The Towne Mall, once deemed “a dead mall,” is expected to be sold today to a group of California investors who plan to make major renovations and bring in new tenants.

Trisha Hale, mall secretary under CBL & Associates of Chattanooga, Tenn., which owns the mall, said several investors toured the shopping center recently and they returned to the mall Thursday, finalizing paperwork. They are expected to sign the contract to purchase the mall today, she said.

She called it “a done deal.”

Hale said the investors — “just regular guys,” she said — formed a corporation, SA Mary Ohio, LLC, on Thursday. She didn’t know how much the mall sold for and Dr. George Bishay, a veterinarian and one of the investors, refused to release the sale price.

Dr. Bishay said the investment group saw “very strong potential” in the mall, which opened in 1977.

He expects the group to bring in new tenants because there’s “a lot of interest” from retailers. They will meet with potential tenants and select the “best group,” he said.

Hale expects the group to “spend lots of money” making major renovations to the 465,451-square-foot mall because it’s located on the East End near Interstate 75. She said the group has met with engineers to discuss possible improvements. She believes the sale will be for all the mall businesses, excluding out lots PNC Bank and KFC, which were previously sold, and Cincinnati Bell, which is being retained by CBL.

It’s unclear whether the group will change the name of the mall, she said.

Towne Mall is the city’s “front door” and Middletown Economic Development Director Denise Hamet said after the renovations are made, “it’s going to look sharp.”

“We have a new owner that’s very vested in this project,” she said. “They’re ready to do what it takes to make this mall a very vital part of the city.”

Hamet said while CBL has done its best with the mall property, she said it was one of multiple properties the company owned.

“You have to have people that this is their front and center project, and that’s important,” Hamet said.

Recently, when many of the retailers, including Dillard’s pulled out of the mall, there had been hope that the mall would be sold or redeveloped, said Bill Triick, president and CEO of the Chamber Serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton.

“I’m very pleased to hear this,” he said when told the mall was sold. “This changes the whole thing out there.”

Triick said the investment group will want to fill the mall, which he called “underutilized” for years. On Thursday, of the 52 available retail spaces available for rent, 18 were occupied, and several of those were closed. Around 5 p.m., there were less than 30 cars in the parking lot and there were no customers in most of the stores.

Hale said the occupancy rate was about 25 percent, and she expects it to be at near 100 percent once the new investment group makes the necessary improvements.

Triick said the deal is “proof” the worst of the effects caused by the 2008 recession is over and Middletown’s economy specifically is “turning the corner and brighter days are coming. You have people that are confident enough to make major investment in this area. They know what the economy is locally that it’s coming back. People (making major investments) don’t spend their money carelessly. They had choices going somewhere else, and they decide they’re going to do it right here. It’s encouraging.”

Mayor Larry Mulligan said this is “good news.”

“It’s a good indicator that things are happening, and a change in ownership is probably a good thing,” Mulligan said.

Mulligan said it has been a challenging location, especially with all the other business activity that’s gone on around the mall, including Kroger, Walmart and the restaurants.

State Rep. Pete Beck, R-Mason, who represents the Warren County portion of the city, said the potential of a reinvigorated Towne Mall “will add some new life.”

“It’s huge for jobs, it’s huge for the entire area,” Beck said. “I think it’s tremendous. The mayor and all of city council with economic development team, they work very, very hard, and they have a methodical plan to reinvent and reintroduce Middletown to the region and the country.”

Several of the merchants said there were rumors circulating that the mall was going to be sold. But when told the sale was pending, many of them sounded relieved.

“We need them to come in here and give this place a face lift,” said a retailer, who wanted to remain anonymous. He said sales in September in his stores were an all-time low.

Tosha Wolf and her son, Wyatt, of Madison Twp., visited the Towne Mall Thursday for an eye doctor appointment. Wolf called the Towne Mall “a waste of space,” and said it’s widely “known there’s nothing in there.” She shops at the Dayton Mall, she said.

“This is a retired or ex-mall,” she said before getting in her car.

Towne Mall was been deemed a “dead mall” in 2008 by Green Street Advisers Inc. that was featured in the Wall Street Journal. It cited the mall’s sales of $207 per square foot as why it made the dreaded list. Anything less than $250 per square foot annually is a danger zone for a shopping center’s failure. The U.S. average is $381 in sales per square foot, according to the five-year-old report.

CBL had planned in 2007 for a proposed $25.8 million renovation to redevelop the mall. The project, which was named “Middletown Village,” would have created 225 new jobs and added $4.7 million to the payroll.

But “Middletown Village” hinged on help from the city and county in the tune of $6 million in incentives. However, financial issues, and the lack of county incentives – $6 million in tax breaks and other incentives were denied by Warren County – the proposed open-air concept was halted.

The Towne Mall file

Owner: CBL & Associates of Chattanooga, Tennessee

Prospective buyer: SA Mary Ohio, LLC

Address: 3461 Towne Blvd.

Built: 1976

Opened: 1977

Stores: 18 of 52 available locations (not including out lots)

2007 sales: $45 million*

Dimensions: 465,451 square feet with a 1,736-foot perimeter on 13.67 acres

Current value: $2.6 million appraised value, $931,570 assessed value**

2011 Taxes paid: $81,087.86

*Last known sales figure reported to the Middletown Journal

**Current values as of Jan. 1, 2012

Sources: Warren County Auditor’s Office