Denton businesses faced plenty of hurdles in 2009, including record national unemployment numbers and local foreclosure postings.

It’s been a deep global recession, with local companies like Peterbilt Motors Co., Victor Equipment and Jet Works Air Center cutting jobs, and other businesses — including two Chrysler dealerships, Circuit City, Fairhaven Retirement Home and Piggly Wiggly — shutting their doors.

DRC file photo

Denton’s Piggly Wiggly on Sherman Drive, as well as the one on McKinney Street, closed in June.

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Deals have fallen through, contracts have been voided and each business in the community has felt a nip or two from the frigid economy.

But the year wasn’t all bad.

There were several bright spots of hope as local men and women continued to make strides toward building sustainable businesses.

Some of those hopeful signs include the University of North Texas’ new high-powered computing facility at Discovery Park, Aldi’s $50 million Denton distribution center, several new hotels and two independent coffee shops.

And now it’s time to reflect on those high and low points of 2009 so far.

Jan. 9

Senior Center expands

The Denton City Council approved a contract with a Dallas company to expand the Denton Senior Center by about 18 percent.

The project will cost nearly $2 million and includes three new multipurpose rooms and more storage space.

Jan. 10

Victor lets workers go

Victor Equipment laid off 100 Denton workers and 20 Roanoke workers from the two plant divisions, citing economic conditions.

The workers were production personnel in several departments.

Jan. 11

New Kroger announced

A new Kroger Signature Store at the Hickory Creek retail center, at Hickory Creek Road and Teasley Lane in Denton, was touted as the largest Signature store in North Texas.

Jan. 14

City charges for TVs

The city of Denton started charging residents to recycle TVs and computer monitors at the city landfill.

The charge was implemented because of slumping commodity prices and an onslaught of old televisions in advance of the nationwide switch to digital television, said a city spokeswoman.

Jan. 15

Peterbilt lays off 172

Peterbilt Motors Co. laid off about 172 workers from its truck plant, effective Jan. 26.

Peterbilt is Denton’s largest private-sector employer.

Jan. 17

Circuit City closes

Circuit City Stores Inc. announced the liquidation of its 567 stores nationwide.

The 60-year-old retailer had no other choice because of the bleak economic environment, according to a company spokesman.

About 45 full- and part-time employees lost their jobs with the closing of the Denton location, which was less than two years old.

Jan. 29

Mall sale falls apart

A buyer’s plan to purchase Golden Triangle Mall fell through, likely because of the economic downturn, said speculating local business officials.

The mall’s owner, Feldman Mall Properties, would have received $9.1 million from Inland American Real Estate Inc., along with an estimated $2 million in preferred Feldman stock, if the deal had gone through.

Feb. 13

Shift in ownership

Presbyterian Hospital of Denton announced that the hospital would soon be under new ownership.

Arlington-based Texas Health Resources paid about $100 million to Community Health Systems Inc. of Tennessee for the remaining interest in Presbyterian Hospital.

Feb. 21

CoServ faces lawsuit

A lawsuit accused CoServ Electric of mismanaging $54 million, rigging board elections and risking other funds in for-profit ventures.

The suit filed in a Denton County district court sought class-action status for 140,000 members of the Corinth-based electric cooperative.

March 1

Port 35 North plan dies

A development contract for a large industrial park known as Port 35 North was canceled. The contract would have developed a 1,200-acre tract of land at the southwest corner of Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 380. The project would have brought significant economic growth to Denton, said a city official.

March 11

Rayzor deal revised

The City Council agreed to revise a $62 million incentives agreement with the company behind the Rayzor Ranch development to help the developer recoup the cost of widening U.S. Highway 380 sooner. Allegiance Hillview LP requested the revision, saying a slumping economy forced company officials to rethink the repayment schedule the council approved in 2007.

March 15

Aldi announces facility

Discount grocery retailer Aldi Inc. announced it would soon open a distribution center in Denton. The 500,000-square-foot distribution center would cost $50 million to build and would support 25 stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by March 2010. Aldi announced it would bring nearly 400 jobs and $125 million in capital expenditures to North Texas.

March 22

Market Square opens

Denton city officials handed a certificate of occupancy to Bob Shelton, president of Market Square at Unicorn Lake, symbolizing that the first phase of the retail project would soon be open for business. The first retail building for the 136-acre, mixed-use development included entertainment, restaurant, residential and medical entities.

April 2

Hospital name changes

Presbyterian Hospital of Denton officially became known as Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton. The changeover became effective with the signing of final papers in the transaction to transfer the ownership interest of Community Health Systems to Texas Health Resources of Arlington.

April 10

Fairhaven home closes

Fairhaven Retirement Home announced that it would close its doors after 44 years, forcing 17 elderly residents to search for new homes. The closing of the retirement complex was unavoidable because of repairs totaling more than $1.5 million. The nonprofit complex said there were losses of thousands of dollars each month because of low occupancy rates.

April 14

Jet Works lays off 12

Jet Works Air Center at Denton Airport laid off 12 employees. People were not ordering as many corporate aircraft or having them serviced, said a city official. There were still more than 100 employees at the company.

April 23

DME signs energy deal

Denton Municipal Electric announced a new contract with a Florida-based power provider would make Denton a leader in “green” energy use, according to city leaders. The contract allows the city to buy 40 percent of its power from renewable sources.

May 8

Courtyard hotel opens

Courtyard by Marriott opened in Denton. The hotel, designed for business travelers, features the company’s new design with an updated lobby and Asian-inspired rooms. It includes an open business center and Courtyard’s GoBoard, which gives a look at daily headlines and local information.

May 15

Dealerships targeted

Chrysler pulled its two Denton franchises, along with 789 of its 3,200 dealerships nationwide. The dealerships were targeted because the company said they were competing against one another. Huffines Chrysler-Jeep and Jim McNatt Toyota Dodge of Denton received word of their fate by United Parcel Service letter.

May 24

Fitness facility delayed

After months of delays, the LA Fitness facility on Loop 288 remained unopened. The parking lot at the building sat half-complete, as the developer of the retail space, DBSI Inc., was in the process of bankruptcy.

June 2

GM files for Chapter 11

General Motors Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, closing 11 plants nationwide to reinvent the company. James Wood Auto Park, a GM dealership in Denton since 1991, said he had not received any instructions from the corporate office and it was “business as usual” at the dealership.

June 13

Piggly Wiggly closes

Denton’s two Piggly Wiggly grocery stores closed, leaving 46 full- and part-time employees without work. The Texas Piggly Wiggly stores were owned by Affiliated Foods Southwest Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May.

June 13

A-train work begins

Construction was scheduled to begin on the Denton County Transportation Authority’s A-train passenger rail that will connect Denton to Carrollton. The construction includes a new pedestrian/bike path, improved drainage and sound walls.

June 14

Loop work continues

Workers put the “finishing touches” on Loop 288 between Interstate 35E and McKinney Street, with all six lanes set to be open soon, according to a Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman.

June 21

New hotels in works

Several limited-service hotels in and around Denton, including a Best Western prototype, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton, were in various stages of construction. Their completion would add 385 rooms — nearly 25 percent of Denton’s previous hotel capacity.

June 28

UNT gets a Dell

The University of North Texas prepared to install a $2.2 million, high-powered computing facility. The computing power in Denton increased tenfold because of the new Dell computer.

July 21

LA Fitness opens

The long-awaited opening of LA Fitness in Denton was set, after the facility’s opening date was delayed for about six months because of problems with the developer of the retail space where LA Fitness is located.

July 31

Peterbilt marks 70th

Peterbilt Motors Co. shut down its production lines in honor of the company’s 70th birthday. It also marked a 30-year relationship between the business and the Denton community.

Aug. 7

DRC file photo/Al Key

The first wall is set into place Aug. 6 at the Rayzor Ranch development, for a retail center on the north side of University Drive. Employees of EMJ Corp. used tilt-wall technology to build the first structure on the retail site.

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Rayzor walls erected

The first walls of the $1 billion, 410-acre Rayzor Ranch development went up, after years of anticipation by city officials and residents. The walls were for two retail buildings with a combined 39,600 square feet with 80 percent of the space committed to tenants, according to a project manager.

Aug. 12

UNT-DME agreement

The University of North Texas agreed to pay a higher monthly electric rate and nearly $112,000 in disputed back payments to Denton Municipal Electric, according to an agreement filed in a Denton County state district court. The university won’t have to pay an additional $1.07 million in disputed back payments while it appeals a judge’s ruling that a state-mandated electric rate discount expired in September 2007.

Sept. 7

New wing completed

The new wing of the Denton Senior Center opened as part of a $2 million expansion and renovation project. The project’s first phase increased the center’s size by about 18 percent.

Sept. 15

Band’s burrito ballad

Denton rock band Oso Closo’s musical tribute to the Chipotle burrito placed first in the restaurant chain’s customer-generated advertising contest, according to a company announcement. The band won $10,000 from the Denver-based chain and a temporary spot on the menu at Chipotle locations in the region.

Sept. 29

Tennessee plant closes

Peterbilt Motors Co. announced it would permanently close its Madison, Tenn., plant effective Dec. 1. The move left Peterbilt’s Denton facility as its only plant in the U.S. The Denton plant has a 2,000-employee workforce and was not operating at full capacity, a company spokesman said.

Oct. 17

Two more coffee shops

Two independent coffee houses — Big Mike’s Coffee Shop and Jupiter House’s second location — opened in Denton. The two shops joined a handful of other independent Denton coffee shops, including Jupiter House’s original location on the Square, the Hydrant Cafe, Art Six Coffee House and Uncommon Ground.

Oct. 20

Luby’s cafeteria closes

Luby’s closed its Denton cafeteria, along with seven other Dallas-Fort Worth locations, citing a dismal fourth quarter and a decline in sales and customers. The cafeteria closures left several local civic clubs looking for new places to meet.

Nov. 8

Rail timeline offered

DCTA officials said passenger rail service to Denton should start by summer 2011, offering their first timetable for the A-train project since abandoning hopes of finishing it by the end of next year.

Two hotels open

Two hotels opened in Denton on the same day. The Best Western Atrea Crown Chase Inn & Suites features 24-hour services, including those for fitness and business and a media center. Homewood Suites by Hilton has an executive business center, a 24-hour pantry and a swimming pool overlooking the Unicorn Lake development.

Nov. 9

Research prop approved

Voters approved a state proposition allowing seven emerging research universities, including the University of North Texas, to apply for funds from a dormant $500 million higher education account.

Nov. 16

Loop declared complete

The $40 million Loop 288 widening project was declared complete after more than three years of construction and countless driver complaints.

Nov. 19

Gas wells get go-ahead

A judge ruled in favor of Range Production Co. in its dispute with the Rayzor Ranch developer over whether the right to drill for natural gas expired this summer.

Retailers remain hopeful

Retail companies remained hopeful for a successful Christmas shopping season at the close of 2009. Several retail stores noted that their lines for Black Friday increased over 2008. While the National Retail Federation’s consumer intentions survey indicated that spending per customer would be down by about 3 percent, stores were hoping the sheer numbers of shoppers would end the year on a high note.

— Compiled from Denton Record-Chronicle staff reports

Staff writer Karina Ramírez contributed to this report.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.