When Marc Newman and a local team purchased the Oakdale Mall last year, some may have thought they were crazy. Buying a mall in 2022, wasn’t exactly an investors dream.

But fast forward just a few months later, and the newly named Oakdale Commons is getting its first major set of construction projects since it opened decades ago.

“It's really rewarding and it's come together so nice. And I'm just, on a personal level, I'm so happy. I know I speak on behalf of the partnership, and we're all just really excited,” said Marc Newman, Spark JC partner.

Every corner of the property is seeing new life, with work taking place every day. Now with the world’s largest Dick’s House of Sport ready to open, and BJ’s Wholesale and Dave and Busters on the way, the property is bucking a national trend.

"This will truly be a mixed-use project. So a lot of services, a lot of entertainment and then the retail itself and, of course, the restaurants. So I think it, I think, it's all sort of baked into the cake, but I believe it'll be successful," said Newman.

This reimagining of a location that lost nearly all of its anchor stores over the years has seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. The Lourdes Hospital health and fitness center, which opened in the former Sears last year, is going strong, and that was just the beginning.

Companies like BJ’s Wholesale have seen the success Newman and his team have had in turning around the former mall, and it’s drawing them and others to join in.

"The vision is here and it's happening and we're just we're really excited not only for ourselves, but I have to really emphasize for the community. This was one of those projects, whether we were involved or not, we did not want this to die," said Newman.

While some stores still in the mall will move, retail will remain a focus. It’s a blueprint Newman believes others across the nation may look to in the coming years.

“The mixed-use component is huge. It's been an attraction in itself. People get it when they're looking and they're like, 'Yeah, you know, this just makes a lot of sense,' because we have the traditional malls are gone forever. So this is certainly a hybrid. And I think it's something that a lot of people around the country are going to look at and say, 'Hey, this is the wave of the future,'" said Newman.

Along with announcements of BJ’s Wholesale and Dave and Busters, the new Chipotle and Panera locations at the mall are expected to open in the fall.