Two months ago Howard County officials were swinging hammers into a blank white wall inside an empty store at the Mall in Columbia to break ground for the mall's expansion.

Now, a crane is swinging above the mall as construction workers begin the process of building a new 75,000-square-foot retail center. On Monday, trucks and construction equipment were buzzing in the parking lot behind L.L. Bean working on the site.

Read more about the expansion here - "New Stores, Restaurants for Mall Redevelopment"

The major construction in developing the new center won't occur until after the L.L. Bean store is demolished, a process which is going to start this summer, said mall officials at the January groundbreaking. A manager at L.L. Bean said the store would close on May 31.

After that, the construction of the new buildings is expected to be completed by the fall, according to Jim Whitcome, vice president of development for General Growth Properties, the mall's owner.

Katie Essing, the mall's general manager, said in a January interview that announcements on what new stores and restaurants would move into the space would be made after leases are signed.

As of Tuesday, a mall spokesperson said there are no announcements regarding who will move into the space.

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