The former Northridge Mall, largely empty for more than six years, might be redeveloped as a location for Chinese businesses to sell clothing and other goods through stores, and to sell wholesale merchandise to customers from throughout North America.

Beijing-based Toward Group, which owns the property, is negotiating to form a joint venture with a U.S. investment group led by Milwaukee business operator Robert Kraft to raise money for the project. The plan is to reopen at least part of the former Northridge by August, Kraft said Wednesday.

There's a lot of space to fill, Kraft acknowledged. The former mall, at N. 76th St. and W. Brown Deer Road, has more than 800,000 square feet - enough space for around 200 shops and restaurants, he said.

"I think it would be unrealistic to think the whole thing would be rented out the day it opens," Kraft said. "Maybe half would be committed."

Kraft said Toward Group is recruiting Chinese companies that would sell clothing, furniture, toys, consumer electronics and other goods. Kraft is raising money, based on tenant leases, to make improvements at the Northridge property. He declined to say how much money is needed for the project, which would be the first of its kind in the United States.

A Department of City Development spokeswoman couldn't be reached for comment. The city's comprehensive plan for Milwaukee's northwest side calls for demolishing the mall, and replacing it with single-family homes and other new uses.

Al Hill, president of the Granville-Brown Deer Chamber of Commerce, said any new use would be welcome at Northridge. But he also noted that the property, unlike most regional malls, is not located at an expressway interchange.

"Can that really flourish again?" Hill asked.

The last stores closed at Northridge in 2003 after years of declining sales.

In response to skeptics, Kraft cites Toronto's Pacific Mall, which opened in 2001 and is now expanding.

Pacific Mall bills itself as the largest indoor Asian mall in North America, with 400 stores selling clothes, toys, home furnishings and other items.

Toward Group plans to renovate the former Northridge to give it "a distinct Chinese look," Kraft said. The stores' targeted customers would include Chinese-Americans from throughout Wisconsin, as well as the Chicago and Minneapolis areas, he said.

"It's truly going to be a destination, as opposed to a typical mall," Kraft said.

Toward Group's attorney, Julie Lee, said many of the Chinese businesses would include manufacturers as well as retailers. They likely would use additional space to sell their goods wholesale to store operators throughout North America.

Wholesale operations would use much more space than a strictly retail use, said Lee, with the Milwaukee law firm Foley & Lardner.

Also, southeastern Wisconsin is part of the federal government's Immigrant Investment Pilot Program, which provides visas to foreign investors who put at least $1 million into projects that create at least 10 jobs.

That provides another reason for Chinese citizens to invest in the project, said Kraft, who operates RCI FirstPathway Partners LLC, a firm that works with foreigners who invest in U.S. ventures. Kraft is the former chief executive of Openfirst, a direct mail company he sold to Quad/Graphics Inc. in 2006.

Wu Li, Toward Group chief executive, is recruiting Chinese companies in Beijing and Ningbo, Milwaukee's sister city, for the project, according to a report at China Daily.com. The only prospective tenant Wu mentioned by name was Ruifuxiang Silk Store.

Wu said Toward Group was attracted to Milwaukee in part because of the low price paid for the Northridge site.

An affiliate of Toward Group bought Northridge in August 2008 for $6 million. Until now, the owners have declined to comment on their plans for the property.

Northridge's previous owner, a Los Angeles group led by investor Michael Mirharooni, marketed the property as a potential site for back-office operations, health care facilities and distribution centers. But that group, which bought the property in 2005 for $2.5 million, failed to land any tenants at the mall.

The former Northridge building that once housed Boston Store is owned by another investor, an affiliate of Tucker Development Corp. Tucker leased a portion of that building to Value City Furniture until it closed in March.

Tucker, of Highland Park, Ill., demolished the former Sears building at Northridge in 2005 and in its place developed a Pick 'n Save supermarket and a Menards home improvement store. Tucker then renamed the buildings Granville Station.