Retail space in the Altona Mall is filling up quickly.

Bringing in new stores has been a top priority for the mall's new ownership group Ilikai Corporation, which took over in 2013. There are now 24 tenants, with only a few empty spaces remaining.

Nicholas Ewert works for management company Remco Realty, which is part of the ownership group that purchased the mall.

He says discussions are currently underway to bring Home Hardware into the mall.

"We haven't signed a lease with them yet but we expect that will be signed very shortly," he said. "They're hoping to be open in spring."

Larry Jensen, owner of Michael Rodent's Gift Shop

Home Hardware would take over the spaces formerly occupied by Friesen's Bookstore and Amishland Furniture.

Larry Jensen is the owner of Michael Rodent's, a new permanent gift store that opened up in the mall this past November. He says more stores in the mall means more business all around.

"As the mall fills up with new stores like ourselves, it's changing the traffic patterns in the mall. Typically people go in one door, go out the same door...as we get more places in the mall, it's going to encourage people to travel around, to walk through and see and explore. That's a good thing for everybody here in the mall."

In addition to new stores, the building itself has seen many upgrades including a new inside paint job and stonework to the outside entrance. Construction is currently underway on new wheelchair accessible public washrooms in the main hallway.

"The outside's making things look much more presentable, people are getting excited to come in and see what's going on in the inside," said Jensen. "The bathroom renovations coming up are going to be very good for a lot of the people that have some mobility issues, much more easier to get in and out of. That's going to make a lot of the traffic wandering around a lot happier."

While many rural malls are struggling, Altona seems to be bucking the trend. Ewert explains what they saw in the Altona Mall when they made the purchase in 2013.

"We knew that the Altona Mall was different than many rural malls from the beginning, largely due to Elmer [Hildebrand] and his generation's work to carve out the space for the mall in the centre of town," he said. "A lot of town malls are on the outskirts and they're not nearly as much the heart of the commercial district of the town and that made the Altona Mall distinctive to us and when it came up we thought we could do something with it."

Ewert notes one of their keys to success was the decision to keep the rent affordable for the mall tenants. He believes this has helped keep the businesses profitable and has led to the overall viability of the mall.