The Grand Cities Mall, originally called South Forks Plaza, was built in several stages.

One of the original anchors, Kmart, first opened February 26, 1964,[2] before the rest of the mall, which continued to be built over the summer.

That same year, J. Herzog and Sons sold a portion of the Mall, The Pavilion, to Hope Evangelical Covenant Church.

In 2005, Burggraf's Ace Hardware opened a store on the east side of the mall.

A separate company, Land of Hope, LLC, was created to run the mall's daily operations.