A legal battle over the Shenango Valley Mall has come to an end, and the owner of the property is now also in charge of operations. 

The McConnell family has owned the land underneath the mall for more than 50 years. They will now also take over the reins of operations as well.

"We just saw the condition of the mall deteriorating and weren't willing to put up with much more," said Matt McConnell, who is also a Mercer County Commissioner.

In recent years the mall has lost both Sear's and Macy's, two of their three anchor stores.

McConnell estimates that the mall is only about half occupied but have been told by national leaders that the Shenango Valley is underserved when it comes to retail, so they are hopeful that proper management of the mall will attract retailers.

McConnell explained some of their key selling points.

"This is a smaller mall that has easier access to be able to get in and out of, you don't have complex traffic, you don't have sales tax on clothing still so that automatically gives you the discount," said McConnell

The McConnell's have already hired a property manager. They are now in the process of looking for a national leasing agent.

They say the stores that are in the mall are doing well.

And encourage area shoppers, "If you actually want to have local shops shop locally."