Once a bustling retail hub in West Mifflin, Century III Mall is steadily reduced to rubble, and demolition is anticipated to be completed in a year. This comes after Pennsylvania state officials, including Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, declared a $1 million investment in the project. According to a report by WTAE, this financial boost will secure five existing construction jobs and potentially add 150 new ones.
Lt. Gov. Davis emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, "While this million dollar grant is, I think, really the beginning of what will be, our commitment to making sure that we revitalize this site, that we help move not just West Mifflin, but the entire Mon Valley forward," as reported by WTAE. In a move to potentially improve traffic safety, Sawl Pryor, CEO of Moonbeam Capital, the company that owns the Century III Mall site, indicated that the road running alongside the former mall will soon be reevaluated.
Concurrently, as CBS News Pittsburgh reports, state and local leaders, including Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and state Senator-elect Nick Pisciottano, have gathered to discuss further investment plans. This follows earlier efforts by Pisciottano, a state representative, to secure funding for the site's redevelopment. These announcements come amidst a history of legal strife between Moonbeam and West Mifflin borough, culminating in the property's condemnation last year and a judge's order to expedite the derelict building's razing.
Alongside these procedural developments, the site has not been without its share of incidents. In what appears to have been willful defiant to public safety concerns, a fire in April 2023 was investigated as arson, and several trespassing cases, including a YouTube-filmed break-in and a teenager's injurious fall while filming a TikTok, were reported, as detailed by CBS News Pittsburgh. These occurrences underscore the urgency and necessity for the ongoing demolition and plans for the property.
Looking to the future, Pryor has expressed Moonbeam's intention of turning the site into a mixed-use development, saying, "We look for something that will be one, a job creation. We're looking for something that will become a live, work, play type of environment that will allow for some type of retail, restaurants, office use, office that can provide support to the retail and the restaurants," he said, per WTAE. With the combined visions of state officials and Moonbeam Capital, the once-iconic Century III Mall site is poised to enter a new chapter of revitalization and economic potential.
