C.E. John's development chief Mark Perniconi tells GlobeSt.com the vacant Montgomery Ward building will be renovated and likely filled with multiple users. Perniconi declined to detail the purchase price of the Ward's building, and the price was not otherwise immediately available.

Vancouver, WA-based C.E. John owns the mall with Hummelt Development Co. under the name Lancaster Development Company. The duo is finishing up a $17 million makeover of the mall that includes a complete re-do of the interior and several new tenants, including Old Navy, for which a brand new exterior entrance was constructed.

The move follows an up grade of the competing Salem Center by owner J.P. Realty that brought in the Gap and the Disney Store, and California-based Craig Realty Group's development of the 176-store Woodburn outlet mall along Interstate 5 between Portland and Salem.