CINCINNATI (WXIX) – New details have emerged surrounding the long-planned conversion of the former JCPenney store in Symmes Township.
County documents filed Friday show McClusky Chevrolet plans to turn the vacant large store into the national headquarters of its online platform, Online.cars.
The total cost of the conversion is expected to be $33 million, of which $18 million will be used to build a new 100,000-sq.-ft. installation
The project involves the partial demolition of the JCPenney store, which closed in 2020, and the full demolition of the adjacent shopping plaza.
McClusky expects 125 new jobs averaging $75,000 a year to be created over the next three years.
The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners will consider a 10-year 50 percent tax abatement to support the project next week.
The Symmes Township Board of Trustees passed a resolution supporting the project in February.
Construction will begin this spring and be completed in the spring of 2025.
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The project has been in the works — and in secret — since early 2021. An application for zoning changes to the Symmes Township Zoning Commission, dated April of that year, describes a “destination auto retailer” that will “help drive economic growth in Symmes Township.” and surrounding communities”.
McClusky purchased the property through an LLC at the same time.
The application says the JCPenney building will be converted into an automotive showroom. It also describes a mezzanine floor that will house the unnamed company’s online car sales force.
McClusky is described as the largest Chevrolet dealer by volume in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Online.cars is both a car delivery platform and a digital sales platform. An explainer video on the company’s website says it is “revolutionizing the entire car shopping and home delivery experience.”[…].”
The platform uses search software that references more than 200,000 vehicles nationwide and offers buyers free home delivery via the company’s patent-pending “roving glass showroom,” a truckload of delivery with transparent panels.
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