Here's how West Ridge Mall has changed 5 months after being purchased by Topeka developers

In the five months since Cody Foster and David Callanan purchased West Ridge Mall, news of businesses opening first or second locations there has arrived with a steady drumbeat.

Occupancy at West Ridge Mall, 1801 S.W. Wanamaker Road, is about 35% occupancy, said Seth Wagoner, CEO of Topeka-based AIM Strategies, an equity firm founded and owned by Foster. Getting local tenants will help the longevity of the mall, he said, and will also help bring in larger retail businesses.

“I think right now, one of the things I've learned in this retail space is that the national tenants that are out there, they really look at metrics," Wagoner said. "So, they'll look at our occupancy right now and be like, 'That's not good.' And to be honest with you, it's not good today.

"So how do I build that occupancy up? And how I build that occupancy up is through finding great local tenants who will become the backbone of a changing mall."

West Ridge was purchased in September for an undisclosed sum by Foster and Callanan, co-owners of Topeka-based Advisors Excel financial adviser support company.

New permanent tenants are arriving at West Ridge Mall

Since the purchase, managers have taken steps to return the mall to its entertainment-filled roots.

Wagoner said the food court is probably going to be the easiest thing to fill up first.

"But looking at retail, we realize though that this is never going to go back to what it was like in 1996," he said. "So, there's going to have to be a mix of retail and services and community centers and different things like that that will get us back to being full again.”

In November, the mall hosted a popup location for Ta Co., offering a condensed version of the restaurant’s menu that included such items as chips and queso, a variety of salsas, street corn and more.

After that success, Ta Co. will open March 1 as a permanent tenant at the mall, Wagoner told The Capital-Journal. It will be open daily. Ta Co. is also opening a downtown Topeka location in coming months.

Other locally owned businesses — Boxer Q BBQ and Absolute Tattoo — opened locations at the mall in recent weeks: Absolute Tattoo, which also has a brick-and-mortar location at 1212 S. Kansas Ave., and Boxer Q BBQ, which started as a food truck.

Revitalization of West Ridge Mall vital to Topeka

West Ridge Mall, has been an important commercial asset and an important community asset for more than 30 years and anchors a valuable corridor for Topeka, said Bob Ross, senior vice president of marketing, communications, and events at The Greater Topeka Partnership.

"After watching what happened to White Lakes Mall, we are very pleased to see West Ridge Mall in good hands." Ross said. "It represents local ownership in Topeka and really is taking control of its own destiny.

More: Topeka model train clubs show off exhibits at Great Overland Station and West Ridge Mall

"So, I think watching leaders like Advisors Excel make investments in that property really represents a new page for our community."

White Lakes was demolished in 2022 after decades of falling into disrepair.

After West Ridge's new ownership was announced, Foster said the purchase was an investment to revitalize that nook of the Wanamaker shopping corridor.

Why are local retail and service businesses returning to the mall?

Jacob Schell, owner of Absolute Tattoo, said he had long wanted to have a location at West Ridge Mall.

“It’s a huge step for the industry," Schell said. "This new management team here — they’re progressive and young and hip. They voted me in, so we took action.”

Hank Burch, who co-owns Boxer Q BBQ, said being in a storefront setting rather than a food truck has been busy, but being a part of the revitalization of the mall has been great.

"I think I got in at a great time, I really do," Burch said. "People enjoy coming in and eating."

Burch said his food truck is on the back burner until a plan is made. For now, he is focused on the mall location.

What improvements have been made at West Ridge Mall?

Wagoner said the team has made about $250,000 of capital improvements at the mall so far.

Those improvements include roof repairs, a sinkhole fix, light fixture replacements, carpets, HVAC system repairs and more. Soon, the parking lots will be re-stripped as some parts have had asphalt packing.

Wagoner said the largest thing to fix has been the escalators, which have been out of service for a quite a while. In the next two weeks, the escalators in the food court area should be fixed, he said.

"We've just done a lot of things that maybe aren't the sexiest things, but they've been neglected for a long time." Wagoner said.

People are returning to the mall with the renovations and new tenants. Wagoner said they have seen the foot traffic spike since bringing in the new businesses.

"Saturday has been the busiest day," he said. "There's still a lot of people that walk Saturdays, the busiest day. We're starting to see a lot more people out here on Friday nights and Sundays."

More: Cody Foster has big plans for West Ridge, and 'mall' isn't the best description for it

What else is on tap for West Ridge Mall?

Summit Health and Luxe Wellness Studio will open as a partnership inside of West Ridge Mall early this spring.

Shockwave Fitness studio will open March 1, its Facebook page said. It will offer bungee fitness along with trampoline, walking and Zumba classes.

"There's going to be more in the next few months," Wagoner said. "I think one of the other things that we're going to continue to do is just we're going to be programming them all with a lot of events and you're going to just see a lot more activity out here at the mall."

On Thursday, Foster and Callanan chose Dallas-based Russell Glen Co. to help develop the mall. Russell Glen is a privately owned and fully integrated real estate investment and development firm, a news release said.

The company is founded by CEO Terrence Maiden and “focuses on mixed-use spaces that specialize in creating community-minded experiences,” Foster said

Keishera Lately is the business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached at klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Here's what's new at Topeka's West Ridge Mall months after purchase