Like the trendy Ikea store which opened in 2008 in West Chester Twp., the 400,000-square-foot Cincinnati Premium Outlets complex — featuring dozens of upscale outlet stores — is predicted to become a highly regarded destination for shoppers from a wide region. The two attractions should complement the other, and at the Monroe exit, should help existing businesses with additional traffic and contribute to more commercial growth there, as restaurants and other merchants try to capitalize on the number of shoppers.
Over the years, companies like Chrysler and Toyota have reportedly been interested in the open land at Ohio 63 and I-75, and plans for a “mega-mall” were touted several years ago. Monroe has even entertained discussion with the Eastern Shawnee tribe of Oklahoma about a possible casino in that area in recent years.
The interchange has been the home to flea markets, a truck stop and other small businesses for years, but it was inevitable — with the urban sprawl coming south from Dayton and north from Cincinnati — that the Ohio 63 intersection would mushroom at some point. Monroe itself has seen significant residential growth over the past decade, outgrowing a modern school complex that’s just five years old.
Considering the state of the national economy, landing a shopping attraction of this potential is a welcome and beneficial occurrence for all of southwest Ohio. Although it’s been in the works since 2006, construction didn’t start until June 2008, just three months before the U.S. economy fell into crisis. It’s fortunate the project got off the ground before the economy crashed.
Although we expect that Cincinnati Premium Outlets, as the new kid on the block, will have healthy sales and customer traffic when it opens (projected already at $150 million in annual retail sales), it will realize its full potential when the economy recovers fully. And its impact on the region will likely be felt for decades to come, as a catalyst for even more development at the important Ohio 63 interchange.