The mall's location was the site of the Bentley Dairy from about 1922 through the 1940s, the centerpiece of the family's land holdings which stretched at one point from the Chena River to the foothills north of Fairbanks along the present-day Farmers Loop Road.

Bobby Miller (born 1916), in partnership with a member of the Bentley family, established the Miller-Bentley Equipment Company in 1953, the same year the Steese Highway was rerouted around the property in conjunction with the opening of the Wendell Street Bridge.

The trust, which existed into the 21st century, took income from the family properties and distributed it to charities, particularly libraries, stretching from Fairbanks to northern California.

Construction of the mall began in 1976,[2] and it opened in April 1977[3] with Safeway and Pay 'n Save as its anchor tenants.

[2] Due in part to its diminutive size as compared to malls elsewhere in the United States, as well as its setup as a single corridor with Safeway and Michael's at the ends, locals sometimes refer to the mall humorously as "Bentley Small" and "Bentley Hall.