CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — New businesses are set to call the Otay Ranch Town Center home in the coming months.
Just a few months ago, the mall had more than a dozen empty storefronts and employees at the mall called it a ghost town.
The new businesses moving in include Novo Brazil Brewing, Planet Fitness, and Barons Market.
LONGFORM: Vacant storefronts reflect mall struggles at Otay Ranch Town Center
Brookfield Property Partners took over full ownership of the mall six weeks ago. It was a part of a larger merger across the country. The mall's general manager, Steven Sayers, sat down with 10News.
"Nothing was going wrong with the property at all. It was just, some of it was just timing with expiring leases and unfortunately, some tenants just left," says Sayers.
Sayers says these new businesses were already in the works before the merger. He credits the construction surrounding the mall is a big factor for why these businesses are choosing to invest in the mall.
RELATED: Barons Market grocery store coming to Chula Vista's Otay Ranch Town Center
"They advertise very heavily that you're within walking distance of Otay Ranch Town Center, where people can eat shop and dine, so that's a big plus for them and it's a big plus for us as well," says Sayers.
Shoppers tell 10News they hope the mall will keep adding businesses that will encourage them to shop in town versus going elsewhere.
