T-L File Photo The former Kmart store at the Ohio Valley mall has been vacant. That’s about to change as both Dunham’s sporting goods and the Hampton Inn are coming to the mall.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Ohio Valley Mall is about to undergo a transformation, as it welcomes Dunham’s Sports and Hampton Inn & Suites.

These great names in retailing and lodging will soon be under construction in an area formerly occupied by Kmart, creating a new look and offering a wider array of products and amenities to visitors of the mall complex.

Dunham’s will open its doors in the latter half of 2019 in a nearly 50,000 square foot space attached to the north concourse of the mall.

Currently the largest Midwest based sporting goods chain, it was founded in 1937 in West Bloomfield, Michigan as a small shop called Dunham’s Bait & Tackle. It has now grown to more than 230 stores serving customers in 22 states, from Nebraska to Maryland.

Dunham’s offers a full line of traditional and team sporting goods, athletic equipment, outdoors, hunting, and fishing equipment, as well as a wide variety of active and casual sports apparel and footwear.

Between Dunham’s and AMC Classic Ohio Valley Mall 11 Theatre, an all-new Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton will be ready to welcome its first guests in the first half of 2020. The four-story hotel will offer 113 well-appointed and spacious guest rooms and suites. Whether visiting for business or pleasure, guests will always enjoy high-quality and consistent accommodations and amenities, such as a clean and fresh Hampton bed and free Wi-Fi.

They will wake up each morning to a free, hot breakfast. With more than 2,000 locations in North America, Europe, India, Hampton Inn and Suites are growing globally.

Guests to the hotel will enjoy easy access to the mall’s north concourse. The St. Clairsville Hampton Inn & Suites is being developed by Josh Baltes of Baltes Commercial Realty.

Baltes and his management team have developed dozens of hotels throughout the country. They chose the site at Ohio Valley Mall because of its regional positioning with unparalleled accessibility and visibility from Interstate 70 and National Road and the ongoing surge of commercial activity spawned by the oil and gas industry.

The Ohio Valley Mall is located on I-70, Exit 218-Mall Road, in St. Clairsville. It features more than 100 retailers, restaurateurs and hotels. Ohio Valley Mall is owned and managed in association with Cafaro Company affiliated entities, based in Niles, Ohio.