FARMINGTON – Mt. Blue Shopping Center’s new owners, Michael Jacobson and King Weinstein, are looking for new tenants for a vacant store there, and a number of national stores have expressed interest.

In the few weeks since their November purchase, Jacobson said, they’ve seen a great deal of interest from national companies. The two are considering the possibility of bringing two businesses into the 36,000-square-foot retail space formerly home to Ames and then Bob’s Discount.

“We’re trying to do what would be the best fit for the area,” Jacobson said.

Jacobson and King purchased the property from Investment Holdings in November, property manager Renee Targett, of nearby Coldwell Banker Sandy River Realty, said Friday. It’s now owned by their company, Tejas Corp., Jacobsen said.

Investment Holdings has owned the property since 2002, Targett said. Although the selling price is not yet publicly available, Jacobson divulged that the asking price for the property was $3.3 million.

“We felt (the purchase) was a prudent business decision – a wise investment,” Jacobson said. “It fits in with the kind of properties we’re placing in our portfolio, and we feel that it’s a captive market, in that there’s potential for growth in the Farmington area.”

He and Weinstein, who run King Realty with offices in Old Orchard and Falmouth, plan on keeping their current tenants happy, while finding a new business to fill the space.

“We’re basically trying to bring the shopping center into the 21st century,” Jacobson said, “and to give the center a face-lift.”

They hope to make changes to the shopping center’s facade and spiff it up with some new design once they’ve found tenants for the Ames space, which is configured in such a way it could be broken into two smaller stores, Jacobson said.

“It’s our intent to work with all our tenants and get their input (on what’s needed) as well.” Jacobson and Weinstein are hoping for input from the community and have also been speaking with Alison Hagerstrom of Greater Franklin Development Corp., Jacobson said.

Targett, who managed the property when it was owned by Investment Holdings, will continue in that position under Tejas Corp., he said.

For her part, Targett thinks an office supply store would fit in well. Many national corporations hesitate to open stores in Farmington, she said, because the town’s actual population is so small. “But they have to realize that people come from Stratton to shop here,” she said. “There are a lot of tourists, and we do have a huge traffic count, and it’s the main highway,” she said. “There’s a big demand.”

Targett expects the new owners will be able to fill the spot more readily than she could. “That’s what they do,” she said. They have contacts in the industry, she said.

The center’s tenants seem excited about the prospect of change, too. Bill Armitage, Aubuchon Hardware’s assistant manager, said he hopes the new owners will address some of the problems that need to be fixed on the property, like the outdated lighting.

Finding a new business to fill the vacant space and snazz up the place is only a good thing. “I hope he’ll take some pride in what he has, you know? Because that would only make business better, you know,” Armitage said.