Redevelopment of Pemberton Square mall and the former Kroger location began Thursday when a Texas developer officially closed on the properties, ushering in a gradual change of the retail landscape on one of Vicksburg’s main commercial strips.

Weiner Development of Houston plans 10 to 15 new stores in the indoor mall over the next two to three years. It will be a mix of national chains, locally operated businesses and professional service tenants such as orthodontists, insurance offices and chiropractors, said Andy Weiner, president of the retail development firm.

Five additional businesses are expected to move into the former grocery location in the same time frame.

Weiner said negotiations are ongoing to place a clothing outlet and a national gift and housewares chain in the first phase, estimating 50 new jobs at the made-over grocery location and 75 at the mall over the next three years.

The purchase price on what Weiner said will be renamed Vicksburg Mall wasn’t disclosed. The deal included space formerly owned by CBL & Associates Inc. that houses J.C. Penney but does not include Dillard’s and Belk. The stores on the eastern and western ends of the mall are owned by their companies.

About $250,000 will be spent enhancing signs, including a 75-foot-tall one behind the current Kroger store. In addition, new roadside signs will give directions to the mall and a new one will be placed above the main entrance, giving the theater a marquee.

Two retail outparcels are anchored on the parking lot, though no changes are in the offing for the parking layout.

Weiner did not name the retail and food outlets interested in moving into the mall, but said he was confident rents would stay as competitive as possible, and other financial concerns wouldn’t be a problem.

“We will dramatically improve the marketing of the mall,” Weiner said before breaking the news to employees of the shopping center’s 19 remaining shops and restaurants. “There’s no other mall I know of in the United States that will give each tenant outside signage.”

Details of the overhaul involve opening new stores with parking lot visibility on both sides of Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub and beefing up security. Bricks stained with dirt and age will be cleaned, Weiner said.

Pemberton Square was built on 47 acres in 1985 and last renovated in 1996, just before the departure of Walmart. While the larger anchor stores have remained open through a sour economy, about 30 percent of the mall’s retail bays are vacant.

The former Kroger was owned by the grocery store chain and had been vacant since a move across the street in 2008.

Weiner and Mike Carlisle, the mall’s new general manager, stressed shoppers won’t see a change overnight.

“The mall’s been sliding, but you don’t just turn around a mall in 60 or 90 days,” Weiner said, adding the “community redevelopment” couldn’t have happened without support from the city and the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce.

Variances in city zoning laws the company sought concerning the sign behind Kroger have been granted, Weiner said.

Carlisle, a 25-year retail veteran who formerly worked at the former Haggar location at the Outlets at Vicksburg and the former Office Supply Company on Walnut Street, said the redevelopment is part of a “good direction” and hopes shoppers will “be patient with us.”

Those who work for businesses left in the mall were told they’ll keep their jobs.

“I’m just so excited I can come to work Saturday,” said Lacey Worthy, a stylist at Pemberton Hair Stylists.

Garfield’s manager Jason Fitts said the pub already has begun remodeling and expects it to couple nicely with the stepped-up advertising.

“We need to let people know we have a nice mall and a nice restaurant,” Fitts said.

Weiner Development has holdings in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Until 1997, Weiner managed 159 clothing store locations for Weiner Stores Inc., which went out of business in 2001.

Active development in Mississippi includes retail space plans in Vicksburg, Meridian, Quitman, Philadelphia, Hattiesburg and Clinton, according to the company’s website.