SANFORD, Fla. — The Seminole Towne Center Mall is undergoing a change in ownership once again, after just a year.

The current mall owners had hoped they could revitalize the area.

Sanford Economic Development Director Brady Lessard says over the last seven months, 4th Dimension Properties turned out to not be a good fit for the project. 

“The current tenants, the current vendors at the mall have had a lot of promises made, and a lot of promises that have gone unkept,” said Lessard.

Lessard said once he put out a bid for new ownership, companies from all over wanted dibs. He said the mall is worth about $60 million.

It’s right in the center of major highways attracting people from both Volusia and Orange counties.

Lessard said the best fit for the project was a local development company who believes can make the financial investment the mall needs to succeed.

“I view this as a dating process, right? The city of Sanford needs to have a partner out there in Seminole County, needs to have a partner on the mall property that has the ability to deliver. And that’s what we found in the Gilbane group,” he said.

Officials say Gilbane is on board to make a billion dollar investment on the property to redevelop the mall.

But with the mall’s prior history, some residents in the community have expressed concerns about the failed projects.

“I know that mall has disappointed people in the past,” Lessard said. “And really, it’s been about a five or six-year period where that mall has been a disappoint to this community. Quite frankly, it’s been a disappointment to me, to my family, to my neighbors. But what I would say is promises made in the past that weren’t kept will not be the case this time around.”

Gilbane officials said this will be a multi-year process and will be completed in phases. Plans are to focus on new retail opportunities, restaurants, hotels, apartments and the possibility of pickleball courts.