Castle Shannon Partners LP, of Lawrenceville, Pa., has proposed building a $27 million mixed-use complex on top of a parking lot next to a light rail transit in the Castle Shannon borough of Pittsburgh. The four-story project would include 44,000 square feet of retail shops and 111 apartments. The 500 parking spaces would remain intact…St. Louis-based THF Realty plans to tear down the former 740,000-square-foot Greengate Mall in Hempfield and build a Wal-Mart Supercenter. THF is also developing another 125,000 square feet of accompanying retail space in outparcels…Developers proposing a $160 million office-retail-hotel project in Collier are seeking $25 million in tax increment financing, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. About half of the bond money would be spent to provide access from the Kirwan Heights interchange on Interstate 79 to the proposed site. The developer is a limited partnership of The Goldenberg Group of Philadelphia and Praxis Resources of Collier…Urban Outfitters is the latest tenant to sign on at SouthSide Works, being developed by The Soffer Organization on the former LTV Steel plant site. A 12,600-square-foot Cheesecake Factory is slated to open in August. Also on the roster of tenants for the $252 million mixed-use development: Anthropologie, Z Gallerie and Nectar, a body and bath products store and salon, among others. The official debut of the retail section of the mall is set for Sept. 17…Greystone Capital Partners LLC, based in King of Prussia, wants to turn a former schoolhouse in Mount Washington into a mixed-use project including retail, senior living housing and office space. It's near a transit stop that would connect the project with downtown Pittsburgh…Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato vetoed a bill that would kill retail TIFs. He feels government money shouldn't be used for retail development, but says the legislation was “not comprehensive enough” to meet the county's needs. TIFs helped finance Pittsburgh Mills, being built in Frazer, and would help fund the proposed Deer Creek Crossing mall in Harmar…The Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce is pondering the fate of the empty Montgomery Ward building in downtown Charleroi, according to the Valley Independent newspaper. In November, the Chamber acquired the Ward's and Rite Aid buildings. The Chamber has indicated it would like to divide the 90,000-square-foot Ward's into three sections: retail and professional office space, a technical college and space for unnamed non-retail uses.
THE MALLS OF PITTSBURGH
Pittsburgh's negative population growth makes the city's mall business a market share game. Ross Park Mall, South Hills, Monroeville and the Mall at Robinson lead the market in the north, south, east and west, respectively. Simon is the market dominator, though CBL & Associates is growing its position with the recent purchase of Monroeville Mall from Turnberry Associates for some $200 million. Pittsburgh Mills, set to open in 2005 on the north side, may steal business from Simon's market-leading Ross Park.
| Mall Name | Owner | 2003 Pop | Avg. HH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income | |||
| Ross Park Mall | Simon | 267,000 | $58,000 |
| Monroeville Mall | CBL | 281,000 | 53,000 |
| The Mall at Robinson | Forest City | 190,000 | 58,000 |
| South Hills Village | Simon | 310,000 | 65,000 |
| Century III Mall | Simon | 285,000 | 47,000 |
| Beaver Valley Mall | PREIT | 98,000 | 50,000 |
| Clearview Mall | J.J. Gumberg | 72,000 | 52,000 |
| Westmoreland Mall | CBL | 94,000 | 54,000 |
| Parkway Center Mall | Kossman | 653,000 | 53,000 |
| Pittsburgh Average | 250,000 | 54,000 | |
| Source: Friedman Billings Ramsey research | |||