JUST IN. Century III Mall to close. (McKeesport: income, upkeep)

[PeterRabbit]

Simon has wanted to sell C-III for a long time. Even when the economy was thought to be good there weren't any takers.

I don't know the whole story on East Hills like who owned it, etc., but near the end it seemed suicidal for Zayres to build a brand new store there. It was said that Hornes had pulled out to save its reputation and would rather pay on a 99-year lease than stay there with all their customers getting robbed as soon as they left the store.

Eventually all was gone and I think it sold fairly cheap. Now there's word that Walmart and a Lowe's or something will be going in there. It doesn't seem that Century III is anywhere near as bad as East Hills became. Eventually the tables could turn and newer and better businesses will find it an ideal location... if UPMC will lease to them

[By~Tor]

"If UPMC would lease to them...."

LMAO!

Actually, I think that throughout the current economic drought, Simon will continue to hold onto it, and refurbish it so that when times look up in real estate again, they'll be well-positioned to sell it to someone who'll see the ideal location it has, in relation to all things "South-Side"....

Compared to S. Hills Village, C-III is alot easier to get to via car and, although there's no train stop nearby, bus riders sure seem to be getting there in droves, still...

The entire area down near there is primed and ready for people to come in and scoop up the cheap real estate, "flip" it, and then the area should experience a renaissance as a new middle-class suburban area, close to everything and close enough to downtown to still be viable....

Now, if they could only widen Route 51........

[Pitman]

[quote The entire area down near there is primed and ready for people to come in and scoop up the cheap real estate, "flip" it, and then the area should experience a renaissance as a new middle-class suburban area, close to everything and close enough to downtown to still be viable. quote]



Where? The real estate market of surrounding areas of Pleasant Hills, Baldwin, Jefferson Hills, South Park, Whitehall and even southern West Mifflin is not struggling. I assure you they will not being sold for pennies on the dollar to optimistic investors. I agree it is very convienent to town but plenty of middle class families are aware and already taking advantage of it.

2008 median real estate price

Baldwin Borough 114k
Jefferson Hills 152k
Pleasant Hills 136k
South Park 132k
West Mifflin (all) 74k
Whitehall 130k

compared to

Bethel Park 140k
Mt Lebanon 190k
Robinson 175k
Ross 140k

[crazycatz]

Originally Posted by mr.davon24

One of my co workers shops there often and she told me they're handing out closure slips. Any truth behind this?

But it has always been just a rumor - last I heard was they were going to turn the place into an office park.

[By~Tor]

Originally Posted by Pitman

Where? The real estate market of surrounding areas of Pleasant Hills, Baldwin, Jefferson Hills, South Park, Whitehall and even southern West Mifflin is not struggling. I assure you they will not being sold for pennies on the dollar to optimistic investors. I agree it is very convienent to town but plenty of middle class families are aware and already taking advantage of it.

I was speaking mainly to commercial real estate, not residential. The residential market down that way isn't bad, although it HAS seen a great deal of diversification and an influx of section 8 housing, over the past 5 years.

2008 median real estate price

Baldwin Borough 114k
Jefferson Hills 152k
Pleasant Hills 136k
South Park 132k
West Mifflin (all) 74k
Whitehall 130k

compared to

Bethel Park 140k
Mt Lebanon 190k
Robinson 175k
Ross 140k

Notice, how West Mifflin is at the very lowest end of the scale..... many of the other areas compared are either closer to the South Hills/Galleria areas, or otherwise are populated with people for whom Century III seems to be "too ghetto" for them to consistently support. THIS is why the mall has such a tough time attracting and maintaining high-dollar-paying clients. It's not considered "chez-chez-frou-frou" enough for the rich/upper-middle class kids, and so it is left with the lower-middle class (economic) customers, and it HAS done a good job in marketing TO that demographic... But unfortunately, when money gets tight, it gets ALOT tighter on those who have less OF it to begin with.... and so, C-III has suffered more so than our competition... NOT SAYING that South Hills Village & Ross Park aren't suffering to some degree too, but certainly not to the extent that C-III is.

What we need is increased patronage, over an extended period, by people who don't want to see it go away, like Eastland or other dead malls did.

Sure, it's always easiest to join in the chorus of naysayers and predict doom & gloom, and then just sit back as the prophecy fulfills itself.... what ntakes REAL chutzpah, is to say, "damn the torpedoes", and make conscious efforts to support those who are struggling, in order to help prop them up and encourage more NEW business to consider housing themselves there... Retailers ain't stupid; they're profit-driven, like most of us are, and if they see increased demand for their products and services at a particular mall, they'll invest more into their presence, there...



So yeah - - I'm askin' y'all to help support C-III.... help keep it a viable mall, even if not a top-tier mall... There's no reason why people from the southern Allegheny County area should have to drive all the way to Washington, Waterfront or South Hills, when they've already got a perfectly good (albeit faded) mall, right in their backyards....

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by By~Tor

I was speaking mainly to commercial real estate, not residential. The residential market down that way isn't bad, although it HAS seen a great deal of diversification and an influx of section 8 housing, over the past 5 years.



Notice, how West Mifflin is at the very lowest end of the scale..... many of the other areas compared are either closer to the South Hills/Galleria areas, or otherwise are populated with people for whom Century III seems to be "too ghetto" for them to consistently support. THIS is why the mall has such a tough time attracting and maintaining high-dollar-paying clients. It's not considered "chez-chez-frou-frou" enough for the rich/upper-middle class kids, and so it is left with the lower-middle class (economic) customers, and it HAS done a good job in marketing TO that demographic... But unfortunately, when money gets tight, it gets ALOT tighter on those who have less OF it to begin with.... and so, C-III has suffered more so than our competition... NOT SAYING that South Hills Village & Ross Park aren't suffering to some degree too, but certainly not to the extent that C-III is.

What we need is increased patronage, over an extended period, by people who don't want to see it go away, like Eastland or other dead malls did.

Sure, it's always easiest to join in the chorus of naysayers and predict doom & gloom, and then just sit back as the prophecy fulfills itself.... what ntakes REAL chutzpah, is to say, "damn the torpedoes", and make conscious efforts to support those who are struggling, in order to help prop them up and encourage more NEW business to consider housing themselves there... Retailers ain't stupid; they're profit-driven, like most of us are, and if they see increased demand for their products and services at a particular mall, they'll invest more into their presence, there...



So yeah - - I'm askin' y'all to help support C-III.... help keep it a viable mall, even if not a top-tier mall... There's no reason why people from the southern Allegheny County area should have to drive all the way to Washington, Waterfront or South Hills, when they've already got a perfectly good (albeit faded) mall, right in their backyards....

I think one of the reasons Century 3 is having problems is because malls are, in general, out of favor with shoppers and merchants. I know out here in California what I'm hearing from commerical real estate people, the indoor mall concept is dead. You may have some die hard shopper types, but for the most part, people want to get in, buy that gizmo and get out. Harder to do in a mall, which is designed for casual shopping.

Much easier to do in an "open mall"... where you have a large amount of parking, and smaller clusters of shops in buildings all around the parking area... like outlet malls.

And because the owner of the mall isn't paying to heat a large building, and paying to decorate a large building (and sad to say not paying us to clean a large building) the owner costs of managing an outdoor mall are far more favorable.

The savings of which he can pass down to merchants via lower rental costs.

[MarqueseGilmore]

Originally Posted by By~Tor

I was speaking mainly to commercial real estate, not residential. The residential market down that way isn't bad, although it HAS seen a great deal of diversification and an influx of section 8 housing, over the past 5 years.



Notice, how West Mifflin is at the very lowest end of the scale..... many of the other areas compared are either closer to the South Hills/Galleria areas, or otherwise are populated with people for whom Century III seems to be "too ghetto" for them to consistently support. THIS is why the mall has such a tough time attracting and maintaining high-dollar-paying clients. It's not considered "chez-chez-frou-frou" enough for the rich/upper-middle class kids, and so it is left with the lower-middle class (economic) customers, and it HAS done a good job in marketing TO that demographic... But unfortunately, when money gets tight, it gets ALOT tighter on those who have less OF it to begin with.... and so, C-III has suffered more so than our competition... NOT SAYING that South Hills Village & Ross Park aren't suffering to some degree too, but certainly not to the extent that C-III is.

What we need is increased patronage, over an extended period, by people who don't want to see it go away, like Eastland or other dead malls did.

Sure, it's always easiest to join in the chorus of naysayers and predict doom & gloom, and then just sit back as the prophecy fulfills itself.... what ntakes REAL chutzpah, is to say, "damn the torpedoes", and make conscious efforts to support those who are struggling, in order to help prop them up and encourage more NEW business to consider housing themselves there... Retailers ain't stupid; they're profit-driven, like most of us are, and if they see increased demand for their products and services at a particular mall, they'll invest more into their presence, there...



So yeah - - I'm askin' y'all to help support C-III.... help keep it a viable mall, even if not a top-tier mall... There's no reason why people from the southern Allegheny County area should have to drive all the way to Washington, Waterfront or South Hills, when they've already got a perfectly good (albeit faded) mall, right in their backyards....

Too Ghetto....thats just an ignorant way to say that more black people support the mall? The thing I despise about Pittsburgh and surrounding areas is the underline racism. I remember when you'd go to CIII and you'd barely see a black person but now thats all you see. All the white people go to South Hills Village now. Whenever black people or people of color go to these places and white people leave they say its "ghetto". CIII wasn't "ghetto" 20 years ago so what makes it "ghetto" now. Actually if you want to be technical about it....Waterfront is closer to more "black" neigborhoods than CIII(Homestead,Braddock,Rankin). Two blocks up from Waterfront is the so called "ghetto".

[scottrpriester]

Originally Posted by By~Tor

So yeah - - I'm askin' y'all to help support C-III.... help keep it a viable mall, even if not a top-tier mall...

How/why would you ask anyone to support it as a top tier mall with the type of stores that are left in that mall? Between the vacant store fronts and dollar and dime stores that occupy a good portion of it, it's more like a flea market than anything.

[scottrpriester]

Originally Posted by MarqueseGilmore

Too Ghetto....thats just an ignorant way to say that more black people support the mall?

Oh boy lets start the pity party. I think it's more like you wanting to think thats what it means. That's what the real racism is.

[MarqueseGilmore]

Originally Posted by scottrpriester

Oh boy lets start the pity party. I think it's more like you wanting to think thats what it means. That's what the real racism is.

How come everytime a black man states facts yall say pity party!! I only know the truth in my shoes....I don't know the truth in yo shoes!(I said "yo" cause I can) How come everytime an intelligent black man utters a word of sense "they" say its "pity" or "reverse racism"? Actually read what I said instead of taking a peice of what I said!