Forest Fair Mall Demolished!

One of the five major malls in Cincinnati is demolished.

A longtime staple in Cincinnati is finally coming to end. The Forest Fair Mall (also known as the Cincinnati Mills Mall) is being demolished. It began on Tuesday after a rain delay.

Only a mere three years ago, I was there and it was a perfect gem of exploring.

The other malls in Cincinnati/Dayton area that are struggling.

• Dayton Mall
• Miami Valley Centre Mall
• Eastgate Mall
• Northgate Mall
• The Mall at Fairfield Commons
• Town and County Shopping Center
• Florence Mall
• Newport on the Lever

Malls that closed indefinitely or slated for demolition.

• Upper Valley Mall
• Tri County Mall
• Salem Mall
• Towne Mall Galleria

The malls that might survive

Kenwood Towne Center

Liberty Center

The Greene

Anderson Towne Center

Austin Landing

Now the Forest Fair Mall is gone and history lived there.

The flying pigs pavilion.

The mall opened in the 1980s and was once the second-largest mall in Ohio. In recent years, the mall struggled to maintain tenants and officially closed to the public in 2022.

As the old mall is being demolished, officials say the Hillman Group, a Cincinnati-based hardware distributor, will anchor the site’s transformation with a 715,000-square-foot multipurpose facility.

The transformed space will include a two-story office space, warehousing and distribution capabilities, as well as a large parking area.

Kohl's, Arcade Legacy and Bass Pro Shops were the remaining businesses. 

All three have since left either through relocation or store closure.