Xenia Towne Square redevelopment moves forward

A Kentucky developer is planning a mix of retail and restaurants on the former Kmart property.


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Plans for redevelopment within Xenia Towne Square are moving forward following the sale of the former Kmart property, according to city documents.

The council approved the sale of the former Kmart building and parking lot area to Brandicorp, a Northern Kentucky based commercial real estate developer, for $800,000 on May 26.

The 5.6 acre site will include a mix of retail and restaurants, according to early site plan renderings.

“Brandicorp has indicated that there has been substantial interest from prospective tenants and is therefore anxious to begin work on the project,” wrote Steve Brodsky, the city development director and Brian Forschner, the city planner, in a report.

As part of the agreement, the city will install a traffic signal at Galloway and West Main Street. The cost of the signal installation will be covered using funds from an ODOT grant, according to city documents.

The city is still in the “due diligence phase” of the project and recently received proposals for environmental site assessments where a contractor will test for soil and water contamination and check for underground storage tanks and utilities, according to Brodsky.

The city doesn’t anticipate construction to start on the new buildings until next spring, Brodsky said.

“It would be nice if it was sooner, but there’s just a number of pieces and parts that have to go into this kind of redevelopment before you can start seeing dirt fly,” he said.

While development in the former Kmart site area are gaining momentum, plans for the entertainment center, now known as Bumpers Entertainment, are at a standstill according to one investor.

Last year, one of the investors in the $2.6 million entertainment venue, that will include a 14-lane bowling alley, a laser tag course, an arcade, a party/banquet area and a sports bar on West Main Street, said there were plans for a grand opening in May.

Now, investors are still trying to raise additional funding for the project and see if different options for the location are available, said DeDe Larson, of D&D Investments, based in Xenia.

“At this point, there’s no indication that we will do that, but those options are coming at us,” Larson said. “It could be a better opportunity starting from the ground up, fresh, new and not having a building to retrofit everything into. “

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