The space occupied by Williams-Sonoma, one of the most prominent in downtown's struggling retail scene, won't stay vacant for long.

Hunt Club Clothiers will move across Fountain Square to occupy the space in midsummer. The upscale men's retailer will seek more walk-in traffic and women shoppers in the prime corner location, which is adjacent to Tower Place in the Carew Tower arcade.

Owner Jeff Besecker, who's been in the same location in the Fifth Third Center on the northern edge of Fountain Square since February 1974, said plans for a new retail mix around Fountain Square didn't force the move.

"We just saw this as a good opportunity to do something different," he said. "We've enjoyed this space, and I think we've become a destination, for our customers at least."

The retail churn on Fountain Square probably won't be the first for the slew of consultants seeking to revitalize retail around the city's central gathering spot.

Stepping up

Business leaders still are trying to raise up to $25 million for the Partnership for Greater Cincinnati, the region's five-year economic development campaign. They're not there yet, but the campaign should mean significant dollars for two of the newer development initiatives: CincyTech USA, and the Minority Business Accelerator.

Each should get about 10 percent of Partnership funds, with the rest going to business attraction and retention, said Nick Vehr, vice president of economic development at the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.

The accelerator was started in 2002 to try to increase sales of minority owned companies, while CincyTech USA is the advocate for local technology firms.

Joining and dropping

A faltering economy has taken its toll on chambers of commerce, but most are feeling better about 2004.

At the largest business membership group, the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, member levels have fallen to little more than 6,000, compared with about 6,800 several years ago. In 2003, 700 new companies joined the chamber - the vast majority with fewer than 50 employees - while 1,100 dropped off the rolls.

Of those 1,100 that dropped, 300 went out of business, and almost 300 chose to cut chamber dues from their expenses, said Patrick Sheeran, vice president of middle-market companies.

"We believe that in some of those cases, it might have come down to them maybe paying CG&E or paying Chamber dues," Sheeran said.

A partnership with the Clermont Chamber of Commerce has added about 300 members in the last three years, Sheeran said. That's one of the creative methods that the chamber has used to squeeze out more revenue, keeping its overall budget steady at about $14 million.

Across the river in Fort Mitchell, membership at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has stayed at about 1,880 members. It "churns" about 250 or 300 members a year, vice president of membership and marketing Janice Cushman said.

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com