DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP — Residents here are both dreading and looking forward to the possibility of a $45-million, upscale shopping center.

        They want more convenient shopping but fear the onslaught of traffic, restaurants and gas stations that most likely will accompany the 432,000-square-foot development that could feature a PF Chang's China Bistro, two-story Dick's Sporting Goods store and at least three stores new to Greater Cincinnati.

        The Warren County Regional Planning Commission will review today Duke Realty Corp.'s plans to build the shopping center. It would have an open-air setting reminiscent of Rookwood Commons in Norwood, and be built in an open field along Mason-Montgomery Road, across from Procter & Gamble.

        Ruth Ann Wilkens, 48, stood Wednesday on the ground that could be transformed from a small horse farm to a multi-million-dollar shopping complex in little more than a year. Developers want to welcome new shoppers as early as fall 2003.

        She and her family will officially retire from this property by Sept. 1, saying goodbye to a way of life still evident by the sight of galloping horses, John Deere tractors parked in the drive and bales of hay piled high near a barn.

        “There is a need for more shopping, (which is obvious) just by what goes on at the corner. I don't think there's anything we could have done to stop it,” Mrs. Wilkens said. But, “this is the end of the open ground. I don't know where else it could sprawl.”

        Her husband's family has owned the horse farm since after the Great Depression but couldn't resist Duke's undisclosed offer. Rush-hour traffic is atrocious along Mason-Montgomery and, less than a mile away, its intersection with Fields Ertel Road is crowded with hotels, gas stations, fast-food and sit-down restaurants, and large stores like Lowe's and Bigg's.

        Duke first approached the Wilkens family more than 10 years ago, bought their farmland in small pieces and owned 79 of the family's 99 acres about three years ago. The family has since moved elsewhere.

        Mrs. Wilkens spoke matter-of-factly about the move because she's known for so long that encroaching development required it.

        “We knew pretty much what would go here — a big office building or retail,” she said. “It's pretty much been decided.”

        Holly Brisken, 25, who lives in the 9200 block of Fields Place, would rather see a new subdivision or condominiums than another shopping center. Now, Mason-Montgomery's traffic sounds like a mere whisper. A new shopping center could create a steady, overbearing din.

        “Traffic is just going to be terrible,” she said. “There's a lot of shopping ... available now, which is a blessing and a disadvantage at the same time. Everything is really close but the traffic that it creates is unbelievable. I kept hoping (for) condos ... or houses.”

        Some business owners and merchants are looking forward to seeing an attractive, open-air shopping center built nearby. They think it can only mean good things for their own businesses.

        “I'm OK with more. It's pretty packed here already,” said Brian England, manager of Metro Bagels. The new project “would just drive people through here and (mean) potentially more business for us.”

        Deerfield Township was bound to become more suburban, said Andy Horn, 41. The golf pro visits Metro Bagels frequently and was eating a Reuben sandwich during his lunch hour.

        “In any big city, the growth is going to be overwhelming,” he said. “People want to move out to a slower area. In turn, businesses want to come out this way.”

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