RETAILERS and shoppers have welcomed the impending sale of Lansell Plaza in the hope it will reinvigorate the shopping centre.Yesterday the Bendigo Advertiser revealed that Charter Hall Retail (REIT) had executed a contract to acquire Lansell Plaza from present owners Centro for $32.5 million.The deal is expected to be finalised by the end of January and REIT chief executive officer Steven Sewell said some redevelopment would take place over the next six to 12 months.Retail tenants of the centre hoped that renovations would be carried out on shops other than just the major supermarkets, Coles and Safeway.Rug Addiction owner Tamara Thompson has had her shop at the plaza for 18 years and has experienced several ownership changeovers in that time, most recently Centro in 2000.Ms Thompson said the upcoming changeover wouldn’t have much effect on small businesses unless plans for renovations were followed through.“I think the areas to work on would be a good tenant mix and a bit of a refresh of the building,” she said.Ms Thompson said the centre needed a revamp.“The sale is a good thing for the shopping centre, some fresh blood with a new outlook on the centre,” she said.Another retailer, who asked that her name not be published, said she was keen for a refurbishment of the food court, and hoped things picked up with the sale.“It’s a great little place,” she said of the Kangaroo Flat plaza. “It’s great for all the oldies at the retirement centres nearby and it’s great for the tourists coming through because they don’t have to stop in town.”The shopping centre services residents of Kangaroo Flat and surrounding suburbs, along with people from outlying towns south of Bendigo to Castlemaine.Self-confessed “oldies” Neil and Barbara Forsyth said Lansell Plaza was a handy shopping hub. “We’ve just moved from Melbourne so everything there is a lot bigger, but you have most things you need here,” Mr Forsyth said. “It’s hard going into the shops in the city, and you have to pay for parking. “I would like to see them bring an Officeworks and a Howard’s Storage World here.”