A new two-story, 27,000-sf Old Navy store is greeting shoppersas they enter the mall, Starbucks has filed to slip in next to it,Best Buy opened a free-standing store on mall property two monthsago, and T.G.I. Friday's and McGrath's Fish House are in the midstof doing the same. As well, national clothing chain Anchor Blue isplanning to locate inside the mall early next year, about the timeSears will undergo a renovation of old space and add 6,000 sf ofnew space to its children's and women's departments.

As well, new mall entrances and new furniture are being addedalong with new colors--pea green and orange. Seattle-basedarchitecture firm Callison & Associates is in charge of the newdesign. The average monthly leasing rate for the mall is $22 persf, while a premier spot like Old Navy's leases for closer to $50per sf.

The mall's owner is C.E. John Co. The Vancouver, WA-baseddeveloper bought out other mall owners two years ago with just sucha renovation in mind. The move follows an up grade of the competingSalem Center by owner J.P. Realty that brought in the Gap and theDisney Store, and California-based Craig Realty Group's developmentof the 176-store Woodburn outlet mall along Interstate 5 betweenPortland and Salem.