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FAIRFIELD — The loss of bigg's at Cincinnati Mills won't affect Fairfield from a tax-base stand point, but it could endanger the facility that sits partially within the city.

On Wednesday, May 14, bigg's announced it will not renew its lease at the shopping mall which has lost a number tenants over the last few years. Fairfield Economic Development Manager Greg Kathman said losing an anchor like bigg's "is a blow."

"The anchors are what draw most of the traffic to the center and that traffic, those customers visit the other stores," Kathman said. "They've obviously lost several tenants in the recent months, and I hope (the Simon Group) is aggressively working on a plan to renew the vitality of the shopping center."

Cincinnati Mills is owned by Indianapolis-based the Simon Group, which purchased the mall along with 37 other Mills Corp. properties in early 2007.

The grocery store is in the Forest Park portion of the mall, which about a third of the northern part of Cincinnati Mills is in Fairfield. bigg's is in the southern part of the mall.

In a statement released by the company, bigg's officials said they had attempted to "create an environment at the store that would meet consumer needs" and business goals.

"Unfortunately, the bigg's operation in Cincinnati Mills did not fit into the company's business plans for the future," according to the release.

In May 2007, bigg's officials had begun to debate if it will stay at Cincinnati Mills as it began lease agreement discussions, and were required to give a year notice of renewal and termination. The lease expires in June.

In a prepared statement, Simon Group officials are "focused on improving all of its properties and making them as attractive as possible."

"The fact remains that many stores continue to experience strong sales results," according to the release. "We continue to evaluate strategies to further improve the property and to adjust to the current trends of the market."

bigg's officials plan to sell its inventory over the next several weeks and close in late June.

The release from bigg's did not indicate how many employees are affected, but they have been offered positions in other stores, as well as transitional and outplacement services. There are 11 other bigg's stores in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Company officials from Simon Group or bigg's would not comment beyond their respective releases.

Once bigg's vacates, will you still shop at Cincinnati Mills?

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