Pittsburgh Mills
 Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills | |
 | |
| Location | Tarentum, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°34′16″N 79°47′52″W / 40.57111°N 79.79778°W |
| Address | 590 Pittsburgh Mills Circle |
| Opening date | July 14, 2005 |
| Developer | Mills Corporation Zamias Services, Inc. |
| Owner | Mason Asset Management. |
| No. of stores and services | 30+ (that are actual stores) 80% vacant |
| No. of anchor tenants | 6 (4 open, 2 vacant by around October 2020) |
| Total retail floor area | 2,100,000 sq ft (200,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in Macy's) |
| Public transit access |  WCTA bus: 14J |
| Website | www |
The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, or simply Pittsburgh Mills, is an ailing 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], the main retail center for the Allegheny Valley, as well as one of the largest in the state, with approximately 2 million square feet (186,000 m²) of retail space on 200 acres (0.8 km2). King of Prussia near Philadelphia remains the largest mall. The grand opening of the mall portion of Pittsburgh Mills was on July 14, 2005.
Pittsburgh Mills was conceived and originally developed by the Mills Corporation, now Simon Property Group. On December 30, 2006, it was announced that the Mills Corporation 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 and the recently opened CrossIron Mills outside Calgary, Alberta, 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 (closed in 2014).[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 1986 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, the mall was auctioned off for $100 in January 2017. [7][8]
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, its first anchor Lucky Strike Lanes closed, and was eventually replaced with two restaurants, Dingbats and Abate Seafood, and a banquet hall.
Sears Grand, which opened with the mall in 2005, also closed in 2015, ending a 10-year run at the beleaguered mall.
In May 2020, Cinemark Theaters announced that it would not reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. [7]
On June 4, 2020, JCPenney announced that it would be closing by around October 2020 as part of a plan to close 154 stores nationwide.[8] After JCPenney closes, Macy's, Jo-Ann Fabrics, and Dick's Sporting Goods, will be the only remaining anchor stores left.
Mall complex components
The mall complex consists of two components. The first of these, named the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, is the 1,100,000-square-foot (100,000 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 1 mile in length, making it a popular spot for mall walkers.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
In mid April 2015 the mall constructed a Sky Trail that occupied a corner of the food court, in hopes of drumming up entertainment and business. The corner was previously vacant as a staging area for small pageants and school band concerts. Sky Trail was closed and removed in fall of 2017.[9]
See also
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.
- ^ "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. 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.
- ^ Rittmeyer, Brian (October 16, 2017). "Pittsburgh Mills Sky Trail leaves struggling Frazer mall, gift card announcement expected | TribLIVE". triblive.com. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
