The excitement may be building, but details are under wraps as the former Sears store at a London shopping mall undergoes a major refit.

Crews from construction giant EllisDon are on site, gutting the interior of the former anchor department store that shut down in February 2014 in Masonville Place.

Cadillac-Fairview, the mall’s Toronto-based owner, took out a permit June 11 for $2.5 million in interior renovations, said Peter Kokkoros, the city’s deputy chief building official.

Drawings submitted for the permit show the two-storey Sears space is being carved up into smaller components, he said.

“There won’t be one big store. It looks like a bunch of individual tenant spaces,” Kokkoros said.

He said none of the tenants was identified but one appears to be a restaurant space.

The plans include minor modifications to the building’s exterior, including the glass frontage facing Richmond Street.

Peter Whatmore, a senior vice-president with commercial realty firm CBRE, said the site plans he’s seen indicate multiple tenants in the former Sears store.

He said some tenants would be moved from other parts of the mall and some would be new.

Whatmore said he wasn’t surprised the large space is being carved up because major retail chains that need large floor spaces are moving out to big-box stores.

“They may not want to be in a mall environment,” he said.

Masonville Place management couldn’t be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for Cadillac-Fairview issued a brief statement saying the company “is always looking for opportunities to update the merchandising mix at our shopping centres,” and that it looks forward “to sharing our plans for the redeveloped Sears space when appropriate.”

The only clue for curious shoppers are posters on the doors of the construction site, reading “The Excitement is Building.”

There was early speculation that American fashion retailer Nordstrom might take over all or part of the Sears space in Masonville. Nordstrom has opened stores in Ottawa and Calgary and has plans to open four more in Vancouver and Toronto.

But there’s no indication the retailer is coming to Masonville.

Earlier this year, the 30-year old shopping mall suffered another blow when the Target department store shut down as the American chain pulled out of Canada less than two years after it entered the market.

Target’s loss left the Hudson’s Bay store and the Silver City cinema as the remaining anchor tenants.

Kokkoros said he’s not aware of any work going on in at the former Target store.

London-based GoodLife Fitness indicated in January it might acquire some former Target locations, but so far the company has made no announcements.

hank.daniszewski@sunmedia.ca