Century III Mall’s demolition and remediation work started in early April. On a cold and windy wintry day Thursday, elected officials gathered at the West Mifflin site to celebrate a $1 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant that will aid that process and move it toward a new future as an economic generator.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, joined by local and state officials, explained that the RACP grant will reimburse hard costs and leverage additional private investments to prepare the site for redevelopment, according to a news release from his office. The grant will help retain five local construction jobs and create 150 new ones in future mixed-use development there.
The property, purchased by Moonbeam Capital Investments in 2013 and owned by Century III Mall Pa. LLC, has been vacant since 2019 after borough officials deemed it unsafe. JC Penney closed its store there in 2020.
Estimates last summer ranged up to $15 million to demolish the nearly 90-acre property and remediate it for future use.
Shawl Pryor Sr., chief operating officer since 2015 for Century III Mall Pa. LLC and chief operating officer of Moonbeam Capital Investments, said at the news conference that it will take another year to do that work, grade it and prepare it for purchase and redevelopment. The parking deck has been torn down, and crews are now working on the mall interior.
WPXI reported the grant last month. Soon-to-be state senator, Rep. Nick Pisciottano, D-West Mifflin, said the project is a massive and expensive undertaking, but he’s confident of its success if state and local officials can continue to work together.
He and others – West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly, Davis and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato – all recalled the glory days of the mall, the third largest in the country when it opened in 1979, and recalled what it meant not only to West Mifflin but also the region.
Kelly called it a “bittersweet day” because of that legacy, and both Davis and Pisciottano recalled how the mall figured into their lives growing up in the Mon Valley.
“So many of us who grew up in the area remember going to the Century III Mall over the years – It was truly a gem,” Davis said. “I’m excited to see what the future brings for this site and proud that the state has invested $1 million in funding to keep the project moving forward.”
RACP, administered by the Office of the Budget, is a reimbursement grant program that supports essential design, acquisition and construction projects across the commonwealth, according to Davis’ news release. The program funds projects with regional or multijurisdictional impact, promoting economic growth, creating jobs, increasing tax revenue and contributing to vibrant, resilient communities.
Davis noted the Century III Mall grant is one of four in the region recently announced by Gov. Josh Shapiro. The other three he cited include the Forbes Hospital Emergency Renovation Project, Clairton City School District’s Stadium Project, and the Downtown Pittsburgh Revitalization Strategy.
A full list of projects from the latest round of grants is available on RACP’s website.
Davis said the grants aim to rebuild Pennsylvania and reinvest in communities that often feel forgotten and abandoned.
“This $1 million grant is really the beginning of what will be our commitment that we revitalize this site,” the lieutenant governor, who now lives in West Mifflin, said.
Pisciottano said his family frequented the mall often, and he hopes when the site is redeveloped, his 3-year-old son will have some of the same opportunities and experiences he had at the mall. And he wants the region to again have a revenue generator.
“We want it to be a community asset that families can come to and enjoy,” he said, adding that redeveloping the site will return the property to West Mifflin’s and Allegheny County’s tax rolls and again generate revenue. The work will also have a spillover effect to adjacent communities.
He called it “a fantastic site” and pointed out that the state’s next budget for the coming year has three specific programs that will help this project and others: a sites program that will reclaim and redevelop properties like Century III, a mixed-use development program, and a pilot program specifically designed to rehabilitate malls.
Several speakers stressed the national issue with vacant malls, spurred by the surge in online shopping that has prompted brick and mortar stores to close or consolidate.
Pisciottano said Kelly had been a “dogged advocate for this project for many years” and contacted him often when he became state representative to find a way to fix the mall problem.
That’s because the path to Thursday’s congenial news conference was not always an easy one for borough officials.
West Mifflin and the mall owners faced off in court over the past year, and the borough started condemnation proceedings in July 2023 after a public hearing the month before. Moonbeam Capital had been fined for poor maintenance and lax security at the site. Police had been called numerous times for trespassers at the mall, although the owners claimed they did all they could to secure it. A teenager who entered the structure with several others fell through the roof on June 3, 2023, and was seriously injured.
In January, according to WESA, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala called the former mall “a monument to blight” and filed criminal nuisance charges and a restraining order against Moonbeam Capital.
Pisciottano said every time he drives by the mall now and sees more of it coming down, he sees progress.
Innamorato said although she grew up in the northern region of Allegheny County, she traveled to Century III Mall to shop for a prom dress. “It was a beacon for the entire region,” she said. “It can be that again.”
Demolishing the property is also critical for the health and safety of residents, Innamorato continued, and that concern dates back to when she served as a state representative with Pisciottano. They traveled to West Mifflin so she could see what the borough was dealing with.
Economic development is a major driver for the county executive’s administration, and Innamorato said early next year she and her staff will kick off a comprehensive planning process that will not just focus on the Downtown core business district but reach out to the entire county. It will include a “tremendous amount of community engagement,” she said, and that will give residents a chance to speak up about what should replace the mall.
Innamorato pledged the process will be proactive. “We’re ready to do it,” she said. “We’re ready to be sure economic growth can benefit everyone.”
Pryor started his remarks by acknowledging the mall owners and officials have “gone around and around” for the past 10 years and now is the time to begin figuring out what happens after the demolition and reclamation finishes.
He estimated it will continue for another year, totaling 18 months, until it can be graded. Pryor said his company is already talking to developers, and most likely it will involve a number of different companies, including those with expertise in constructing multifamily residences, retail businesses and light industrial developers. Redevelopment may also require some zoning changes to move it all forward and to construction.
Pryor said his company has been in contact with local, regional and national companies, but he had nothing specific to announce on Thursday.
One thing he asked is for all segments of the community – elected officials, schools, church leaders, community leaders – to remind everyone that the site is not a museum but a working site that only construction workers need to access. It is unsafe for people “to come onto the property to take some type of [mall] memorabilia.”
“I’d hate to see someone get injured so they can take a brick to have at their home,” Pryor said.
The private road alongside the mall that connects Route 885 with a bottom road with entrances to Giant Eagle and a UPMC outpatient facility among other businesses, which is pockmarked with large potholes, will remain open now, he said. His company will patch and complete some minor repairs, but the possibility exists that it may have to be closed at some point during the demolition work.
Davis said near the conclusion of the news conference that the site’s redevelopment presents many possibilities. “Everything is on the table at this point,” he said.
“Sites like these are a window into our past, but they can be the economic generators of our future,” he said. “I’m looking forward to making this site just that.”
Helen is a copy editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike. Contact her at hfallon@unionprogress.com.