CENTURY III MALL
Clairiton and New England Roads
West Mifflin, Pennsylvania
Greater Cleveland's RANDALL PARK MALL, the largest shopping center ever built by Youngstown's Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, encompassed an astounding 2.2 million leasable square feet. Next in line was Greater Pittsburgh's CENTURY III MALL, which, upon its completion in 1980, contained approximately 1.6 million.
This gargantuan, 100 million dollar shopping complex featured 3 levels of retail. It was built on an 89.8-acre tract, located 7.7 miles southeast of Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle, in the suburb of West Mifflin. A slag dump depository for steel manufacturing waste had occupied the site since the early 1900s. Known as the Brown Dump, the 200-foot-high, man made mountain had a labyrinth of coal mining tunnels running beneath it.
U.S. Steel, owner of the property, entered into a joint venture with the DeBartolo Corporation in 1976, the nation's Bicentennial year. The mall's name was established at this time and was a homage to the beginning of America's third century.
The Phase I segment of CENTURY III MALL encompassed seventy-five stores and was dedicated on October 24, 1979. The grand opening was attended by Edward J. DeBartolo, Richard Caliguiri (Mayor of Pittsburgh) and Richard A. Allen (Mayor of West Mifflin). A ceremonial ribbon was severed by the beak of the Pittsburgh Pirate Parrot.
Two anchor department stores were dedicated as part of the grand opening; a 2-level (121,300 square foot), Pittsburgh-based Kaufmann's and 2-level (173,200 square foot) J.C. Penney. The Kaufmann's unit was the chain's fourth shopping mall store and the first in the Pittsburgh region to anchor a mall-type complex.
Phase II of the mall was dedicated, with forty-six stores, on March 12, 1980. This second grand opening included appearances by members of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins teams, as well as cartoon characters Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and Scooby Doo. "Pittsburgh Reflections," by local artisan Doug Pickering, was unveiled.
A 19-bay food court, known as The Courtyard, made its debut, as did a 2-level (168,100 square foot) Montgomery Ward. A small section of the mall, known as Olde Pittsburgh, harkened back to the Steel City of 1890. This nostalgic shopping area featured cobblestone walkways and oak park benches. Its stores included The Second Cup coffee shop and Pendulum, Limited Clock Shop. With the dedication of Phase II, there were 150 operational CENTURY III stores.
A fourth anchor, a 2-level (126,000 square foot) Gimbels-Pittsburgh, welcomed first shoppers on August 1, 1980. A 2-level (231,000 square foot) Sears was officially dedicated on October 6th of the same year. At this time, CENTURY III MALL contained 170 stores and services. These included American Eagle Outfitters, Deb Shops, Docktor Pet Center, Camelot Music, Lane Bryant, Plant Plaza and Your Father's Moustache. The Associated Theatre Cinema World complex had opened, on land adjacent to the prospective mall, on July 6, 1973. The 4-screen venue was shuttered in April 1987.
Anchor store rebrandings commenced with the shuttering of Montgomery Ward, in December 1985. The Pittsburgh-based Joseph Horne Company renovated the building and opened on October 30, 1986. This location was rebranded by Columbus, Ohio-based Lazarus, which was in operation by August 1994. Lazarus pulled out of CENTURY III MALL in October 1999, with Kaufmann's setting up a Furniture Gallery soon after. This store morphed into a Macy's Furniture Gallery in September 2006. It closed for good in January 2009.
Gimbels became the second altered anchor store. The CENTURY III unit, the last in the Pittsburgh division to be shuttered, went dark on January 6, 1986. The store re-opened, under a Gimbels nameplate, on June 12th. However, it was being operated by Columbus, Ohio's Consolidated Stores Corporation. Century III Associates filed suit, claiming that this "discount Gimbels" was not a true department store, but a surplus merchandiser.
The law suit was eventually dropped and the CENTURY III Gimbels closed for good in January 1988. Framingham, Massachusetts-based Marshalls opened, in a section of upper level space, on November 11, 1993. Another Framingham-based chain, T.J. Maxx, was installed on the lower level. Marshalls closed in 1996. An Illinois-based Wickes Furniture began business, on the upper level, February 13, 1997. T.J. Maxx remained and eventually rebranded their store as a T.J. Maxx 'N More offshoot.
T.J. Maxx 'N More went dark on February 1, 2003. Its lower level space, in the old Gimbels, re-opened as a Port Washington, New York-based Steve & Barry's University Sportswear. Wickes shut down in 2004, with the store re-opening as a Pittsburgh-based Dick's Sporting Goods. Steve & Barry's polled up stakes in January 2009.
Kaufmann's was the mall's third -and final- anchor store to be rebranded. It received a Macy's nameplate on September 9, 2006. This store was the only structure at the mall to be physically expanded. During the 1980s, a 17,000 square foot addition was built on the west side of the building, increasing its area to 152,900 square feet.
The DeBartolo Corporation established full ownership of CENTURY III MALL in August 1988. Following their merger with the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, in 1996, the mall became a Simon DeBartolo Group holding. The corporate name reverted back to Simon Property Group in 1998. An 8 million dollar mall facelift had been announced in May 1996, which was complete by December.
Rivals of CENTURY III MALL included SOUTH HILLS VILLAGE (1965) {5.6 miles west, in Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair} and SOUTHSIDE WORKS (2002-2004), a lifestyle-type venue {6.1 miles northwest, in Pittsburgh proper}.
When CENTURY III MALL was built, the "
biggest is best" mentality was prevalent in American society, especially when applied to fully-enclosed shopping centers. The "CIII" complex was developed, during this time frame. It was meant to trump all retail hubs in the region with its huge roster of retailers and cavernous common areas. This was before skyrocketing energy prices made the cost of heating and cooling such enormous interior spaces prohibitive.
By 2006, CENTURY III MALL was in a downward spiral. Simon placed the property on the selling block, but no buyer was found. The Great Recession left Simon with an upside down mall mortgage. 79 million dollars was owed on a property assessed at 58 million. The Property Group defaulted on the loan in September 2011. The lender assumed ownership and enlisted Chicago's Jones Lang LaSalle as a leasing and management agent.
Las Vegas-based Moonbeam Capital Investments, Limited Liability Company bought the struggling shopping hub in May 2013. The shuttering of the CENTURY III Sears, on December 7, 2014, left the mammoth mall with just two anchors to sustain it.
By 2015, details of a prospective mall reinvention had been made public. Under said plan, the virtually vacant Sears and Wards Wing, and its adjacent parking structure, would be demolished. The existing Penney's and Gimbels buildings would be subdivided into big box-type store spaces. Lastly, freestanding restaurants, a cinema megaplex and high-rise hotel would be built.
Meanwhile, CENTURY III MALL continued to loose tenants. Macy's was shuttered in February of 2016. In mid-2017, twenty-five stores were still in business, with just eleven tenants in operation in mid-2018. J.C. Penney and Dick's Sporting Goods were the mall's only operational anchor stores. By this time, it was obvious that the prospective renovation of the mall had been abandoned.
West Mifflin officials condemned the property in February 2019, after its sprinkler system malfunctioned. All remaining inline stores were now out of business. Dick's Sporting Goods closed on March 30, 2019, leaving only J.C. Penney in operation. In April, another redevelopment plan was announced.
Under said plan, the entirety of CENTURY III MALL would be knocked down. A new mixed-use complex would be built, which would include retail, residential and office components. Unfortunately, this project was abandoned as a result of Moonbeam's September 2018-August 2020 bankruptcy and difficulties with Sears Holdings. J.C. Penny, the final operational store, went dark on October 26, 2020. With no operational tenants, CENTURY III MALL sat abandoned, shuttered and rapidly deteriorating.
Sources:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Press
The Youngstown Vindicator (Youngstown, Ohio)
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania tax assessor website
https://www.simon.com / Simon Property Group
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.bizjournals.com
https://patch.com
"Century III Mall" article on Wikipedia
