Century III Mall

Century III Mall

Location	3075 Clairton Rd. (PA 51) West Mifflin, Pennsylvania 15122
Opening date	1979
Developer	Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation
Management	Jones Lang LaSalle
No. of stores and services	110
No. of anchor tenants	4
Total retail floor area	1,290,000 square feet
No. of floors	3 (department stores are two levels; Dick's Sporting Goods and former Steve and Barry's are one level)
Website	Century III Mall

Century III Mall is a regional shopping mall located in the southern suburb of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. It is the fourth largest shopping mall in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Opened in 1979, and remodeled in 1997, the three-level mall contains 1,290,000 square feet (120,000 m²) of retail space and approximately 110 stores (out of approximately 180 locations). Anchor retailers at Century III Mall include Dick's Sporting Goods, J. C. Penney, Macy's and Sears. It is currently being operated by Jones Lang LaSalle.

History

The planning and development of the Century III Mall began as a collaboration between the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation of Youngstown, Ohio and the Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel Corporation in the early 1970s. The name Century III was conceived at the time of the nation's Bicentennial, making light of the time at hand – the advent of America's third century. When the mall opened in 1979, it was the 3rd largest enclosed shopping center in the world. The site is a recycled former U.S. Steel industrial area, a huge slag pile once known as Brown's Dump. Slag, a waste product of steel making, had for years been transported by rail cars from the mills of Pittsburgh to this once remote valley. The pile grew until it became an artificial mountain, as hard as concrete and large enough to contain a mall (as well as many satellite stores). Because of abandoned coal mines beneath the construction site, real concrete had to be pumped underground before construction could begin. More concrete was said to be used in the filling of the old mines than was used in the mall itself.^{[citation needed]}

Decline

The gradual decline of Century III Mall can be attributed to the development of the Waterfront in nearby Homestead, which opened in 1999 and expanded over the years as well as South Hills Village, located only five miles to the west in Bethel Park. Other factors, such as the worsening economy and retailer bankruptcies, are also negatively affecting the mall. In 1999, it lost a major tenant when Federated Department Stores closed the Lazarus store due to under-performing sales. Other major stores, such as T.J. Maxx & More and Wickes Furniture, have since moved, only to be replaced by stores typically found in less productive malls. As early as 2003, Century III Mall was about 20% vacant [1], and as of 2006, it was 30% vacant [2]. Today, the mall is roughly 40% vacant with over a third of its spaces occupied by independent merchants. Specialty stores such as KB Toys, Dollar Tree, Express, Steve and Barry's, The Disney Store, Old Navy, Ritz Camera and Macy's Furniture Gallery, have closed or moved over the years, sometimes never to be filled again. The once-sprawling food court, previously home to over 20 eateries, is now limited to only eight, ranging from Charley's Grilled Subs to Subway. Ruby Tuesday, a longtime dining establishment, also closed down in December 2008. In 2010, La Hacienda opened in the former Ruby Tuesday space, although it can no longer be accessed from inside the mall. Likewise, certain sections of the mall have been permanently barricaded and blocked off to the general public, further compounding the mall's growing troubles.

Simon Property Group defaulted on its $78 million loan for Century III Mall in August 2011, ultimately transferring ownership to its lenders. The mall was on the selling block since 2006 as Simon determined that the mall didn't fit its long-term overview of the company and focused on investing in its more affluent properties in major cities. As of September 1, 2011, the mall is being managed by Jones Lang LaSalle.

As the mall continues to languish, this has also affected the mall's assessment value, which stood at $66 million in April 2009, a 40 percent decrease from the previous $112 million in recent years. Prior to that, the mall was valued at $128 million. ^[1] In June 2009, it decreased further to $58 million. ^[2]

In June 2009, Century III Mall was named one of America's most endangered malls by U.S. News & World Report.

Former anchors

• Gimbels – later split between Marshall's (upper level) and TJ Maxx (lower level), latter eventually becoming TJ Maxx & More
• Horne's – later Lazarus
• Kaufmann's – now Macy's
• Kaufmann's Furniture – later Macy's Furniture Gallery
• Lazarus – later Kaufmann's Furniture
• Marshalls – later Wickes Furniture
• Macy's Furniture Gallery – closed January 2009
• Montgomery Ward – later Horne's
• Steve & Barry's – closed January 2009
• TJ Maxx/TJ Maxx & More – later Steve & Barry's
• Wickes Furniture – now Dick's Sporting Goods

The empty anchor location that used to house Macy's Furniture Gallery & Clearance Center has a very full history. In 1979, it was built as a new location for the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward chain, which was attempting to expand its presence in the Pittsburgh area. This Wards location only lasted a few years however, and ultimately the entire Wards chain went bankrupt and was liquidated. In 1986, the location then became a unit of The Joseph Horne Company (owned by the New York City based Associated Dry Goods Corporation) which then closed its nearby Brentwood store. In 1994, the location changed names again when the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores purchased Horne's and converted the chain's locations into its own Lazarus regional nameplate. In 1998, after operating a few years as Lazarus, Federated closed several locations including the Century III store. The location then became a unit of Kaufmann's (which was the largest of the three Pittsburgh-based department store chains), who then opened a Furniture Gallery in that location. Kaufmann's was a division of the St. Louis-based May Department Stores Company. On July 18, 2005, Federated Department Stores purchased the May Department Stores Company. That purchase brought Kaufmann's under Federated ownership. On September 9, 2006, Federated converted all former May Company regional department store nameplates, including Kaufmann's, into Macy's as part of a nationwide re-branding program. That caused the Kaufmann's Furniture Gallery location to be returned once again to Federated Department Stores ownership and renamed Macy's Furniture Gallery. In January 2009, the Macy's Furniture Gallery shuttered its Century III location as a cost-cutting measure.

In popular culture

Some scenes from the 2010 romance comedy film She's Out of My League were filmed at Century III Mall.

References

1. ^ http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_622244.html
2. ^ http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09155/974693-55.stm

External links

• Century III Mall
• DeadMalls.com on Century III

Coordinates: 40°20′17″N 79°56′38″W / 40.338°N 79.944°W / 40.338; -79.944