Forest Mall


Forest Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Opened in 1973, it is anchored by Kohl's and Staples with three vacant anchors last occupied by J. C. Penney, Younkers, and Sears. It closed in January 2020.

History

Melvin Simon & Associates, now known as Simon Property Group, first announced plans for Forest Mall in 1964. The mall opened in 1973, featuring Montgomery Ward, J. C. Penney, H. C. Prange Co., Prange Way, and G. C. Murphy. Of these stores, Montgomery Ward, J. C. Penney, and Prange had relocated from downtown Fond du Lac. The Montgomery Ward space was later taken over by Kohl's, the Prange Way space by Sears, and Prange's became Younkers.
Simon renovated the mall in 1998, adding skylights and new flooring. In 2006, several new stores opened at the mall, although most were local retailers.
In May 2014, J. C. Penney closed, the last of the original anchors in the mall. The Sears store closed November 2 of the same year, as did the Forest Mall Cinema.
Sometime in 2014 or 2015, RadioShack closed their store.
In 2014, Simon Property Group spun off its underperforming malls, including Forest Mall, into an investment group known as WP Glimcher. In early 2016, Simon's investment group officially sold the mall to a Dallas-based investment group known as ATR Corinth Partners. Simon had developed the mall and owned it for more than 40 years.
It was announced in February 2018 that Younkers would be closing their Fond du Lac location.
Later in 2018 Younkers closed.
As of 2020, the mall has no tenants and closed around January of that year. In July of 2020, demolition has started on the former Sears and eventually, the whole mall.