Rethinking the region’s empty malls

MANY VALLEY RESIDENTS can remember when traditional shopping malls were community anchors, vibrant hubs of retail, restaurants, service providers, and more. Once the third largest mall in the nation, Century III Mall in West Mifflin once had parking lots filled with shoppers of all ages, teenagers hanging out with friends at the food court and kids lined up with their parents to ride the carousel.

Those days have long been gone as many malls are now vacant, rotting buildings in desperate need of rethinking and revitalization.

Sadly, more than a dozen malls across Pennsylvania fit the description of a dead mall – either demolished entirely or lacking an anchor store that serves as main attraction to the property, PennLive. com reported in 2019.

In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, advisory firm Coresight Research predicted that 25% of America’s 1,000 malls would close by 2025.

E-commerce sales are gobbling up 16% of all retail business, and bankruptcies have stung big department stores like JCPenney and Neiman Marcus as much as smaller retailers like J. Crew and Claire’s.

As malls continue to close their doors, their very specialized buildings are left behind. Sometimes they remain vacant for years. Sometimes they get bulldozed. But sometimes they turn into car dealerships, housing units, medical facilities, college campuses, offices, or data centers.

Because the brick-and-mortar retail industry will likely not return to its former glory, large malls and shopping centers across the country are converting to mixed-use properties, including residential and medical.

Plans for Century III Mall and the former Washington Mall in South Strabane Township are in line with the redevelopment of other malls around the country.

On Wednesday, Washington County officials announced the Washington Mall would be demolished after 11 years of being shuttered. Most of the decaying mall will be torn down to make way for new retail and dining establishments. The vacant building once housed a JCPenney store, which anchored the mall, along with Giant Eagle. While most of the mall will be demolished to make way for other retail opportunities, the former Toys ‘R Us and Giant Eagle sites will be renovated, and a new recreational vehicle dealership and service center will be constructed there.

According to a press release, the demolition will be funded through the newly established Blight Mitigation and Demolition Fund.

In December, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis visited the former Century III Mall site to highlight state investment into rehabilitating the property. The site received $1 million from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to aid its demolition and redevelopment. The $1 million grant will help retain five local construction jobs and create 150 new ones in future mixed-use development. Officials are trying to get additional funding for the site because it’s a safety concern for the community.

County Executive Sara Innamorato and Davis reassured community members that what sounds like an ending, is the beginning of a new chapter for the region.

Developers have envisioned restaurants, office spaces, shopping, and potentially some industrial job creators, keeping all their options on the table.

“With the demolition of the old mall, we’re reinventing this site once again and transforming an eyesore into a sustainable economic generator, not just West Mifflin, but all of southwestern Pennsylvania,” Davis said in December.

It’s taken way too long, but these plans are a great start.

With the right plans, coordinated advocacy and momentum, the malls that dot southwestern Pennsylvania’s landscape with reminders of the past could become vibrant showcases of the region’s future.