Beechmont Avenue and Five Mile Road
Hamilton County, Ohio
The fourth climate-controlled retail complex in the Tri-State area was built on a 50-acre plot, located 13.2 miles east of Downtown Cincinnati's Fountain Square. The single-level facility was built by Carl and Robert Lindner, who had developed Greater Cincinnati's KENWOOD MALL. The BEECHMONT property was designed by Cincinnati's Baxter, Hodell, Donnelly & Preston firm.
Ground was broken on October 21, 1968, with the shopping hub's formal dedication being held on October 5, 1969. BEECHMONT MALL encompassed approximately 474,400 leasable square feet and contained fifty-two stores under its roof. Anchoring the venue were a 2-level (161,000 square foot), Cincinnati-based Shillito's ["shil-uh-towz"] and 2-level (126,300 square foot) Cincinnati-based Mabley & Carew.
Charter inline stores included Brendamour's Sporting Goods, Casual Corner, Lerner Shops, Royal Barber Shop, Getz Jewelers, The Swiss Colony, Docktor Pet Center and a Hot Shoppes Restaurant. The major inline stores were a (10,500 square foot) SupeRx Drugs, (41,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and (22,000 square foot) Thriftway supermarket.
Like the earlier KENWOOD MALL, BEECHMONT had a "Rain Fountain" as the focal point of its Center Court. This 34-foot-high water-less feature consisted of a circular network of nylon strings which conducted drops of glycerin from ceiling to floor. It was bathed in a colored light display.
Major shopping centers in the BEECHMONT MALL trade area included KENWOOD PLAZA (1956) and KENWOOD MALL (1966) {8.6 miles north, in Hamilton County} and EASTGATE MALL (1980) {4.1 miles northeast, in Clermont County}.
A new mall owner came on board in January 1977, when BEECHMONT MALL was acquired by the Prudential Insurance Company of Newark, New Jersey. Anchor store alterations began on August 10, 1978. Dayton-based Elder-Beerman rebranded the Mabley & Carew unit.
BEECHMONT MALL was given a face lift and expansion in the 1980s. The Thriftway grocery moved into a 1-level (44,000 square foot) Thriftway Food & Drug, which was built in the northwest parking lot. This new freestanding store was dedicated on October 16, 1983. A 1-level (94,700 square foot) Gold Circle discount mart was added in an extended North Wing of the mall. This store opened for business on November 3, 1983.
BEECHMONT MALL was given a face lift and expansion in the 1980s. The Thriftway grocery moved into a 1-level (44,000 square foot) Thriftway Food & Drug, which was built in the northwest parking lot. This new freestanding store was dedicated on October 16, 1983. A 1-level (94,700 square foot) Gold Circle discount mart was added in an extended North Wing of the mall. This store opened for business on November 3, 1983.
A vacant Thriftway was incorporated into the mall's 3.5 million dollar renovation. It became The Village of Beechmont, a nineteen-unit mall within a mall. Tenants included Murray Brothers Old Time Store, Gold Star Chili, Quick Wok, Pasta Palace and Hot Sam Pretzels. The existing mall was also refurbished with new flooring, entrances, landscaping and seating areas. A formal grand re-opening began on November 16, 1984. The mall now covered around 594,400 leasable square feet and housed eighty-nine stores and services.
Ownership of the mall changed in September 1987. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of New York City acquired the 18-year-old complex. Meanwhile, in June 1982, Shillito's had been rebranded as a Shillito/Rike's (eventually written as "Shillito Rikes"). This morphed into a Lazarus in March 1986. Gold Circle, originally a division of Cincinnati-based Federated Stores, was divested in 1988. The BEECHMONT store closed in November 1988 and re-opened, as a Massachusetts-based Hills, on March 20, 1989.
Hills pulled up stakes in the summer of 1991. Kmart renovated the building and dedicated a Big Kmart unit on May 22, 1992. By this time, The Village of Beechmont had morphed into the Village Cafe food court. Elder-Beerman vacated BEECHMONT MALL in September 1992 and was replaced by a Birmingham-based Parisian on September 22, 1993. This store lasted until July 26, 1999.
The mall's decline was well underway by this time. KENWOOD PLAZA had been reconfigured as KENWOOD TOWNE CENTRE in 1987 and '88. EASTGATE MALL had completed an expansion in 1992. To add insult to injury, ROOKWOOD PAVILION {6.8 miles northwest, in Norwood} opened in 1994. This facility would be expanded with ROOKWOOD COMMONS, an upscale lifestyle center, in the year 2000.
The older and smaller BEECHMONT MALL was unable to compete. The complex was sold for a third time in December 1997. Its new proprietor was Zamias Services, Incorporated, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
An unsuccessful initiative to redevelop BEECHMONT MALL came and went. In December 2001, the complex was sold to Columbus, Georgia-based Victory Real Estate Investments. Their reinvention of the struggling shopping hub got underway on March 10, 2003. The mall was demolished, leaving Lazarus, Big Kmart, TGI Friday and two peripheral structures. A portion of the mall housing CVS Drug was left standing until a new store could be built.
The 26 million dollar ANDERSON TOWNE CENTER was officially dedicated on November 11, 2004. The focal point of the 505,000 square foot power center was its 1-level (103,300 square foot) Kroger, reputedly the largest Kroger in the chain. Inline stores included IHOP, Moe's Southwest Grill, Moonstone Salon, Taj India, UNO Chicago Grill and Carraba's Italian Grill.
Anchor store rebrandings transpired during and after the demalling. Lazarus morphed into Lazarus-Macy's on August 1, 2003, with full "Macy-ation" taking place on March 6, 2005. Big Kmart, a holdover tenant from BEECHMONT MALL, was shuttered on September 7, 2014.
Sources:
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Post
http://www.abandonedonline.com
www.vrei.net / Victory Real Estate Investments
Hamilton County, Ohio property tax assessor website
http://www.abandonedonline.com
www.vrei.net / Victory Real Estate Investments
Hamilton County, Ohio property tax assessor website
