SOCIAL - POLITICAL COMMENTARY: Transitions: Going Nowhere

Forest Fair Village (formerly Cincinnati Mall, Cincinnati Mills, and Forest Fair Mall) is a shopping mall in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is situated on the border between Forest Park and Fairfield, at the junction of Interstate 275 and Winton Road (Exit 39). The mall, built in phases between 1988 and 1989 as Forest Fair Mall, has become noted for its troubled history; despite being the second-biggest mall in the state and bringing many new retailers to the market, it lost three anchor stores (B. Altman and Company, Bonwit Teller, and Sakowitz) and forced it's original owner LJ Hooker to bankruptcy less than a year after opening. The mall underwent renovations throughout the mid 1990s, attracting new stores such as Kohl's, Burlington Coat Factory, and Bass Pro Shops. Mills Corporation renamed the property to Cincinnati Mills at the start of the 21st century and renovated the mall once more. 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 was 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 had constantly struggled in sales due to it being located at the back of the property. Also contributing to the decline were continued competition with Northgate and Tri-County malls, along with a newer outdoor mall called Bridgewater Falls in nearby Hamilton; lower-class demographics surrounding the mall; shopper unfamiliarity with the specialty tenants within; bankruptcy filings of key tenants; and complications from an accounting scandal in which the Mills corporation was involved. Simon Property Group acquired the Mills portfolio in 2007. Following the sale of Mills portfolio to Simon Property Group, the mall was sold several times afterward, while continuing to lose many of its key tenants. After having been renamed to Cincinnati Mall and again to Forest Fair Village in the 2010s, the property has dwindled to fewer than five tenants as of 2017, and plans of redevelopment have largely been stalled. Kohl's, and Bass Pro Shops are among the remaining tenants at the time of this writing.
Going Nowhere

Forest Fair Village (formerly Cincinnati Mall, Cincinnati Mills, and Forest Fair Mall) is a shopping mall in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is situated on the border between Forest Park and Fairfield, at the junction of Interstate 275 and Winton Road (Exit 39). The mall, built in phases between 1988 and 1989 as Forest Fair Mall, has become noted for its troubled history; despite being the second-biggest mall in the state and bringing many new retailers to the market, it lost three anchor stores (B. Altman and Company, Bonwit Teller, and Sakowitz) and forced it's original owner LJ Hooker to bankruptcy less than a year after opening. The mall underwent renovations throughout the mid 1990s, attracting new stores such as Kohl's, Burlington Coat Factory, and Bass Pro Shops. Mills Corporation renamed the property to Cincinnati Mills at the start of the 21st century and renovated the mall once more. 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 was 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 had constantly struggled in sales due to it being located at the back of the property. Also contributing to the decline were continued competition with Northgate and Tri-County malls, along with a newer outdoor mall called Bridgewater Falls in nearby Hamilton; lower-class demographics surrounding the mall; shopper unfamiliarity with the specialty tenants within; bankruptcy filings of key tenants; and complications from an accounting scandal in which the Mills corporation was involved. Simon Property Group acquired the Mills portfolio in 2007. Following the sale of Mills portfolio to Simon Property Group, the mall was sold several times afterward, while continuing to lose many of its key tenants. After having been renamed to Cincinnati Mall and again to Forest Fair Village in the 2010s, the property has dwindled to fewer than five tenants as of 2017, and plans of redevelopment have largely been stalled. Kohl's, and Bass Pro Shops are among the remaining tenants at the time of this writing.