The Eastern Hills Mall was developed by the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation. The mall was originally to be named "Buffalo Mall", but the name was changed to Eastern Hills Mall at the request of the town of Clarence. Construction began in 1969. The mall was opened on November 8, 1971. The original anchors were
AM&A's,
JCPenney,
Sears,
Jenss,
Woolworth and
Hengerer's.
General Cinema opened the Eastern Hills Cinema I-II about six months later on May 24, 1972. Hengerer's became
Sibley's in 1981. The mall underwent an extensive overhaul in 1987 that added a food court. The only other expansion the mall sought was a
Lechmere store next to JCPenney, but never opened. Originally the largest mall in the Buffalo, NY area, the mall lost that title to the
Walden Galleria in 1989. Sibley's became
Kaufmann's in 1990. AM&A's became
The Bon-Ton in 1994. In 1997, Jenss closed. In 1998,
Burlington Coat Factory moved into the former Jenss location. Another renovation to the small east–west center concourse and food court took place in 2005, largely cosmetic in nature. New floor tile was installed in both the center concourse and food court, and imitation fireplaces, small flat screen televisions, and new seating were installed. The longer north–south concourses remained untouched during this second renovation, causing a break in a pink zig-zag floor tile line pattern, which prior to the 2005 renovation existed through the entire mall from end-to-end. In late 2006,
Federated Department Stores converted all local Kaufmann's stores to
Macy's. By this time, the mall featured many younger national chains. Television station
WBBZ-TV established its broadcast studios at the mall in 2012. In April 2016, Macy's announced they would close their anchor store, which was converted to Niagara Emporium. In April 2018,
The Bon-Ton chain went out of business and closed its anchor store, which became
Raymour & Flanigan. In December 2018, Sears announced they would close their anchor store. In October 2023, The Niagara Emporium closed. Uniland's current plans for the mall include an enhanced development with residential apartments creating a mixed-use development dubbed a "lifestyle shopping center". On January 10, 2024, all interior mall tenants without an exterior exit were given eviction notices and ordered to leave the mall by January 14, 2024. Partial demolition will begin on the mall as part of a plan for a new mixed-use campus development, which will include office, residential, medical, shopping, dining, recreational and civic areas. == Non-commercial activity ==