The developers of Northtown Square say a national barber shop franchise and a local tuxedo rental chain both have agreed to lease space in the 71,000-square-foot retail center that's under construction at the former site of a Wendle Ford dealership.

A Spokane franchisee of Georgetown, Texas-based Sport Clips Inc. and Spokane-based Tuxedo Gallery Inc. both plan to open stores at Northtown Square this spring. Each will occupy about 1,500 square feet of space in a building along the north side of the center, which is located at the northwest corner of Division Street and Wellesley Avenue.

Northtown Square developers Chud Wendle and John Stejer say they still have spaces available for lease in a building being constructed on the west side of the center. The site also includes a freestanding Red Lobster restaurant that's expected to open in April.

Sport Clips franchisee Carolyn Borst says she plans to open Spokane's first Sport Clips Haircuts store there by early June. Sport Clips offers haircuts to men and boys in a sports-themed environment and sells sports memorabilia, she says.

The store will employ six to eight people at first, but could eventually employ 20, Borst says. Ultimately, Borst plans to operate three Sport Clips stores here, including one on the South Hill and one in one other area of town. The chain currently has more than 600 locations in the U.S., including 10 in the Seattle area.

Gene Slatter, owner of the Tuxedo Gallery, says that small chain's planned Northtown Square location, which he hopes to open in April, will employ a full-time manager and up to four seasonal employees during the business's busy spring and summer months. The three-store chain currently employs 12 full-time staff members and about a dozen more seasonal employees, Slatter says.

Separately, Tuxedo Gallery plans to move its Coeur d'Alene store soon to an 1,800-square-foot space at 2310 N. Fourth, from an about 800-square-foot location at 1928 N. Fourth there. The move also will bring the Coeur d'Alene store closer to Interstate 90 for greater visibility and accessibility, Slatter says.