Peter McGowan is striving for consistency.

When his Waterford Realty Investments acquired Quality Center in 2007, it bought what he described as "C buildings on A-plus real estate."

But a year from now, after nearly $3 million in renovations and better access, it will be "A-plus buildings on A-plus real estate."

That, in turn, will lead to the arrival of more national tenants, he predicted.

"We're in a transitional phase right now," McGowan said Friday.

"It's absolutely getting better. This is going to be a completely different center in 12 months. You won't even recognize it."

The small property at Lincoln Highway East and Route 896 has great visibility but has been overshadowed by larger, fresher centers.

There's Rockvale Outlets across the street and Mill Creek Square (with Kohl's), Tanger Outlets and Covered Bridge mall (with Target) nearby.

"We're positioning our center to be very, very competitive in that market," said McGowan, Waterford president.

A key part of that strategy is upgrading the appearance of the property.

McGowan described the old facade as "beat, tired and run down" — a huge detriment to drawing national tenants.

"National tenants want to come to a pretty center. They never would have looked at us before," he said.

For proof of the power of the renovation project, McGowan pointed to the smaller of the center's two main buildings.

Renovations to the 14,000-square-foot structure were completed in March.

"We took the front off the building and put in new storefronts, to really open it up and bring in more natural light to the stores.

"That makes it more pleasant for customers," he said.

The structure is 60 percent vacant, with only holdovers Lancaster Bead and Lemon Grass Thai Restaurant there, McGowan said.

But a national tenant, Jake's Wayback Burgers, is opening there in August.

And lease negotiations are under way with four more national tenants, whom he declined to name. They will nearly fill the building.

At the larger main building of 48,000 square feet, renovation plans are being finalized, with work to begin later this year.

It's 50 percent vacant, anchored by Adidas and joined by King Buffet, Calico Corners, Nails Only, Ellen's Hummels and Oreck.

Again, McGowan was optimistic about the chances of attracting national tenants there, saying a chain is interested in taking more space there than Adidas has.

Jeff Herr of CB Richard Ellis is representing Quality Center in the talks with the prospective tenants.

Renovations aren't the only source of improvements coming to Quality Center.

Construction of a Chick-fil-A restaurant due west of the center, at the signalized intersection with Willowdale Drive, will make it easier to get in and out of the center, McGowan said.

"When all this work is done, it will appear like Chick-fil-A is part of the center, because the parking lots will be tied together, even though Chick-fil-A owns its own parcel," he explained.

The changes are a long time coming for Quality Center, which also has a stand-alone Waffle House.

McGowan wanted to upgrade the center sooner, but the recession made retailers cautious about adding locations.

Now that the economy is thawing a bit and Quality Center is getting a makeover, "our leasing momentum is really picking up," he said.

Conshocken-based Waterford acquired Quality Center for $9.4 million, becoming the property's third owner. Quality Center opened on the former Guernsey Barn site in 1987.

tmekeel@lnpnews.com