Demolition of former Forest Fair Mall to begin in two weeks

“We’re very excited and pleased that this dead mall is finally going to be coming down,’' said Greg Kathman, Fairfield’s director of development services.

The work will be done by the O’Rourke Wrecking Co. and is expected to take 10 months to complete, said Ben Davis, senior vice president of Hillwood.

O’Rourke has already erected fencing around the mall and garage with no trespassing signs posted around the perimeter of the demolition area.

Even though most of the 90-acre site was largely in Hamilton County at its border with Fairfield along South Gilmore Road, Butler County’s land bank obtained a $7.9 million state grant to be put toward demolition costs, expected to top $10 million.

That money must be spent by July 1, 2026 after the land bank got an extension, said David Fehr, Butler County’s director of development.

“From our perspective, that property is the front door leading into Butler County,’’ Fehr said.

“Cincinnati Financial has their offices near there in Fairfield. The property was becoming a bit of an eyesore – they weren’t maintaining it properly.”

The mall opened in 1989 and has gone through several ownership changes with a major renovation completed in 2004. Owners struggle to attract tenants, resulted in its decline.

The Fairfield Fire Department condemned the parking garage in 2018. The mall’s interior was closed three years ago after Forest Park condemned it due to health and safety concerns.

The last two tenants – Bass Pro Shops and Kohl’s – left in January 2024 and March of this year, respectively.

Earlier this month Hillwood Investment Properties closed on the eastern 60 acres of the site. The rest of the acreage – fronting South Gilmore Road – is still owned by New York-based World Properties LLC.

Last month The Hillman Group signed a lease for a 716,000 square-foot building with Hillwood Investment Group, a Texas-based Perot company.

Hillman, a Cincinnati-based hardware distributor, plans to gradually consolidate some of its operations to the Hillwood site.

Davis said additional plans for the property would be released at a later date.