Pittsburgh Mills
The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, or simply Pittsburgh Mills, is a super-regional shopping center northeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in Frazer Township, along PA Route 28 near its intersection with the Pennsylvania Turnpike.[1] The mall is the second largest shopping complex in Western Pennsylvania,[2] and the main retail center for the Allegheny Valley with 905,667 sq ft (84,139 m2) of retail space on 200 acres (0.8 km2). The grand opening of the mall portion of Pittsburgh Mills was on July 14, 2005.
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 Directory of the mall circa 2005. | |
| Location | Tarentum, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°34′16″N 79°47′52″W |
| Address | 590 Pittsburgh Mills Circle |
| Opening date | July 14, 2005 |
| Developer | Mills Corporation Zamias Services, Inc. |
| Owner | Mason Asset Management Namdar Realty Group |
| No. of stores and services | 25+ (about 8 are chain stores) |
| No. of anchor tenants | 6 (3 open, 3 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 905,667 sq ft (84,139 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in Macy's) |
| Public transit access |  WCTA bus: 14J |
| Website | www |
Pittsburgh Mills was conceived and originally developed by the Mills Corporation, now Simon Property Group. On December 30, 2006, Mills Corporation announced it sold its stake in Pittsburgh Mills to its partner in the project, Zamias Services, Inc. of Johnstown.[3][4] Because of this, Pittsburgh Mills is currently the only Mills-branded mall that is neither owned or managed by Simon in the United States. Vaughan Mills near Toronto, CrossIron Mills outside Calgary, and Tsawwassen Mills in Delta are the only other Mills-type malls that are not owned or managed by Simon. To date, it is the last Mills mall built in the United States.
It is the first Landmark Mills property to feature two full-price department stores—JCPenney and Kaufmann's (now Macy's), along with a Sears Grand store, which closed in 2015.[5]
Although the typical Landmark Mills mall is synonymous with outlet shopping, Pittsburgh Mills is the only center to offer an entire lineup of full-price retailers that otherwise could be found in a traditional enclosed mall. The reason for this goes back to 1981, when developer Zamias Services, Inc. of Johnstown, planned to develop a regional mall on the Frazer Township site. Legal setbacks and financial difficulties had postponed the project for many years, until the Mills Corporation announced in 2002 that they would partner in conjunction with Zamias to build a retail and entertainment complex on the site.[6]
As part of a foreclosure sale in January 2017, the mall was auctioned to the holder of the mortgage on the property, Wells Fargo, for $100.[7][8]
In 2018 the mall was bought for $11 million by Namdar Realty Group which has a reputation for being a "retail slumlord" that skips maintenance and paying taxes. As of 2023 Namdar was $11.5 million delinquent on taxes which if not paid by October 2 would result in a sheriff's sale of most of the property parcels.[9] The Macy's would not be included in the sale.[10] On September 29 Namdar paid the back taxes and the sheriff's sale was cancelled.[11]
Decline
Despite opening to much fanfare in 2005, the Galleria portion of Pittsburgh Mills would never see the success that its owners had hoped. Only a year after opening, Lucky Strike Lanes closed, and was eventually replaced with two restaurants, Dingbats and Abate Seafood, and a banquet hall.[12] Linens 'n Things closed in 2008, along with Borders Books, which closed in 2011. A NASCAR SpeedPark was originally planned to open at the mall near Dick's Sporting Goods, however this was cancelled shortly after the mall's opening and the plot of land as well as the interior mall entrance space remained vacant.[13]
Sears Grand, which opened with the mall in 2005, also closed in 2015, ending a 10-year run.[14]
Starting in 2014, non-retail businesses began occupying space in the mall. These included real estate offices, armed forces recruiters, pharmacy and medical supply outlets, and fitness clubs. One of the largest non-traditional tenants, ITT Technical School, closed its location at the Galleria in 2016.
In May 2020, Cinemark Theaters announced that as part of the nationwide shutdown of the economy, it would not reopen the Pittsburgh Mills location after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.[15] In January 2021, Goodrich Quality Theaters announced that they would reopen the former Cinemark in Spring 2021.
On June 4, 2020, JCPenney announced that it would close its store at Pittsburgh Mills by around October 2020 as part of a plan to close 154 stores nationwide.[16] Champs Sports and Claire's closed in 2022. Macy's, Jo-Ann Fabrics, and Dick's Sporting Goods are currently the only anchor stores left.
As of February 2023, there are only about 20 stores left, including 6 major chain stores, which include AT&T, Bath & Body Works, Dick's Sporting Goods, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Macy's, Panera Bread, and T-Mobile. The food court, which once housed two full-service restaurants, a Starbucks location, 10 counter restaurants, and several push-cart vendors, is completely vacant.
Mall complex
The mall complex consists of two components. The first of these, named the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, is the 905,667-square-foot (84,139.2 m2) indoor component of the complex which is divided into five themed neighborhoods corresponding to various Pittsburgh landmarks and cultural icons. One lap around the entire mall is about one mile in length, making it a popular spot for mall walkers.[17] Two children's play areas are also located within the center, located in the cut-through corridor near the food court.
The second component is an adjacent shopping center called the Village at Pittsburgh Mills. The Village contains a total of 925,000 square feet (85,900 m2) of store space and over 30 retailers.
In mid-April 2015 the mall constructed a Sky Trail that occupied a corner of the food court, in hopes of generating entertainment and business. The corner previously was the site of a carousel and a staging area for small pageants and school band concerts. Mall management closed and removed the Sky Trail in fall of 2017.[18]
References
- Lindeman, Teresa F. (April 3, 1989). "New mall mills about for unique identity". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
- List of shopping malls in Pennsylvania
- Green, Elwin (December 30, 2006). "Pittsburgh Mills developer turns over control to Johnstown's Zamias Services Inc". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Stouffer, Rick (December 30, 2006). "Mills out of Galleria complex". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- "Kaufmann's, JCPenney will anchor Pittsburgh Mills". Pittsburgh Business Times. July 22, 1988.
- Tinsley, M. Ferguson (July 17, 1986). "Off again, on again Frazer mall plan still faces hurdle". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- "Foreclosed mall once valued at $190M is auctioned for $100". WTOP News. January 18, 2017. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
- Anderson, Tom (January 21, 2017). "Entire Pittsburgh mall sells for $100—all 1.1 million square feet of it". CNBC. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
- McEneany, Ciara; Hagen, Neena (September 10, 2023). "'No room for Namdar': Pittsburgh Mills owner has a record of leaving U.S. shopping centers in disarray". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
- Stepler, Kellen (July 25, 2023). "Embattled Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer could go to sheriff's sale". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
- Stepler, Kellen (September 29, 2023). "Sheriff's sale of Pittsburgh Mills mall canceled". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- Schooley, Tim (August 28, 2006). "Second entertainment anchor pulls out of Pittsburgh Mills". Pittsburgh Business Times.
- https://archive.triblive.com/news/speedpark-hits-brakes-2/
- Ashe, Braden (January 19, 2015). "Sears clears out of Pittsburgh Mills mall". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- Lee, Madasyn (May 11, 2020). "Cinemark at Pittsburgh Mills mall closing". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- Goodwin, Jazmin. "JCPenney is closing 154 stores this summer". CNN Business.
- "Pittsburgh area mall with walker programs". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 6, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- Rittmeyer, Brian (October 16, 2017). "Pittsburgh Mills Sky Trail leaves struggling Frazer mall, gift card announcement expected". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
