# Pittsburgh Mills

The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, or simply Pittsburgh Mills, is a super-regional shopping center northeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in Frazer Township, along PA Route 28 near its intersection with the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The mall is the second largest shopping complex in Western Pennsylvania, and the main retail center for the Allegheny Valley with 905,667 sq ft (84,139 m$^2$) of retail space on 200 acres (0.8 km$^2$). The grand opening of the mall portion of Pittsburgh Mills was on July 14, 2005.
Pittsburgh Mills was conceived and originally developed by the Mills Corporation, now Simon Property Group. On December 30, 2006, Mills Corporation announced it sold its stake in Pittsburgh Mills to its partner in the project, Zamias Services, Inc. of Johnstown. Because of this, Pittsburgh Mills is currently the only Mills-branded mall that is neither owned or managed by Simon in the United States. Vaughan Mills near Toronto, CrossIron Mills outside Calgary, and Tsawwassen Mills in Delta are the only other Mills-type malls that are not owned or managed by Simon. To date, it is the last Mills mall built in the United States.
It is the first Landmark Mills property to feature two full-price department stores—JCPenney and Kaufmann's (now Macy's), along with a Sears Grand store, which closed in 2015.
Although the typical Landmark Mills mall is synonymous with outlet shopping, Pittsburgh Mills is the only center to offer an entire lineup of full-price retailers that otherwise could be found in a traditional enclosed mall. The reason for this goes back to 1981, when developer Zamias Services, Inc. of Johnstown, planned to develop a regional mall on the Frazer Township site. Legal setbacks and financial difficulties had postponed the project for many years, until the Mills Corporation announced in 2002 that they would partner in conjunction with Zamias to build a retail and entertainment complex on the site.
As part of a foreclosure sale in January 2017, the mall was auctioned to the holder of the mortgage on the property, Wells Fargo, for $100.
In 2018 the mall was bought for $11 million by Namdar Realty Group which has a reputation for being a "retail slumlord" that skips maintenance and paying taxes. As of 2023 Namdar was $11.5 million delinquent on taxes which if not paid by October 2 would result in a sheriff's sale of most of the property parcels. The Macy's would not be included in the sale. On September 29 Namdar paid the back taxes and the sheriff's sale was cancelled. In September 2024 Frazer township sued a group of Namdar owned and associated companies over their failure to maintain their privately owned roads. Frazer estimates it would cost the township $4.5 million to fix the dangerous driving conditions that include large potholes. Roads involved in the lawsuit are around the mall itself and also in the adjacent shopping centers that includes Lowe’s, Sam’s Club and Walmart.

## Decline

Despite opening to much fanfare in 2005, the Galleria portion of Pittsburgh Mills would never see the success that its owners had hoped. Only a year after opening, Lucky Strike Lanes closed, and was eventually replaced with two restaurants, Dingbats and Abate Seafood, and a banquet hall. Linens 'n Things closed in 2008, along with Borders Books, which closed in 2011. A NASCAR SpeedPark was originally planned to open at the mall near Dick's Sporting Goods, however this was cancelled shortly after the mall's opening and the plot of land as well as the interior mall entrance space remained vacant.
Sears Grand, which opened with the mall in 2005, also closed in 2015, ending a 10-year run.
Starting in 2014, non-retail businesses began occupying space in the mall. These included real estate offices, armed forces recruiters, pharmacy and medical supply outlets, and fitness clubs. One of the largest non-traditional tenants, ITT Technical Institute, closed its location at the Galleria in 2016 following its bankruptcy.
In May 2020, Cinemark Theaters announced that as part of the nationwide shutdown of the economy, it would not reopen the Pittsburgh Mills location after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. In January 2021, Goodrich Quality Theaters announced that they would reopen the former Cinemark in Spring 2021.
On June 4, 2020, JCPenney announced that it would close its store at Pittsburgh Mills by around October 2020 as part of a plan to close 154 stores nationwide. Champs Sports and Claire's closed in 2022. Macy's, Dick's Sporting Goods are currently the only anchor stores left.
As of now, there are only about 20 stores left, including 5 major chain stores, which include Bath & Body Works, Dick's Sporting Goods, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Macy's, Panera Bread, and T-Mobile. The food court, which once housed two full-service restaurants, a Starbucks location, 10 counter restaurants, and several push-cart vendors, is completely vacant. AT&T closed in 2023/2024. In September 2024, Panera Bread appeared to be preparing to relocate from the mall to the nearby Village at Pittsburgh Mills shopping plaza.

## Mall complex

The mall complex consists of two components. The first of these, named the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, is the 905,667-square-foot (84,139.2 m$^2$) indoor component of the complex which is divided into five themed neighborhoods corresponding to various Pittsburgh landmarks and cultural icons. One lap around the entire mall is about one mile in length, making it a popular spot for mall walkers. Two children's play areas are also located within the center, located in the cut-through corridor near the food court.
The second component is an adjacent shopping center called the Village at Pittsburgh Mills. It contains 161,168 square feet of gross leasable area (GLA) and currently 16 tenants. It was bought in 2021 by First National Realty Partners of New Jersey.
In mid-April 2015 the mall constructed a Sky Trail that occupied a corner of the food court, in hopes of generating entertainment and business. The corner previously was the site of a carousel and a staging area for small pageants and school band concerts. Mall management closed and removed the Sky Trail in fall of 2017.