‍History of Bel-Air Center/ Forman Mills

The Bel-Air Center that stands today seems shallow, like many strip malls around the US, but for Detroit, the center contained many of the first and only stores of their kind in the city limits. The land the Plaza sits on today was once the Bel-Air Drive-In. The Bel-Air Drive-In opened in the late summer of 1950 and featured one screen, with a capacity of 1,800 cars at launch. This was upgraded to four screens with a capacity of 3,000 cars shortly after. The Drive-In featured a model train kids could ride. As the growth of TVs and VCRs increased, the appeal of Drive-Ins faded. In 1986, the Bel-Air Drive-In closed for good. Shortly afterward, the Drive-In was demolished for a new era of the land. Bel-Air Center was built as Detroit's largest strip mall. The Center was built in stages between 1985 and 1988. Many of the tenants it opened with would become the only examples of such in the city's history. After opening in 1986, the Target at Bel-Air Center was the only example of the national chain inside the city limits ever. The same goes for Toys R Us and Kids R Us located next door, alongside Builder's Square, a home improvement chain. These chains never opened another store in the city. Other retailers in Bel-Air at the opening, which had other examples of stores in the city and the surrounding Metro Detroit region, included Farmer Jack, and the AMC Bel-Air 10 Theater, which opened in 1988. However, the only other AMC was located in downtown, operated out of the Millender Center. Throughout the late 80s and 90s, the Bel-Air Center was a very prominent shopping center. However, by the 2000s, the center had begun to face problems as a greater downturn in retail occurred , and competition from other local shopping plazas and malls increased. In 1999, Builder's Square closed at Bel-Air after facing bankruptcy as a company. In 2003, Target closed the Bel-Air location, stating weak financial performance at the location and increased competition from other Metro Detroit stores. Toys R Us followed in 2006, alongside Kids R Us, also owned by Toys R Us. Together, these chains were the last of their kind ever seen in the city of Detroit. While many of the anchor stores were replaced, the tenants never had the volume to bring the center back to its 1980-1990s peak. The most major store to be replaced was Toys R Us, which became a Forman Mills in 2006. This Forman Mills would be the first location of the chain in Michigan. A year later, in 2007, Farmer Jack closed after the chain filed for bankruptcy . For years, Forman Mills and the AMC, today known as Bel-Air Luxury Cinema, remained as the last tenants of the space. Slowly, the smaller chains emptied out of the plaza. Between 2020 and 2021, two of the three sections of Bel-Air were demolished, leaving the eastern section of the center, the last section standing. In February 2026, the last tenant of the connected plaza closed. Forman Mills cited leasing disputes and heavy downturn at Bel-Air as the cause for the closing. Just months after closing, the store has been opened to trespass and doesn't have power, a greater sign of the future of the center. Today, the Bel-Air Cinema remains as the last building still occupied in the center, however, it is not directly connected to the plaza. This theater is the last and only first-run movie theater in the city of Detroit. While the theater is still open, the turnout is not to die for and may close in the near future.

‍ ‍