the property for the last time Wednesday, Aug. 20. n nBorn in the golden age of shopping centers, the 1.5 million-square-foot “mega mall” had a roster of luxury retail anchors that Cincinnati never saw before or since, names like Bonwit Teller, B. Altman and Sakowitz Destinations. n nWho could have predicted in 1989 that Forest Fair Mall would be dead and gone before the age of 40? n nWATCH: We were there for the last tour of the Forest Fair Mall before its demolition n nOne last look at Forest Fair Mall ahead of demolition n
“One of my earliest memories was coming up here to Time Out,” said Forest Park Mayor Aharon Brown, referring to the indoor amusement park that included a carousel, Ferris wheel and miniature golf. Brown came to the arcade with his grandmother as a child. n n“I spent a considerable amount of time (here), especially as a teenager,” Brown said. “A lot of movies that were coming out at the time, this is like ‘The Transformers’ era, I seen a lot of movies, ‘Fast and Furious,’ things like that.” n nWhen the group encountered an indoor playground in the former Bigg’s hypermarket wing, Parks and Recreation Coordinator Jay Dennis wondered aloud if he could relocate it to a city park. n nMayor Brown endorsed the idea before City Manager Don Jones made it clear that won’t happen. n n“It’s actually got some good bones, a good metal structure,” Brown said. “We want to take a piece of this (mall) structure and have it for future generations to talk about.” n nJones agreed the mall’s interior is worth preserving, but a development company that purchased the property last week has a tight timeline for clearing the site and building a 716,000-square-foot distribution center to replace it by 2027. n n“Logistically, I think it’s just impossible,” Jones said. “They own it now. They’re going to determine what they want to do with it.” n nTexas-based Hillwood Investment Group has unlocked the potential of the 89-acre Forest Mall site by purchasing 55 acres from New York-based World Properties, the mall’s owner since 2010. n nHillwood also paid off $10.5 million in bonds from a 2004 renovation and secured the Butler County Land Bank’s pledge to use a 2021 state grant to fund $7.9 million in demolition costs. n n“It’s a tremendous opportunity for growth,” Mayor Brown said. “The structure of the mall in its entirety is coming down, but the new institution that’s taking its place is only about on 50 acres or so. That presents another almost 20 acres for potential development.” n nA roughly 50-acre site will be filled by the Hillman Group, a Forest Park company that distributes hardware products to retailers throughout North America. Its consolidating operations locally and could eventually make the Forest Fair property its corporate headquarters. n nWorld Properties continues to own about 40 acres of the Forest Fair Mall site, including roughly 22 acres in Fairfield and 17 acres in Forest Park. n n“We’re considering purchasing it ourselves, and then we would sell it to a developer,” Jones said of the Forest Park land fronting I-275 and Winton Road. “We think it’s going to be a very popular spot for developers and people that want to locate here.” n nJones anticipates a mixed-use development on the 17-acre site, with “amenities that would benefit the community, that aren’t already here in Forest Park. This was where all our amenities were. This was our restaurants and our shopping and everything else. So, we don’t want all that to go away.” n nHe expects full-scale demolition to begin by mid-September and be completed by next summer. n nThat would make it the second local mall to be erased from Greater Cincinnati’s retail landscape. Swifton Center in Bond Hill, built in 1951, was demolished in 2013. n nTwo other empty malls are moving towards demolition. n nOwners of the Tri-County Mall in Springdale have signed a demolition contract to replace the 65-year-old structure with a large mixed-use development, including apartments, retail, office and hotel. n nTowne Mall in Middletown, built over three years in the 1970s, could begin a partial demolition by next spring, according to WCPO content partner, Journal-News. n n“It’s our hope that this property can be transformed into a thriving mixed-use development,” Middletown Vice Mayor Steve West told the newspaper. n nThose projects will undoubtedly trigger the same waves of nostalgia that Forest Park leaders felt on August 11, when they took one last mall walk at Forest Fair. n n“They had a little club here and I remember coming here as a college student,” said Wade Williams, director of corporate site selection for the Montrose Group, which advised Forest Park on the mall’s redevelopment. “It was a very long drive for somebody who lives in Northern Kentucky. So, I remember that. I remember going to a movie right here, when it was such an active location.” n nWilliams said malls have “a unique place in history” as the preferred gathering place for people who grew up in the 1980s and ‘90s. n n“It’s where you met your friends. It’s where you ran around with your parents. I think it was part of the growing-up culture,” Williams said. But “kids can do that now on social media apps. They don’t necessarily have to go to the mall to meet their friends. So that’s I think what drove some of the challenges. And there’s obviously the change in how people buy. Amazon and all the delivery (options) changed the buying habits.” n nLike others on the Aug. 20 tour, Williams felt the sense of loss while walking the mall’s dusty corridors and seeing the holes in its ceiling, water stains on its floors and the forlorn fish mobile that replaced the sparkling lights that adorned the Time Out arcade back in 1989. n nBut he’s also encouraged by the economic potential of a mall’s demolition. n n“It’s great to see a project that now can be viable, that can be revenue producing,” Williams said. “But it’s also that we’re retaining a company and it’s a headquarters and we were able to work with a great developer to make that happen. I’m very excited about it and I think it’s a great opportunity for the region and for the city.”