Photo: Xia Yang / Moment / Getty Images
(Des Moines, IA) -- Des Moines's Southridge Mall has a new owner.
Cody Christensen with the City of Des Moines says that means revitalization is imminent.
"We have had some conversations with the new owner and he's working with a real estate broker to bring in some additional businesses to the area," Christensen says. "He's also working with a team from Iowa State University to work on a vision for a master redevelopment of the site."
The 80-acre mall is now owned by Native Real Estate which is based in Brooklyn, New York. They bought the property for $4 million.
"He made a sizable investment in purchasing the property and that's step one," Christensen says.
The city is ready to help the new owner in whatever way they can.
"We want to see property owners succeed," Christensen says. "It's good for the city. It's good for the surrounding area. We'll have our staff involved in this every step along the way to make sure that the direction it's heading is going to maximize the benefit for the southside of Des Moines and Des Moines as a whole."
The city hopes to see improvement within the next year.