Cin City

The Mills Corp. (Arlington, Va.), owner and developer of large metropolitan megamalls, unveiled its plans for Forest Fair Mall in Cincinnati, which it purchased last year.

The renovations on the 1.6 million-square-foot property, which will be re-named Cincinnati Mills, are expected to be completed by Christmas 2003.

Inside the mall, according to Dennis Connolly, vp and senior development director for Mills, will be the usual treatment of graphic designs, colorful paint and various floor textures.

Current mall tenants such as Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Kohl's and Burlington Coat Factory will remain, but many of the mall's smaller tenants will be replaced and one of the current anchors, Elder-Beerman, said it would pull out of the new development. However, because this mall has two stories, uncharacteristic of Mills properties, the developer may be challenged to find enough tenants to surround the anchor stores.

“We have 390,000 square feet of specialty merchandise space that has to be leased,” said Connolly. “It's going to be a challenge.”