MIAMI TWP., Montgomery County — State and local officials plan to spend $3.3 million upgrading the road network southeast of the Dayton Mall interchange at Interstate 75 — the latest in more than $20 million in investment around the mall.

The roadway projects are part of the township’s efforts to ensure the 40-year-old mall remains vital to the community’s future, despite recent attention paid to Austin Landing, the new $150 million mixed-use development further south on I-75.

“We don’t want everything going to Austin Road. That’s not our plan,” Miami Twp. Trustee Mike Nolan said.

Improvements around the mall are to include sidewalks and other upgrades easing pedestrian access to the area.

Across Ohio 741, a $9 million Menards store is under construction.

“They’re a regional retailer, which will draw in regional retailers,” said Greg Snyder, assistant planning and zoning director in Miami Twp.

Dick’s Sporting Goods and DSW Shoe Warehouse are opening new stores, and a Hampton hotel is under construction where a Circuit City once stood.

Occupancy of the 1.4- million-square-foot mall is at 96 percent, Snyder said.

“The majority of the mall is occupied and has been occupied,” he said. “I don’t think people realize that.”

This summer, the Ohio Department of Transportation plans to hire a contractor to complete about $1.6 million in road, sign and signal improvements around the former Dayco building and an array of hotels, stores and restaurants, east of Interstate 75 and south of Ohio 741. The state has already spent $1.3 million, including more than $1.2 million on right-of-way acquisition.

Miami Twp. and businesses, including Frisch’s and Lofino Properties, plan to build a connector road continuing Prestige Place into the parking lot of Southland 75 shopping center, officials said.

Later this year, KHN is moving at least 300 jobs from other area offices to the building at 1 Prestige Place, just east of Interstate 75 and south of the mall interchange. The city of Miamisburg has agreed to buy the land beneath the building for $2 million and lease it back to KHN to help offset up to $8 million for acquisition and renovation. KHN also owns land on the north side of the Austin Landing development.

The Southland 75 shopping center currently fronts on Ohio 741. The township rezoned the shopping center area to improve access to stores, including Discount Tire and Cub Foods.

Lofino officials said they had no immediate plans to redevelop the shopping center, in part because of the lack of financing options for commercial projects.

“The atmosphere right now. ... It’s difficult,” said Michael Lofino, chief operating officer of Lofino Food Markets.

Last week, Miami Twp. trustees voted to support agreements with property owners, including Lofino and Frisch’s, to pay for the improvements. The agreement calls for the township to finance its share of the project with property tax revenues from the improvements that would otherwise go to the township’s general fund.

In July, the state is expected to hire a contractor to continue Prestige Place out to Ohio 741. A Goodyear store will be razed. The state project is designed to improve safety. Other improvements, including a left-turn signal on Ohio 725 onto Prestige Plaza Drive, are designed to reduce high accident rates found in a 2008 traffic study of the road network.

“We can’t forget about the Dayton Mall area,” Nolan said.