Two national retailers are looking to locate in Albert Lea, at Northbridge Mall and in the downtown.

The two stores are looking at two sites. The downtown site is on a city-owned parking lot on the northeast corner of Newton Ave. and College St.

City Manager Paul Sparks said he couldn’t make the name of the company public but said it was a nationally known retailer. Sparks said the company has just shown interest, but negotiations are not underway at this point.

At Northbridge, a retail business is looking to move into the space that formerly housed the Only Deals store.

Pam Folkens, the marketing director for the mall, said that the mall and the business are in negotiations over the leasing fee for the space. She expects that the negotiations could take a few more months.

She said she could not disclose any further information about the business at this time.