What is happening at Midtown at Forest Acres—or, as it is now known again, Richland Mall?

Up top, a lot.

Down below, not much.

Ever since the 695,000– square foot shopping mall at the corner of Beltline Boulevard and Forest Drive was purchased in February for $4.4 million from Richland Joint Venture Group, not much has changed with the tenant mix inside the doors.

What’s been happening is up on the roof, with twice–yearly festivals and the weekly farmer’s market drawing hundreds of Forest Acres and Columbia residents regularly.

The farmer’s market, held every Wednesday from 3–7 p.m. started with 12 vendors and has grown to more than two dozen. On a recent visit to the venue, the market was filled with customers, despite the threat of severe thunderstorms.

Merchants selling farm–fresh tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, and melon were doing a brisk business, while other booths selling live plants, bread, soaps, and candles were doing equally as well.

Forest Acres city officials have said the farmer’s market has been one of the most successful public/private partnerships at the mall, along with the Rooftop Rhythms outdoor music festival, hosted by the Forest Acres Restaurant and Merchant Association (FARMA) and held in April and October on the top of the parking garage.

However, there is not much to report yet within the walls of the shopping center, which used to be home to prestigious anchors Parisian and Dillard’s.

Kahn Development, selected by new owners Century Capitol Group in April to take over leasing and act as an advisor for management of the center, started by changing the name back to Richland Mall.

Kahn was the driving force behind the success of Village at Sandhill, a 300– acre mixed–use development in Northeast Columbia. The company has been working on a master plan for the mall, but movement on the property as far as leasing activity has yet to be announced.

“We haven’t seen a bit of change at all since (Kahn Development) took over,” said one of the employees of Bobby’s Barber Shoppe, who declined to be identified. “They put some signs up in the windows, but as far as new tenants, we haven’t seen any.”

The barber shop, which has been in business for almost 50 years, used to be located at Trenholm Plaza and moved when the renovation of that center began.

“Business for us has always been great,” said the employee, “because we brought all of our customers with us. But I don’t see anything really happening here.”

Alan Kahn, president of Kahn Development, said it’s unlikely any major announcements will be made regarding the mall before 2011 given the nature of the types of anchor tenants his company is trying to attract.

“We have a master plan, and we are working to implement that plan,” he said. “We were very encouraged by the interest in Richland Mall by national retailers at the Las Vegas Shopping Center Convention in May.”

Kahn said his company is following up on those leads providing information to the interested parties and waiting for them to conduct their own internal market studies.

“We are looking at grocery stores, department stores, and other big box retailers,” he said. “However, there are some tenants who are not in Columbia who are thinking about coming here—some who would like to come here but aren’t quite ready and others that are very unlikely to ever come here. We are working through that process.”

In addition, he said, there are some tenants who have indicated interest in the mall that physically cannot fit into its structure— for example, retailers who might need large expanses of parking.

“Moving the wrong kind of tenant into the center would be doing a disservice to everyone,” Kahn said. “The right mix is very important.”

Meanwhile, the mall and its tenants are in a waiting pattern, which was evident during a recent walk through the center’s public areas.

Other than those in Barnes & Noble, shopping at Belk, or going to the movies, the inside of the shopping center contained less than a dozen people strolling around on a recent Tuesday afternoon.

Tenants, other than the anchors, on the second floor include Bobby’s and LensCrafters. Gymboree and Midtown Celebrations are on the first floor.

Today, according to a press release, the center is 48 percent leased including anchor tenants Belk, Barnes & Noble, S&S Cafeteria, TGIFriday’s, and Regal Cinemas. Traffic will drop significantly in November when Verizon Wireless, which takes up more than 136,000 square feet in a separate part of the mall, and its 1,500 employees vacates the center for a new facility in Elgin, S.C.

But Kahn said he believes the tenants who are currently anchoring the center will help encourage other larger retailers to come to Richland Mall.

“We are building on what I feel is a pretty good base,” Kahn said. “I feel very encouraged.”

Amongst shoppers, a lot of dreaming is going on about the future of the mall. There’s even a Facebook fan page, “Please bring some nice stores to Richland Mall,” that has its share of opinionated people among its 1,609 fans. Most want some upscale stores that are unique to the Columbia area including Trader Joe’s, Costco, Anthropologie, Whole Foods, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Sephora, Container Store, and Apple Store.

“We are following up on every single suggestion that is given to us,” Kahn said. “We take every name and check it out as to their interest and how it may fit into the mall.”