[2] Designed by the architecture firm of Herbert H. Johnson Associates of Washington, DC, the enclosed mall was developed by WKRG-TV founder Kenneth R. Giddens, William Lyon and Jay Altmayer as the centerpiece of an automobile-centric edge city known as Bel Air.

In its original configuration, the mall consisted of a one-level 900-foot (270 m) long retail corridor of fifty[3] in-line tenants anchored by Sears and local department store Hammel's.

D. H. Holmes, a New Orleans–based department store, subsequently added a second level to the building and transformed it into a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) hub for its Gulf Coast operations.

The food court and a couple of in-line merchants, including Bailey Banks and Biddle, were demolished for Target's 116,000-square-foot (10,800 m2) debut.

Here, a towering new architectural structure has given that main mall entrance increased visibility from the north parking lot and as the anchor for the new exterior streetscape.

Along with new native landscaping, seating areas and water features, this streetscape will be tenanted with upscale specialty stores and restaurants.

[8] The former Books-A-Million building, closed Christmas Eve 2013, has been incorporated into the streetscape, providing additional retail space and a second, smaller entry corridor into the mall.

At the other end of the original mall wing, adjacent to Dillard's, the long vacant Bel Air Cinema outparcel will be demolished for additional surface parking.

Sears closed its Bel Air location in September 2015, in order for Belk to begin construction on their $15 million flagship department store.

[10] In April 2018, it was announced that upscale Brazilian steakhouse chain, Texas de Brazil, would be opening on the streetscape near the main entrance.

Chang's and Texas de Brazil closed due to the mall being sold to Kohan Retail Investment Group in late 2020.