BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SHARONVILLE -- At a time when the city is working to spur development, officials are dismayed that another business is moving out.
Loehmann's, a discount department store on Lebanon Road for about 14 years, is relocating to Sycamore Township in mid-April. "We're surprised and disappointed that they feel a need to move, as we see that area starting to really revitalize," said Mayor Virgil Lovitt. "We're getting some interest on some store fronts in that plaza, and we believe it will continue to move forward." There are now seven vacant store fronts there, said Ted Mack, city director of building, planning and zoning.
The closing of the 15,000-square-foot Loehmann's will mean eight closed stores there, Mr. Mack said.
Mayor Lovitt said that plaza "has suffered a little" but "we have some interest in that site which may breathe life back into that plaza."
Several businesses have expressed interest in the plaza,including a pizza restaurant, an upscale restaurant and a video store, said Al Ledbetter, safety service director.
Loehmann's will open itsnew store in Sycamore Plaza on April 14, said David Griffith, a Loehmann's department manager.
"This store will close when everything is sold. We're not taking anything from here to the new store," Mr. Griffith said.
Company officials had long been seeking a new location and found what they were looking for in Sycamore Plaza, Mr. Griffith said. Loehmann's has 75-80 stores nationwide, he said.
"We want to get more in line with a main strip of clothing stores," he said. "When we first moved in here there were a lot more clothing stores around here, and it looked like it was developing into a clothes store-type area. But slowly the clothing stores in the area moved away -- they disappeared."
Now there are "not enough clothing-type stores to attract greater numbers of customers, and to allow them to compare prices head to head," Mr. Griffith said.
The new store will not only have double the space of the old one, it will have women's, men's and children's clothing and will have expanded accessories, Mr. Griffith said. The old store is primarily a women's department store, with clothing and accessories. The new site will have 20-25 employees, compared with nine now, he said. The city has lost several businesses over the past year or so, including the Windjammer Restaurant on Chester Road, which closed about a year ago, and Pizza Hut on Sharon Road, which closed late last year. But officials have been working to attract more businesses. An ice cream parlor, for instance, is slated to open soon on Reading Road.
"We hate to lose any business from Sharonville, regardless of how many or how few jobs are concerned," Mr. Lovitt said.
"It's not a revenue issue to the city. It's the health of the business district. We just need to keep it strong. We want to gain more businesses, not lose them."
