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The owners of Cumberland Mall want to tear down part of the empty Macy's building and create a new wing lined with shops and sit-down restaurants.

There's just one problem: Macy's still owns the building.

And the future of the space remains in the hands of Macy's parent company, Federated Department Stores. It has been empty since April. Macy's and Rich's stores merged last winter.

At first, losing Macy's seemed like a blow -- a dark department store typically spells lost sales for other retailers in a mall. But Cumberland's owners see the empty space as an opportunity.

Like others of the suburban malls that began to ring Atlanta in the 1970s, Cumberland must refurbish and modernize to keep shoppers coming. So Cumberland management is launching a $63 million renovation to update the 30-year-old center's interior. Mall owners just completed a renovation in 2000.

General Growth Partners acquired the mall with...