ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Speculation continues to grow around the Ohio Valley about what business the former Sears location inside of the Ohio Valley Mall will soon house.

In January, a barrier was placed to cover up the former Sears location in anticipation of remodeling.

Joe Bell, director of communications for the mall’s parent Cafaro Co., said that although nothing is finalized, he believes the mall is very close to announcing what will be coming to the large, empty space.

“We have made progress, but we don’t have a finalized deal yet on that. But there are a couple things percolating there,” Bell said.

He added that although a contract has not been signed, he believes that he will be able to shed some light on the future of the location sooner than later.

“I believe at this point we’re talking about multiple tenants,” he said when asked if the former Sears would house one business or several.

Bell said that in the meantime, the mall has already begun preliminary work to prepare the location for when the contracts are signed.

Bell did note that although he is optimistic about the future of the location, contracts of this magnitude do take time and it would be unwise to try and create a timeline at this stage.

He previously said, “Sometimes deals come together quickly, so you never know, but you’d be foolish to put a timeline on it right now. Deadline is sort of artificial in the real estate business, so we try not to say this deal must be done by this date because that doesn’t happen.”

He reiterated that position last week when asked about the progression of the deal for a future tenant.

“Timelines don’t really come into play until you have an actual finalized deal and everyone signed on the dotted line. That’s what usually defines a timeline for any kind of building or renovation, and then ultimately to when it opens and goes into business,” he said.