Retrofit Atlas

Malls · Ohio

Forest Fair Mall

Imported, unreviewedDemolishedHamilton County, OH

Forest Fair Mall opened 1989, renamed Cincinnati Mills 2002, closed 2022, demolished 2025‑2026; site cleared under Simon Property Group ownership. · summary, model-written

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Forest Fair Mall
Forest Fair Mall. Photo: MikeKalasnik, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Site profile12 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors
Elder-BeermanThis site: Elder-Beerman wikipedia · all sites with this
Finance and pipeline
Closed or demolished, no retrofit recordedThis site: …demolished extraction · all sites with this
High attention (20k+ Wikipedia views a year)This site: 32,409 wikimedia · all sites with this
On FacebookThis site: …https://www.facebook.com/108054261932395 overture · all sites with this
Website aliveThis site: …https://www.facebook.com/groups/bourbonstreetnightclub overture / http check · all sites with this
Place
30,000+ vehicles a day on an adjacent roadThis site: 104,404 on IR 275 fhwa-hpms · all sites with this
County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012This site: -11% census-cbp · all sites with this
Grocery within 800 mThis site: 3 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this
High tornado riskThis site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with this
Interstate or freeway within 600 mThis site: IR 275 fhwa-hpms · all sites with this
Tract house prices doubled in 10 yearsThis site: +143% fhfa · all sites with this
Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)This site: …index 14.3 epa-walkability · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusDemolishedextracted, unreviewed
documented
Demolition of the entire complex began in September 2025, and was completed in March 2026.

en.wikipedia.org

Deals and debt

DateEventPricePartiesSource
Sold—Simon Property Group ← Mills CorporationWikipedia

Site context

FEMA flood zoneX · AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARDFEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m4: CPI PHOTO FINISH; KIDDIE KANDIDS #000574; MEIJER NO 159; PETCO STORE #2828EPA FRS
Census tract 390610215063,584 people, 4,027 per sq mi; median household income $64,144; median gross rent $1,291; 32% renters; 0.0% vacant units; 0.0% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)index 14.3 of 20; 116 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 844 m; land-use mix 0.85; 89,805 jobs within 45 min by car, 21,614 by transit; 2% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)4 of 6 daily needs: 3 grocers, 0 schools, 2 parks or playgrounds, 0 health, 1 civic, 14 food and drink; 0 cycleway segments, 40 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity ZonenoHUD
Housing permits, Hamilton County (OH), 2024217 units in 5+ unit buildings, 39 in 2–4, 566 single-family; 2023: 654 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)overall percentile 0.73; socioeconomic 0.54; housing and transport 0.66; 13% below 150% of poverty; 2% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby2 within 10 km, 9 within 25 km: Tri-County Mall (4.9 km); Northgate Mall (9.5 km)computed
Overture Mapsplace Bourbon Street Memories - Forest Fair Mall (dance_club, confidence 0.58, from Overture, meta); building footprint 4,214 m², 8.548187255859375 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Website and socialwww.facebook.com (alive); archived 1998–2026 (Wayback) · social: facebookOverture / Internet Archive
Attention: Wikipedia page views70,026 since 2015; 32,409 in the last 12 months (-1% vs the prior 12); peak 2026-01 with 5,245Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023population +5% (3,407 → 3,584); median income +42% ($45,000 → $64,144); renters 23% → 32%; median home value +53% ($106,000 → $162,500)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)very low overall (score 15.4); expected annual loss $694,513; high: tornado; community resilience relatively highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 kmnoneHUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)38,928 jobs in 2,586 establishments; average annual pay $39,344; employment location quotient 0.77; employment -1.1% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022825 jobs; 301 in retail trade, 321 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 39061021506)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 35th income percentile as adults; 3.7% incarcerated at the 2010 count (465 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)not a low-access tract at 1 mile; poverty rate 8.4%; median family income $70,260; 100 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
SchoolsNorthwest Local School District (PK-12); 0 public schools within 1 mileNCES EDGE
Elevation841 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025324 county-logged events: 147 thunderstorm wind, 71 flash flood, 57 hail, 41 flood; $6,576,950 property damage reported; 2 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 45240, 2026-09median list price $294,000 (+9.9% on the year); 50 active listings; median 36 days on market; 25% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20232,518 establishments (-11%); 40,920 jobs (-26%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $266,241 (+1% 1 yr, +24% 5 yr); typical rent $1,468/mo (+2% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025348 (2000 = 100); +1.9% 1 yr, +54% 5 yr, +143% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)104,404 vehicles a day on IR 275 (Interstate, 6 lanes); 13,154 trucks; 20 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Forest Fair Mall opened in 1989 after development by Amega, underwent ownership changes to LJ Hooker and Mills Corporation, which renamed it Cincinnati Mills in 2002 and renovated it in 2004. The mall closed to the public in 2022 (except Kohl's and Bass Pro Shops), demolition began in 2025 and was completed in 2026, leaving the site demolished.

Why. The record does not specify the causes of closure or demolition; no anchor losses, competition, debt, or other factors are mentioned.

Where it stands. The site is now demolished; Simon Property Group is listed as the owner after acquiring it from Mills Corporation.

For a planner

  • Precedent: Mills Corporation rebranded the mall as Cincinnati Mills in 2002 and renovated it in 2004 before eventual closure.
  • No policy tools or public incentives are noted in the record for this site.
  • Open questions include future zoning, land‑use planning, and what will replace the cleared parcel.

For a developer

  • Control: Simon Property Group is recorded as the owner following its purchase from Mills Corporation.
  • Entitlement stage: The parcel is cleared after demolition (completed 2026), so no existing structures remain, but any new development would require fresh entitlements.
  • Site size, flood risk, transit access, environmental constraints, and local market signals are not provided in the record.

What we do not know yet

  • Key missing facts: exact site acreage, parcel boundaries, and current zoning designation.
  • Environmental conditions (e.g., soil contamination, floodplain status) and transit proximity are not described.
  • Market context such as surrounding tract data, demand for retail or alternative uses, and comparable sales are absent.
  • The record’s verification status is 'draft' and its opportunity score is low (25), indicating limited confidence in the data.
  • Details of any demolition remediation, utility infrastructure, or pending approvals for redevelopment are not stated.

Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

Elsewhere on the web

Retail history: Forest Fair Mall on DeadMalls.com photos, field notes and visitor memories since 2000; matched by name and state only, check the city; nothing copied here

Pages with photos

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

  • closed or demolished site (sourced)

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Opened1989Wikidata
Closed2022extracted, unreviewed
documented
Following years of losing tenants, it closed to the public in December 2022, with the exception of Kohl's and Bass Pro Shops.

en.wikipedia.org

Stores at peak200extracted, unreviewed reported
Original developerAmegaextracted, unreviewed
documented
In 1985, real estate developer Amega selected the site at the northeast corner of the Interstate 275 beltway's interchange with Winton Road in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, for the development of a retail property.

en.wikipedia.org

ArchitectHellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum
AnchorsBigg's, Kohl's, Elder-Beerman, Bonwit Teller, Parisian, Higbee's, B. Altman and Company, Sakowitz
CountyHamilton County
Census division3 · East North Central
NotesWikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, what is there now, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.

Background

Forest Fair Mall was a super-regional shopping mall in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was located on the border between Forest Park and Fairfield, at the junction of Interstate 275 and Winton Road.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1985 Amega selects site for development
  2. 1986 LJ Hooker acquires property from Amega
  3. 1988 First phase of mall opens (Bigg's and ~20 stores)
  4. 1989 Opened (Wikidata)
  5. 1989 Remainder of mall opens
  6. 2002 Mills Corporation renames property Cincinnati Mills
  7. 2004 Mills Corporation renovates mall in August 2004
  8. 2022 Mall closes to public (except Kohl's and Bass Pro Shops)
  9. 2025 Demolition begins
  10. 2026 Demolition completed

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Forest Fair Mall · supports: original developer, status, year closed
    12 quoted sentences
    Following years of losing tenants, it closed to the public in December 2022, with the exception of Kohl's and Bass Pro Shops.
    In 1985, real estate developer Amega selected the site at the northeast corner of the Interstate 275 beltway's interchange with Winton Road in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, for the development of a retail property.
    Demolition of the entire complex began in September 2025, and was completed in March 2026.
    In 1985, real estate developer Amega selected the site at the northeast corner of the Interstate 275 beltway's interchange with Winton Road in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, for the development of a retail property.

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