The parking lot was ripped up recently as the mall continues to evolve into a multi-use area called Corridor Plaza.

The excavators were feeding concrete into a massive crusher. After the rubble is removed, a new section of 27th Street will be built to cross the site from north to south.

That’s not all that’s going on in connection with the project.

Talks are ongoing with some prospective tenants that would move into the one piece of the old mall that is still standing. City Manager David Fierke said Wednesday that some national retailers have made verbal commitments to move into the former Younkers wing of the mall.

“It’s just verbal so we can’t talk about it,” he said.

He said will be asking the City Council to approve some changes in the sign regulations that will be beneficial for the businesses considering going into the old Younkers wing.

The construction of the road and the reopening of the Younkers wing will be the next steps in a plan that has been unfolding since November 2019, when Crossroads Plaza Development LLC of Ankney announced plans to buy the property.

Since then, the bulk of the mall has been demolished and a new section of Second Avenue South was built across the northern end of the property. New businesses at the site now include Discount Tire, UnityPoint Clinic Express, Teriyaki Madness, Clean Laundry, T-Mobile and Tidal Wave Auto Spa.

The city and developer have received a $17 million state grant to create an entertainment area called the plaza and pavilion on the west side of the property.