September 18. 2012 6:00AM - Last modified: September 18. 2012 6:57AM

MADISON - Owner cites troubled neighborhood as reason Meadowood Ace Hardware is closing

  
Dennis and Sharon Lochner aren't ready for retirement, but they are done with the Meadowood Shopping Center.

Frustrated by plummeting sales over the past three years and a neighborhood plagued with gunfire and negative perceptions, the Lochners are closing one of the oldest and largest businesses in the West Side strip mall.

Their Meadowood Ace Hardware will remain closed Tuesday but a liquidation sale starts Wednesday. The store will close by the end of October after a more than 25-year run at the corner of Whitney Way and Raymond Road.

The closing of the 8,000-square-foot store will add another vacancy to a shopping center that already has empty storefronts. It's in the middle of a neighborhood challenged by an increase in low-income residents and crime.

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