What's going on at the former North Branch outlet mall

Why it matters: The shopping center was a destination for residents of the north metro and rural communities above.

• Brian Scholten one of the five new owners, said their ongoing efforts to revive it will bring services and shopping back to those people.

"We want to make this into a community hub and not just for North Branch, but one that draws people from everywhere," he told Axios.

Between the lines: Scholten said a previous manager raised rents aggressively during a period when shopping habits changed. That decision, he said, is why so many tenants left.

State of play: Working with a nearly blank canvas, the owners have rebranded the center as The Shops of Gateway North and landed several new businesses.

• They've signed leases with yarn shop Warm & Wooly, a bookstore, and a children's consignment shop, all of which have opened.
• They've also signed leases with a daycare provider, a pediatrician's office, a dog training school, and an indoor playground.

• Work is underway on 10 small executive office suites that can be rented by people who don't want to work from home.

By the numbers: The 145,000 square-foot property is now roughly half-leased, including holdovers such as Maurices, Bath & Body Works, and Famous Footwear, Scholten said.

What's next: Once the mall signs more leases and produces a larger positive cash flow, they'd like to invest in a buildout for a potential restaurant, he added.

• If they can get the center fully leased, Scholten added said, ownership hopes to also add "quaint" apartments, a park, and a farmers market.