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Lewisville's New Mall Owner Pledges Big Turnaround

A Lewisville mall has a new name - and a new owner with some big plans.

Vista Ridge Mall opened in 1989. It is now known as Music City Mall at Vista Ridge. Odessa-based ICA Properties purchased the struggling mall at auction, for $17.3 million. The deal closed last month.

At a time when shopping malls across America are struggling, it’s a welcome investment for those who still shop there.

"This is the first time I've been here in a few months and it's just - it's dead,” said Dora Milam of Flower Mound.

Milam likes to come to the mall to people-watch. Problem is, there are fewer and fewer people to watch.

“I mean, this is not how it should be."

That's the challenge for the mall's new owner.

“You walk through and you know it needs to be full of people," said Richard Morton, the mall’s new general manager.

Morton’s job is to bring people back. ICA plans to bring in live music, new shops and restaurants to try and bring the mall back to its past glory. Morton says the new owner plans to spend $3-4 million dollars on improvements, which include stepped-up marketing and sales campaigns.

"I've seen pictures as late as 2005, when the mall parking lot was full, that's what we need to get back to,” said Morton.

The first noticeable change - the return of Christmas decorations, which the previous owner didn't even hang last year. Morton says when ICA Properties bought it’s other mall in Odessa, it was nearly half-empty. It's now 100 percent full.

The company intends to do the same - at its new property in Lewisville, where the mall remains a big part of the local economy. Despite it's recent struggles, it remains number two in generation of sales and property tax revenue in the city.

“The challenges can be overcome,” said Morton. “We will overcome them, and the goal is to become 100 percent occupied."

Those challenges include the continued growth of online shopping, something Milam avoids.

“I guess I'm old school,” she said. “I like to try things on. I like to feel the texture."

Mall management is betting more people feel the same.

“I'm hoping the new owners just gig it. Get it moving,” said Milam. “Because that's what we need.”

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