[1] The developers chose the 260-acre (110 ha) site, along Romig Road on Akron's southwestern side, between 1964 and 1966 after conducting studies which revealed that several major department stores had expressed interest in that area.

[2] In 1971, Buchholzer received a $500,000 permit to begin clearing and grading land along Romig Road for the mall's site.

In addition, the city of Akron budgeted $1.1 million toward highway and sewer improvements along Romig Road, to accommodate for the projected traffic increases brought on by the mall's opening.

[2] Due to the slow speed at which Forest City Enterprises had begun land clearing and construction, then-city councilman Ray Kapper sent a letter to the developers in July 1973, threatening to repeal the zoning permit for the mall.

[5] Kapper later withdrew the repeal after representatives of Forest City Enterprises agreed to sign an assessment that included written plans for the mall's timeline.

At this point, company representative Mel Roebuck had announced that in addition to Sears and 60 other stores, the mall would contain a JCPenney, and that development beyond land clearing would begin within a month.

Among the tenants open for business on that day were Sears, Rite Aid, Kinney Shoes, Chess King, Thom McAn, Waldenbooks, Claire's, B. Dalton, GNC, The Limited, and Jo-Ann Fabrics.

[11] Construction on O'Neil's department store, located on the south end, began in July 1977,[12] and a 126,000-square-foot (11,700 m2) Montgomery Ward opened in October 1977.

[14] Upon opening in 1978, the Promenade section of the mall featured predominantly local and regional shops, along with Motherhood Maternity and Spencer Gifts.

By 1980, the chain had decided to convert all of its eastern Ohio stores, including both Akron locations, to its discount division Jefferson Ward.

Under this format, the stores were to include a greater emphasis on self-service shopping, with cash registers located solely at the exits instead of in each department.

In addition to these, the mall underwent a thorough renovation that replaced its existing earth-toned decor with blue and purple tones, while also undergoing a relandscaping of the exterior.

[21] In a cost-cutting measure, Rolling Acres Mall stopped using off-duty police officers and instead relied on cheaper security guards, starting in 1991.

Combined with the theater riot two years prior, this caused a preconception among patrons and merchants that the mall had begun catering more heavily to teenagers and to lower-income clientele.

In September 2002, North Carolina businessman Heywood Whichard and his family purchased Rolling Acres for $2.75 million.

The same article also noted that Heywood Whichard had a track record of buying faltering malls at low prices and making no attempt to revitalize them, to the point that many of their properties were ultimately demolished or converted to non-retail use.

[28][37] Invest Commercial LLC, a company owned by California-based real estate developer Michael Mirharooni, bought the facility in July 2006 for $1.6 million.

[28][38][39] Invest Commercial bought the mall using a loan from Ezri Namvar's fraudulent Namco Capital Group.

[28][40] At the time of purchase, the mall had about 40 remaining tenants, including Dollar General, MasterCuts, Deb Shops, Bath & Body Works, Zales Jewelers, Subway, Hershey's Ice Cream, GNC, and FootAction USA, along with a number of local independent stores.

[43] On April 23, 2009, it was announced that Rolling Acres Mall had been auctioned online, and that several people showed interest in buying it for various purposes.

The city attempted another sheriff's sale in March 2015 but it was again delayed to June 16, 2015, by an incorrect dismissal of the previous bankruptcy case.