WEST CHESTER TWP. — A mall war in this fast-growing Butler County suburb has heated up after one developer secretly launched a hard-hitting public relations strike against a competitor, warning that the rival's plan could lead to traffic gridlock and adult businesses.

        Four developers are racing to lure retailers to open-air malls proposed here. Two from Columbus envision movie theaters at their centers along the Interstate 75 corridor: Continental Retail Development's The Streets of West Chester and Steiner & Associates' West Chester Market Square.

        After The Cincinnati Enquirer obtained a plan that outlined part of the campaign, David Kass, Continental's president, admitted Wednesday to unleashing it against Steiner. But he said it was a legal effort similar to development campaigns elsewhere in the country.

PROPOSED MALLS

The four proposed open-air malls in West Chester Township:     • The Avenue of West Chester: Cousins Properties Inc. of Atlanta envisions 215,000 square feet of upscale retail, on 26 acres owned by Schumacher Dugan Construction at the northwest corner of Union Centre Boulevard and Muhlhauser Road.     • The Streets of West Chester: Columbus-based Continental Retail Development plans a $100 million multiuse development by next spring at the southeast corner of Interstate 75 and Union Centre Boulevard. The development also would include a hotel, luxury apartments and condos, and retail and office space.     • Voice of America Centre: Midland Atlantic Properties of Kenwood is building a 500,000-square-foot open-air discount mall with anchors Target and Biggs at the northeast corner of Tylersville and Cox roads.     • West Chester Market Square: Steiner & Associates of Columbus is teaming with Evendale-based Neyer Properties on the 1 million-square-foot project on 75 acres at the northwest corner of I-75 and Cincinnati-Dayton Road.

        “We're coming clean,” Mr. Kass said in a phone interview from Columbus, after initially denying involvement in the campaign. “The only mistake we made was not publicly announcing what we were going to do before we did it.”

        Since the weekend, Continental has had thousands of brochures mailed to homes while pollsters called citizens asking for their input on the Continental development and Steiner's.

        An Internet site also was launched Wednesday; all of the activities have been done in the name a group called ""West Chester Watch.” That group, Mr. Kass conceded Wednesday, is mostly Continental.

        The materials ask residents to “help protect West Chester Township from massive theater traffic and adult entertainment,” and even insinuate “special treatment” from township officials for Steiner, which is seeking a conditional-use permit June 12 before the township's board of zoning appeals so it can have a movie theater.

        If that conditional-use permit is granted, the materials allege, that could open the door for adult entertainment businesses.

        “While there may not be a strip club on that site, most folks know that when you change the rules for one developer, another may come right behind them and open the door even wider to allow for their development,” the brochure reads.

        While township leaders said there was nothing they could do to stop the campaign — or to prevent Continental from doing business here — Township Administrator Dave Gully said the attack had “nuked” Continental's credibility.

        ""I can't think of anything Continental would have to say to us that we would be interested in now or in the future,” Mr. Gully said. “This isn't how we do business here. We stand for integrity, honesty and forthrightness. These are sharks. These are hired guns.”

        Barry Rosenberg, Steiner's vice president, said he was stunned by the campaign. He said his company, which also has developed Newport on the Levee, has never experienced anything like this.

        “Obviously, they are afraid of our project,” Mr. Rosenberg said. “But we are going to continue to focus on what we do and what we do best. To the extent someone is going to stop us, in some ways, I can look at as a compliment.”

        Other developers who build in West Chester deplored the campaign, but said it underscores the high stakes in the race to attract retail development to this bustling region.

        “This gives all of us a bad name,” said Chris Wunnenberg, development director at Schumacher Dugan Construction. “This is very, very rare,. This is the first time I have ever seen a PR campaign on the other guy. This is a new low.”

        Mr. Kass defended it, saying it echoes similar ones in development across the country.

        “We stand behind everything we are doing,” Mr. Kass said. “We are not spreading any untruths. We have invested $15 million in our project based on the township's master plan and we want to make sure the township stays with the vision they have told us is their plan.”

        But dozens of township residents, as well as members of the anti-pornography Citizens for Community Values, flooded the township office with calls Wednesday.

        “It's a bombshell,” Trustee Dave Tacosik said. “I would hope the community would see it for what it is, a smear campaign. I think it will blow up in Continental's face.''

        The company that prepared the plan is The Strategy Network Inc. of Columbus.

        The campaign plan reads: “We propose to identify and "stir' a handful of opponents by communicating messages that will elicit negatives and positives along parallel tracks. Our battle-tested programs will allow us to generate a "mob mentality' which can disassemble even the best-planned development.”

        Mr. Kass said he has applied only parts of the proposal to his campaign and other consultants have helped him develop the rest of it.

        “I think it's sleazy,” longtime resident and community activist Dorothy Roth said. “It's unreal something like this can happen in our township.”

The goal: Something for everyone
Developer admits to launching PR blitz
Northern Kentucky shared in '90s boom
Drug court grads are hopeful
Lawmakers OK 31-cent tax hike on cigarettes
Ohio House OKs plug for budget hole
Bridge gets new color, life
Cemetery case decided: Guilty
Compass points out action plan
E. Walnut Hills seeks more police, cites higher crime
Fate of land in council's hands
First year is in the books
Obituary: Miriam O. Smith, 86, helped build families
Police warn youngsters of Web stranger danger
Students: We want you on our panel
Tristate A.M. Report
Woman near end of slave trek
HOWARD: Some Good News
PULFER: Can the spam
RADEL: Do you care?
Boy found in backyard pool
City aims to be 'model'
Fairfield looks at reslicing budget pie for new projects
Garfield JHS upgrading to start in June
Hopewell asks boundary review
Little Miami course gives big benefits
Man gets 8 years for molesting scout
Bill would punish advisers in slavery reparation scheme
Clean Ohio grants coming
OSU cobbles together $145 million for tower
Body decomposing for days in family home
Businesses hurt by fire aftermath
Holmes High gets dress code
Missing boater's body recovered at Meldahl Dam
Payroll tax refunds in works