I thought at first that they planned this pretty early on (it's March but the store closure has been announced to happen later this year in September) but the lease expired and they didn't renew it. That's the gist of it.
https://www.wfmj.com/story/48569432/austintown-jcpenny-scheduled-to-close-in-september-plaza-owner-optimistic-about-new-tenants