WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP — Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox is getting involved in a “mall war” here among developers vying to lure upscale retail to four proposed open-air centers off Interstate 75.

        But West Chester leaders and developers say they want him to butt out.

        Mr. Fox said he fears West Chester's mall war has dragged on so long, upscale retailers are being turned off and will go instead to a proposed mall in Deerfield Township off Interstate 71 on Mason-Montgomery Road.

        So Mr. Fox is calling for a meeting among county officials, commissioners, township leaders and the developers proposing to build the centers.

        “We need to create a sense of urgency. The stakes are too high to watch this opportunity slip away,” Mr. Fox told the Enquirer Wednesday. “West Chester has been acting like they are the only girl at the dance, and there are others. In the process, we are jeopardizing getting an upscale development in Butler County.”

        West Chester and county leaders, he maintains, have been too casual in attracting such big-ticket sales tax items needed to help the county keep up with demands for services and infrastructure such as roads.

        And it hasn't helped that West Chester's mall war has been no-holds-barred and recently saw one developer launch a sneak public relations attack against a competitor.

        Another developer recently sued the township to build a shopping center with a movie theater at Cincinnati-Dayton Road and I-75.

        “If you have chaos, confusion and turmoil in one county and in the other county you don't have all the chaos, the upscale retailers are probably going to take the path of least resistance,” Mr. Fox said. “Businesses want to go where they are wanted and appreciated, and we have to start acting like we want these folks.”

        Township leaders and builders, however, aren't too keen on the idea, and say a meeting isn't necessary because everything is moving as smoothly as possible.

        “This is vintage Mike Fox,” Trustee Catherine Stoker said. “He needs to take a pill. I don't think this meeting should take place. West Chester is doing just fine. We are the poster child for smart growth.”

        Administrator Dave Gully agreed but did say the township would be willing to sit down and discuss the issue with Mr. Fox and other county officials.

        “West Chester is not the problem,” Mr. Gully said. “The ball is in the developers' court, not the township's. The administration at West Chester has been in almost daily contact with all four developers and are waiting for them to begin construction.”

        Work at one development, the Voice of America Centre off Cox and Tylersville roads, started recently. The discount center counts among its anchor stores Bigg's and Target, plans show.

        But two developments proposed for the Union Centre Boulevard area have yet to announce tenants or start building, and the fourth proposal is on hold pending the appeal.

        Mark Schumacher of Schumacher Dugan Construction Inc., which owns land a mall developer wants to build on at Union Centre, also is opposed to participating in the meeting.

        “I concur with Ms. Stoker 100 percent,” Mr. Schumacher said. “West Chester obviously has a lot of prime real estate and I can see the county's standpoint. They want to see something happen so they can collect the income tax. But the township wants to see all the prime real estate develop to the best long-term interest of the township.”

Cincinnati hospitals in crisis, area leaders told
Hundreds may have inhaled mold
In search of the perfect CPS chief
Pete AND a bobblehead? Watta deal
Previous Twitty accident not in file
Blackwell to be interim city schools chief
Hearings on traffic corridor conclude
Hoping for release, Condon must wait
Local abuse-review panel lagging
Norwood hosts POW/MIA Run
Obituary: Edwin Ingersoll was WWII vet, MU professor
Residents await word on future of their apartments
Tristate A.M. Report
West Nile likely to strike people next
HOWARD: Some Good News
SMITH AMOS: Safety lessons
Butler Co. soliciting advice on Internet
FBI investigating Clermont Co. coroner
Fireman's Club festival has its own way of attracting a crowd
Meeting urged to move Butler malls forward
Park Service insists on road info
Taft signs scooter bill, Segway-ing into future
Catholics outline qualities for next bishop of Lexington
Ky. State Police recruit veterans
New federal prison could be most expensive to date
Waldrop to head tracks' lobbying