By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CRESTVIEW HILLS - Residents and shoppers can be assured that a new kind of mall will be created from the struggling Crestview Hills Mall, a developer says.

Cincinnati retail developer Jeff Anderson told city officials Tuesday he is moving forward on a $90 million redevelopment of the Crestview Hills Mall, a project that includes a new $25 million Dillard's department store.

Anderson described the project as an outdoor "town center concept," with up to 65 mostly upscale retailers as well as trendy restaurants. While the center will be somewhat similar to Rookwood Commons in Norwood, a project Anderson developed, the new Crestview Hills Mall will feature some parking directly in front of stores to give the project "a Main Street feel," Anderson told members of the city council's Economic Development Committee.

All the stores will be one-story with the exception of the new 200,000-square-foot Dillard's, which will be built on the opposite end of the mall from where Dillard's is now located. The existing Dillard's will stay open while the new store is built, Anderson said.

The old mall will be razed to make way for construction.

Though he hasn't signed leases, Anderson said likely tenants are Gaylans sporting goods, Lord & Taylor, Talbots, Eddie Bauer, Ann Taylor and Borders books. Restaurants could include Trio and Cheeseburger in Paradise.

"These are the varsity team as far as the retailers we deal with," Anderson said. "They've all seen the plans and they all want to be here."

Before speaking to the committee, Anderson was in Kansas City on Tuesday reaching a final development agreement with Sherman Drieseszun, co-owner of the mall. Anderson said he also has a deal with Dillard's, the mall's other owner. The agreements are expected to be final within 30 days, he said.

Construction is to start in the spring, with Dillard's set to open in early 2005 and the remaining stores to open by Christmas of that year. The project will cover about 500,000 square feet.

Except for Dillard's, the 20-year-old mall, which is adjacent to Interstate 275 and sits between Dixie Highway and Turkeyfoot Road, has been mostly vacant for years.

Anderson said he will seek a tax break and intends to formally ask the city to issue industrial revenue bonds to reduce the taxes on the project. Though the city will issue the bonds, Anderson will be responsible for paying them off.

Specifics of the tax break will be given to council at a later date, Anderson said.

The project now generates about $130,000 in property taxes; $112,000 goes to the county and the city receives $18,000.

Anderson said the project will generate more than $130,000 a year even with the tax abatement.

"The project will pay more taxes that the mall is paying now, but we would like to limit that to some extent to make the economies (of the project) work," Anderson said.

"I anticipate the amount of payments in lieu of taxes will be a substantial increase from what the city is currently paying the county and the city," said councilman and committee chairman Councilman David Kramer, the committee chairman.

Bear Creek Capital, also a Cincinnati developer, has plans to develop an outdoor upscale mall just a few miles from Crestview Hills in Crescent Springs. Anderson said he is not concerned with the competition.

"They won't get the (retailers) as long as we move quickly," he said.

Bear Creek is attempting to develop the mall on a site that needs extensive infrastructure improvements, including construction of new roads.

The Crestview Hills site "already has the infrastructure," said councilman Joe Maloney.

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com