Lead photo: An artist rendering of what Hillman Solutions’ new multipurpose facility in Forest Park, OH will look like. (Hillman photo)

Hardware products and industrial supplies distributor Hillman Solutions Group and industrial real estate developer Hillwood Investment Properties held a groundbreaking ceremony for Hillman’s new multipurpose facility in Forest Park, OH.

The planned Class A facility will be approximately 715,000 square feet and primarily include distribution center space, along with office and operational support functions. The site includes an expansion pad that can accommodate an additional 162,000 square feet.

Hillman will lease and fully occupy the facility, which is being built at the former Forest Fair Mall site in Forest Park, a suburb north of Cincinnati. The company said the development will allow it to consolidate several Cincinnati-area operations into one centralized location designed to improve collaboration, operational efficiency and customer service capabilities across North America.

“This groundbreaking represents an exciting next chapter for Hillman and reinforces our long-term commitment to our employees, customers and the communities we’ve called home for decades,” Hillman President and CEO Jon Michael Adinolfi said in a June 17 news release. “Forest Park has been an important part of Hillman’s history, and we are proud to continue growing our presence here while helping transform this site into a productive and future-ready facility.”

The project was made possible through partnerships with the City of Forest Park, the Butler County Land Bank, the Ohio Department of Development, the City of Fairfield, JobsOhio and REDI Cincinnati.

News first surfaced of Hillman’s plans for the facility in September, when Hillwood announced that Hillman had signed a lease for a 715,736-square-foot building at the former mall site. At the time, Hillwood said demolition of the former Forest Fair Mall was underway, with construction expected to begin in May 2026 and completion targeted for mid-2027.

Cincinnati-based Hillman is No. 3 on MDM’s 2026 Top Distributors List for Fasteners, No. 17 for Industrial Supplies and No. 14 for MRO.

The groundbreaking follows Hillman’s April 27 report of 1Q26 financial results, when the company posted 1Q sales of $370 million, up 3.0% year-over-year, while adjusted EBITDA fell 8.1% to $50 million. Hillman raised its full-year sales guidance to $1.63 billion-$1.73 billion and maintained its adjusted EBITDA outlook of $275 million-$285 million.

In a June investor presentation, Hillman outlined a 2030 target of $2.5 billion in annual net sales, driven by core growth, new business wins and M&A. The company said it is targeting an 8%-12% revenue CAGR over the next five years.