By Randy Tucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Kroger Co. today began a major renovation of its Over-the-Rhine store, which will be emptied and retrofitted with new fixtures, flooring and lighting.

The renovation is one of several recently unveiled public and private development projects designed to boost Over-the-Rhine, one of Cincinnati's poorest neighborhoods and the focus of the 2001 riots.

The store closed at 6 p.m. Sunday and will stay shuttered until June 2 to allow for completion of the $1.7 million face-lift.

The improvements will include a resurfaced parking lot, a new roof and new signage.

"We will structurally remove everything in there except the bare walls," said Lynn Marmer, Kroger's group vice president for corporate affairs. "When we reopen, it will look very much like a brand-new store, as if we built a new store from the ground up."

Although the floor space of the Vine Street store will remain the same, certain departments will be expanded, including the beverages, dairy and frozen foods sections.

Kroger will also introduce a hot meals department at the store, serving prepared foods such as roasted chicken and side dishes.

The 12,000-square-foot store, one of the smallest in the Kroger chain, had to be closed because it was too small to allow for construction and regular store traffic simultaneously, Marmer said.

Kroger has offered to reimburse Vine Street customers inconvenienced by the closing for their bus fare to the Kroger at University Plaza in Corryville.

Customers can find out how to get money back for their bus fare at the customer service desk at the Corryville store.

Kroger has also taken steps to make sure the 22 employees now working at the store won't lose their paychecks.

They'll be relocated to other stores while construction is going on, Marmer said.

Marmer described the renovation as a way for Kroger to reinvest in a blighted neighborhood and hopefully encourage others to follow suit.

The redevelopment has also allowed Kroger to "maximize involvement by minority businesses," Marmer said.

Kroger set a goal of at least 50 percent participation on the project by minority-owned subcontractors, and is already "comfortably in excess of that goal," she said.

Evans Nwankwo, president of Megen Construction Co. - a minority-owned firm that has teamed with Frank Messer & Sons Construction Co.'s as construction managers - said having a minority in a leadership position on the project was a key to increasing minority participation.

"When you put a minority face on the job at a leadership level, it really helps draw the minority companies, and this is a prime example," he said.

E-mail rtucker@enquirer.com