Located at Southeast 99th Avenue and Washington Street near Interstate 205, Mall 205 was the first enclosed shopping center in Oregon when it was built in 1971. Center Oak bought the beleaguered property last year in a package deal last year from New York-based First Union Real Estate. "I used to joke that I found the last nickel spent there and it had a buffalo on it," Bruning told GlobeSt last fall, when the project was originally scheduled to begin.

Center Oak plans to put up $15 million for a completely renovated shell and three new pads fronting Washington Street will add strong new retailers and restaurateurs. The tenants will put up the other $15 million in tenant improvements.

Instead of names like Emporium, Montgomery Ward and "a very tired Rite Aid," Bruning says there'll be Home Depot, a full-service 24-Hour Fitness and Mars Music, a Tampa, FL-based company just beginning to place superstores on the West Coast. Instead of a sea of parking from street to storefronts, Pier One Imports, Red Robin and one other restaurant will add roadside appeal.

Moreover, instead of under $10 million in revenue from the north end of the mall where Emporium and Rite Aid operated, the 140,000-sf Home Depot that replaces them should alone generate $110 million in annual sales, Bruning says. Instead of an overall net operating income of $1.6 million, it will generate $4.5 million, he says.

As for the space vacated by Montgomery Ward, Bruning says it will likely be filled by year's end with a new, yet-unannounced department store. Meanwhile, over at Plaza 205, an adjacent property that is also part of Center Oaks' package purchase, less significant renovation is planned. A "major, national bookstore" will be added and 40,000-sf will be opened up for a new grocery store. Existing tenants include Jo-Ann Fabrics, Office Max and Bally's Fitness.

Mall 205 and Plaza 205 are among four shopping centers that Center Oak bought from Fleet Union, a Midwest real estate investment trust that was forced to sell its holdings. The other two are Valley North Mall in Wenatchee, WA and Valley Mall in Union Gap, WA. All are being renovated.