Ohio Valley Retail Hubs Provide Goods, Jobs
By SHELLEY HANSON
Staff Writer
Two of the Ohio Valley’s retail hubs — the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville and The Highlands in Ohio County — not only provide the goods, services and entertainment that residents need, but they also employ thousands of people.
The mall has seen significant changes during the past few years including interior and exterior renovations, the opening of Boscov’s department store, the closings of Kmart and Elder Beerman, and later the opening of Marshalls.
Even with the changes, the facility continues to employ, at times, nearly 2,000 people.
Joe Bell, spokesman for Cafaro Co. which owns the mall, said his company recently conducted a census of the retailers operating at the mall.
“During most of the year, approximately 1,400 people are working there. During the holiday season (November-January), the number of employees goes up to approximately 1,700,” he said.
Bell noted Cafaro officials still are working toward finding a new tenant to fill the former Kmart space.
“I understand our leasing executives have been in discussions with several entities about that space. It’s too early to speculate on any potential deal,” he said.
Businesses inside the Ohio Valley Mall include 5 Star Nutrition, AMC Theatres, American Eagle Outfitters, Amy’s Gold Crown Hallmark, Andrews Jewelers, AT&T, Auntie Anne’s, BAM!, Bath & Body Works, Boscov’s, Buckle, CellAXS, The Children’s Place, Christopher & Banks, Claire’s, Cricket Wireless, Escape Spa & Nails, Ritaz Parlor, Fabio’s Pizza, Fannelli’s Boys, Finish Line, GameStop, Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub, GNC, Great American Cookies, Great Clips, Hibbett Sports, Kay Jewelers, King’s Jewelry, Kitchen Collection, LensCrafters, Lids, Macy’s, Marshalls, MasterCuts, Men’s Wearhouse, Ming Massage, New Dimension Comics, Ohio Valley PDR, Osaka Japanese Steakhouse, OV Crossfit, Pat Catan’s, Payless ShoeSource, Piercing Pagoda, Planet Fitness, Rapture Vapor, RC Video, Regis Salon, Rogers Jewelers, rue21, Sam Goody, Sears, Sears Auto Center, Sears Dental Center, Sears Optical, Shoe Dept., Encore, Spencer’s, Steve’s Sports Cards, Sweet Treats by Carrie, Tilt, Tony’s Spa, Ulta Beauty, Victoria’s Secret, Yankee Candle and Z Wireless-Verizon Wireless. Also, the mall perimeter is home to various retailers, restaurants and services.
In Ohio County, The Highlands now has 93 tenants on site including retailers, restaurants, busisnesses offering various services and more. The entire site employs 3,817 people, said Ohio County Commissioner Orphy Klempa, who also serves on the Ohio County Development Authority, which owns and operates the site.
He noted dollarwise, the total amount of payroll generated at the site annually is $97.415 million.
“It’s wonderful. … It went from a nothing gob pile on a hill to a bustling center with retail, education, light manufacturing, medical — everything is up there,” Klempa noted.
He said in addition to the retail jobs, the site also is home to many managerial positions, in addition to even higher-paying jobs related to manufacturing and construction. He noted there was an increase of 395 jobs in 2017 — an additional 175 in light manufacturing, 175 in retail, 18 in restaurant and 27 in office positions.
Klempa is looking forward to plans related to constructing a “brick and mortar” sports complex, estimated to cost $30 million. The authority is in the process of seeking bonds to raise money for the project.
Businesses at The Highlands include: Bath & Body Works, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Books A Million, Bower Decor Market, Cabela’s, GameStop, GNC, Howard’s Diamond Center, J.C. Penney, Justice for Girls, Kohl’s, Lane Bryant, Mattress Firm, NiNi’s Treasures, Old Navy, PETCO, Russell Stover, Sally Beauty Supply, Sephora, Shoe Dept., Sleep Outfitters, Smoker Friendly, Target, TJ Maxx, Walmart, Applebee’s, Bob Evans, Bubba’s Gourmet Burghers & Beer, Cheddar’s, Cold Stone Creamery, Eat ‘n Park, El Paso, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Fusion Steakhouse, Logan’s, McDonald’s, Mooey’s, Olive Garden, Panera Bread, Primanti Brothers, Quaker Steak & Lube, Starbucks, Subway, Texas Roadhouse, Wendy’s, Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott, Hampton, Hawthorn Suites, Holiday Inn Express, Microtel, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, AT&T Call Center, AT&T Cellular, Dee’s Cellular, Great Clips, H&R Block, Highmark, Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal, Lauttamus, MVB Insurance, Ohio Valley Dermatology, OVMC Highlands Center, Sheetz, Sokolin, Sprint, Tony’s Nails, TSG Studios, TSG Technology Services Group, Verizon Wireless, WesBanco, West Liberty University Highlands Center, Yensen Landscaping, Marquee Cinema, Robinson car dealership and Straub car dealerhip, Cabela’s Distribution, Silgan Plastics, Kalkreuth and East Coast Metals.