Wynnewood Village, one of the oldest shopping centers in Dallas and one that serves a big segment of Oak Cliff and southern Dallas, is about to get some attention.

Brixmor Property Group plans to begin making improvements to the sprawling shopping center on 65 acres just west of I-35 along S. Zang Boulevard and Illinois Avenue.

The New York-based real estate investment trust has owned the shopping center for more than 10 years, but demographics around it have changed and neighborhood groups say the center hasn’t kept up.

Surrounding neighborhoods have watched developers focus on the Bishop Arts District, just 2 miles north of Wynnewood Village. Three miles south of Wynnewood, the Wal-Mart-anchored Glen Oaks Crossing neighborhood shopping center opened in 2015 at I-35 and Ledbetter.

A plan is taking shape to spend about $30 million to make the shopping center “more relevant to the community,” said Matthew Berger, president of the West division of Brixmor. Berger said he’s been working with Dallas City Councilman Scott Griggs, whose district includes Wynnewood.

Brixmor has new management that's moving the project forward, Griggs said. "Their team has flown in three times in the last two months, and we've had other conversations," Griggs said. "We welcome their vision and redesign. The addition of new tenants will benefit all of Oak Cliff and southern Dallas."

The city may need to make some infrastructure improvements with the storm sewer system, Griggs said. The City Council will consider putting the sewer work into a bond package it's voting on next week. Then voters would vote on the bond package in November.

Architectural renderings provided by Brixmor show a theater and a fitness center.

Improvements are coming to Wynnewood Village shopping center. (Ron Baselice / Staff Photographer)

Two large tenant leases are being negotiated now, Berger said, without naming the companies. He said it will take at least another 60 days before leases are signed but said the prospective tenants are services that aren’t in the center now.

Architectural renderings provided by Brixmor show a theater and a fitness center.

“This is a project we’re ready to start tackling now,” Berger said. “We’re spending money on consultants, civil engineers and architects. We’re going to spend in the tens of millions of dollars on this redevelopment.

“It’s still a moving number,” he said, but he estimated the project will cost about $30 million.

"Everyone wants action on this shopping center, and we want to see it happen," Griggs said. The city's work could happen at the same time as Brixmor's.

Throughout north Oak Cliff, including the neighborhoods around Wynnewood Village, housing prices have appreciated as more people move in, and that's increasing demand for more shopping and services, Griggs said.

1 / 9Renderings of proposed plans for Wynnewood Village. Brixmor Property Group has been working with the city of Dallas to begin making improvements to the sprawling shopping center on 65 acres just west of I-35 along S. Zang Boulevard and Illinois Avenue.(Courtesy rendering / Gensler) 2 / 9Renderings of proposed plans for Wynnewood Village. Brixmor Property Group has been working with the city of Dallas to begin making improvements to the sprawling shopping center on 65 acres just west of I-35 along S. Zang Blvd. and Illinois Ave.(Courtesy rendering / Gensler) 3 / 9Renderings of proposed plans for Wynnewood Village. Brixmor Property Group has been working with the city of Dallas to begin making improvements to the sprawling shopping center on 65 acres just west of I-35 along S. Zang Blvd. and Illinois Ave.(Courtesy rendering / Gensler) 4 / 9The Wynnewood Village shopping center sign framed by trees photographed in Oak Cliff Saturday February 13, 2016. (Ron Baselice/ The Dallas Morning News)(Ron Baselice / Staff Photographer) 5 / 9A typical weekend at Wynnewood Village shopping center in Oak Cliff Saturday February 13, 2016. (Ron Baselice/ The Dallas Morning News)(Ron Baselice / Staff Photographer) 6 / 9A Rent-a- Center truck prepares to make a delivery at the Wynnewood Village, which is located in Oak Cliff. Photograph taken Saturday February 13, 2016. (Ron Baselice/ The Dallas Morning News)(Ron Baselice / Staff Photographer) 7 / 9Ross is one of the anchor store of the Wynnewood Village shopping center, which is located in Oak Cliff Saturday. Photographed taken Saturday February 13, 2016. (Ron Baselice/ The Dallas Morning News)(Ron Baselice / Staff Photographer) 8 / 9Fallas Paredes is one of the anchor store of the Wynnewood Village shopping center, which is located in Oak Cliff Saturday. Photographed taken Saturday February 13, 2016. (Ron Baselice/ The Dallas Morning News)(Ron Baselice / Staff Photographer) 9 / 9Shoppers leave Rainbow at Wynnewood Village shopping center in Oak Cliff Saturday February 13, 2016. (Ron Baselice/ The Dallas Morning News)(Ron Baselice / Staff Photographer)

Plans unfolding

The first change that customers will notice is the demolition of an old medical office building as part of the redevelopment, Berger said. Brixmor purchased the 24,254-square-foot building earlier this year for $1.6 million and emptied it out.

The core shopping center will get new landscaping, facade and parking areas, Berger said, and a section near an existing roundabout will be a new focal point of the shopping center.

Brixmor is still working on plans, he said, but a second phase will include the large vacant field in the middle of the center where a Montgomery Ward store once stood.

“There have been a number of plans discussed. What we do with the open field is probably part of Phase 2,” he said. “Our feeling is that whatever we do is community- and tenant-driven. Once the first phase is done, we want to do the right thing with the field in the middle.”

The Wynnewood Village shopping center sign photographed in Oak Cliff Saturday February 13, 2016. (Ron Baselice/ The Dallas Morning News) (Ron Baselice / Staff Photographer)

Existing tenants

Brixmor is also working with existing tenants to convince them to spend more money on their stores, he said.

Kroger has been in the shopping center since 1974, and the last time it was remodeled was in 2012, said April Martin Nickels, a spokeswoman for Kroger in Dallas.

“We do have future plans to make improvements to the interior of the store,” Martin Nickels said.

The shopping center has 107 tenants, and Berger said he’s not surprised because it is located near a major freeway and a densely populated area. More than 160,000 people with a household income of $50,000 live in a 3-mile radius, according to Brixmor’s data.

The 443,681-square-foot shopping center is 88 percent leased and has a second grocery anchor, El Rancho supermarket. Those two stores draw more than 20,000 customers per week, according to Brixmor. Other national tenants include Ross Dress For Less, Foot Locker, GameStop, Fallas Paredes, Dollar General and Dollar Tree.

Tops Café is a local breakfast and lunch favorite, but most restaurants are fast food chains: Burger King, Cici’s Pizza, Little Caesar’s, Popeyes, Subway and Wingstop.

Wynnewood was built in 1949, decades before enclosed malls were built. It was laid out like a village with one-story buildings and parking around the streets.

Brixmor purchased Wynnewood Village in 2002 through a previous subsidiary, New Plan Excel Realty Trust.

Brixmor owns more than 500 properties in the U.S., and it has had its own problems with multiple owners. At one point, it was a U.S. division of an Australian company. Last year, accounting manipulation was discovered and resulted in its CEO and other top execs stepping down. The company is partially owned by private equity firm Blackstone Group, which took it public in 2013.

“We are now very focused to redevelop a lot of our properties and highly motivated to work on Wynnewood,” Berger said. “We know a lot more can be done with it.”

Twitter: @MariaHalkias