Heights Plaza in Natrona Heights is a 30-acre shopping center that has sat with many vacant storefronts after occupancy dwindled over the years, according to TribLIVE.com. Benbrooke Realty finalized ownership in 2022 for about $8 million. The plaza includes a Wendy's, a post office, Allegheny Health Network offices and a Dollar Bank office.
Hakimi Capital Group is a Long Island firm with a portfolio of 69 properties.
Byron Hakimi, founder and principal of Hakimi Capital Group.
Reaching Out to Current Tenants
HCG is already contacting current tenants to assess needed storefront work and retain the businesses still operating there, with some Heights Plaza tenants in need of maintenance on HVAC systems and roofs. The company also plans to market the plaza to new tenants to fill the empty spaces. A PetVet365 location is planned for Natrona Heights.
The plaza has had a space formerly occupied by Dunham's sporting goods and an empty space formerly occupied by CVS.
How the Plaza Got Here
Heights Plaza has changed hands more than once on its way to its current state. Wild Blue Management bought the shopping center in December 2003 for $20.5 million, according to a TribLIVE.com archive report. Benbrooke Realty Investment Co. later bought the plaza for about $8 million in 2022 — a deal that Allegheny County records showed covered four parcels with a combined assessed value of $7 million, per the same TribLIVE reporting.
Benbrooke planned parking, facade and sign work and intended to market vacant space, but by 2025 the main commercial strip between the Harrison Hi-Rise and the shuttered Community Market sat about 70% vacant, TribLIVE reported. The company also hoped to convert part of the plaza into housing, including a possible apartment building or senior living facility on part of the northern wing, but those plans stalled and were never finalized.
The plaza opened in November 1955, according to TribLIVE.
Local Officials React
Harrison Commissioner Jim Erb spoke about residents' needs.
Linh Vo, who has owned Nail Elegance at the plaza for 12 years, said new shops arriving under the new ownership could bring more business her way. Ken Spears, a 56-year-old Harrison resident, said he wants to see more places to eat, including a family-friendly sit-down restaurant, and hopes for a grocery store to serve Harrison Hi-Rise residents who may struggle to reach other food stores. “They're going to spend money if you give them the place to spend money,” Spears said.
Cindy Salerno, a 73-year-old Harrison resident, hopes for more retailers, including stores like Hallmark and Bath and Body Works, though she tempered her optimism. “I don't think it will be what it once was,” Salerno said. Jeanne George, a 73-year-old Tarentum resident who retired from Community Market in 2015, hopes for businesses similar to that grocery store to return, saying more shops could benefit the community and give residents a place to socialize. Harrison residents broadly hope Heights Plaza can again become a local shopping destination.
A Pattern Beyond Natrona Heights
HCG has also acquired under-occupied shopping centers elsewhere. According to the Rochester Business Journal, Hakimi Capital Group — through two affiliated LLCs — paid $6.4 million for Stoneridge Plaza in Greece, New York, a 178,588-square-foot property across five buildings that was only 40.3% occupied. The outlet also reported that HCG paid $7.5 million for Town Centre Plaza in Henrietta, New York, in September.
The strategy also tracks with a wider trend in retail real estate. A TribLIVE report on Heights Plaza's struggles cited International Council of Shopping Centers data showing more than 68,000 strip malls exist across the country and noted a rise in their use because of convenience — a dynamic that could work in the plaza's favor as HCG looks to fill its empty storefronts.
