The last store in what’s left of the old Bel-Air (shopping) Centre on Eight Mile in Detroit has permanently closed, raising questions about the future of the Moroun-owned property.
The Forman Mills at 10000 East Eight Mile Road had its final day of business on Sunday, Feb. 15.
Why the discount retailer closed the store is unclear, although its lease for the location was once known to expire at the end of this month.
The Bel-Air Centre dates to the 1980s and was once home to Target, Farmer Jack, Builders Square, Footlocker, Toys ‘R’ Us and other retailers.
The Moroun family’s real estate arm, Crown Enterprises, bought the 43-acre shopping center property in October 2019. Since then, two of the center’s three strips have been demolished — leaving only the strip with Forman Mills and a line of vacant and boarded-up storefronts.
Forman Mills sued Crown Enterprises in 2023 accusing Crown of trying to push the store out of the shopping center before its lease was expired. The retail chain also claimed that Crown was looking to redevelop the property.
Forman Mills’ lawsuit was dismissed the following year by a Wayne County judge; further details on the case weren’t available on Monday, Feb. 16.
The Moroun family is one of the largest private landowners in the city of Detroit and also owns the Ambassador Bridge to Canada.
President Donald Trump recently threatened to keep the Ambassador Bridge’s future rival, the Gordie Howe International Bridge, from opening, and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, has claimed that a member of the Moroun family met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick shortly before Trump announced the threat.
The Free Press left messages for Crown Enterprises and Forman Mills on Monday, Feb. 16, but did not hear back.
While Forman Mills was the last store standing in Bel-Air Centre, there is still an operating business on the rear of the parcel: the Bel Air Luxury Cinema.
Johny Thomas, the movie theater’s owner, said in a phone interview Monday that they have about eight years left on their lease with Crown Enterprises. Crown Enterprises seems eager to clear the property of tenants, he said, although he doesn’t know what Crown ultimately intends to do with it.
“I’m not sure what their plans are,” Thomas said. “They always say they don’t have a plan.”
Numerous vehicles pulled into the shopping center’s parking lot Monday morning, only to turn around and exit once their drivers realized the Forman Mills had closed.
“It’s sad to see it go, because this whole strip is gone,” said Brianna Burgess, 29, of Detroit, who had shopped at the store for years. “This is the final goodbye.”
Although the store was closed for business, there were still some workers inside cleaning up. One employee on a cigarette break said that he and other co-workers plan to transfer to other Forman Mills stores in the area.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Last store closes in Moroun-owned shopping center on Eight Mile in Detroit
Reporting by JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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