Century 3 and the Declining South Hills (Pittsburgh, Brentwood: for sale, to buy, school)

[booyatribe]

Century 3 Mall was one of the nicest malls in the Pittsburgh Area about 20 years ago. I would like to see it rebound instead of close. The mall does need to get better security to run off those just looking for trouble instead of shop and have fun. The mall is also a bit too dark and depressing. It needs better lighting and some stores to replace those empty storefronts. Also if the mall closes, it will end up affecting business surrounding it, i.e the stand alone stores like Best Buy, Toys R Us and the resuraunts like Olive Garden, Pizza Hut, Steak and Shake, Quaker Steak, etc. If the mall closes the entire area will become a depressed slum.

[PeterRabbit]

Originally Posted by booyatribe

Century 3 Mall was one of the nicest malls in the Pittsburgh Area about 20 years ago.

Thank you for the laugh!

[scottrpriester]

Originally Posted by PeterRabbit

Thank you for the laugh!

What's funny about that, it not only was one of the nicest in this area, it was a premiere mall for the entire country at one time.

[ditchdigger]

I remember it being nice. When I lived in the south hills, that was "The Mall".

I haven't been out that way for a while. Is Rt 51 still "Levitsky Blvd"?

Maybe they could buy it and put a for rent sign up. At least that way it would just blend in...

[Copanut]

When it was first built, the Century III mall was first class, I remember going there lots of times.

[saturdayskids]

Originally Posted by booyatribe

If the mall closes the entire area will become a depressed slum.

Is this a joke? No it wont. If ANYTHING, if the mall closes and is torn down, the area might be nice again

[By~Tor]

Let's not forget, this is the 30th Anniversary Year for C-III . . . . there's many vents scheduled between now & October, and if more and more people come out to SUPPORT the mall instead of just reminiscing about its glory years back when malls were all the rage, then maybe it can have a rebirth, much like the entire city of Pittsburgh has done, not once, but twice....

[JoeP]

The local area that supported the mall is not the same as in 1979. Even then, the Mon Valley dependent mall was opening as the area was about to get hit the hardest.

The mall, was the "big" mall, and maybe it was the nicest when it opened, but was eclipsed by SHV and Ross Park long ago. South Hills Village really is the South Hills mall anyway so the title of the thread is misleading.

The area would definitely improve if the mall were put out of its misery.

Best Buy, Home Depot and other big box stores are destination stores, they don't need malls and many are located outside of close proximity to malls.

[Geeo]

It's kind of ironic that the downtown areas of McKeesport, Homestead and Braddock were hurt when Eastland Mall opened in N. Versailles in the early 60s, then Eastland was hurt when Monroeville Mall opened in the mid-60s, and now the Waterfront in Homestead took some business away from Century III. It's like it went in a big circle in the span of 45 years.

[Hotlanta2]

Originally Posted by saturdayskids

Is this a joke? No it wont. If ANYTHING, if the mall closes and is torn down, the area might be nice again

No they won't tear it down. And that's why it will look like sh*t in the future. Hopefully it won't come to that, but I'd say that the writing is on the wall.
If they tore it down, then they could at least replace is with some grass. But that will never happen, like usual, it will sit and rot like all the rest of the empty buildings here.
Grrrrr - the fact that so many places are left vacant and are allowed to fall into disrepair is a major problem for this area!
The roads while windy and mostly unsigned can be a pain, the weather can sometimes make you sad, and the area lacks retail & restaurants. All of that is nothing to freak out about. But - BUT - the way so many places are allowed to sit and rot - now THAT gets my goat.