By Carol Coultas,Business Writer

AUBURN – Signs of new life are taking root at the Auburn Mall – literally.

Besides a new women’s store that is expected to open this spring, other updates include replacing all of the fake plants that filled the walkways of the mall with the real thing.

“We had Roak the Florist in here last Friday and they installed all interior live plants,” said mall manager David Lee. “It looks quite nice.”

Also new: construction crews that should be working soon to convert the empty storefront near Thatcher’s restaurant into C.J. Banks. The store is a spinoff of Christopher & Banks, a women’s career and casual clothing store that opened in the mall in the summer of 2004.

C.J. Banks caters to women size 14 and up. According to its Web site, the store offers shoppers quality clothing for casual or leisure activities that emphasizes tailoring and versatility. The division opened in 2000 with 20 stores in the Midwest and has grown to 170 stores in 29 states since. It has one other store in Maine in the Bangor Mall.

“We hope they will be under construction by mid-February,” said Lee. If all goes according to plan, the store will be open by May 1.

Other changes at the mall, which came under ownership of local developer George Schott in early December, are freshly painted entranceways and skylights.

“Basically George wants to do what he can to spruce up the place,” said Lee, who managed the mall for General Growth Properties before the $14.5 million sale. The quick improvements are what happens when a local developer owns the mall rather than a huge, out-of-state corporation, noted Lee.

“I wouldn’t have expected to see these (upgrades) under General Growth,” he said.