Westmoreland Mall

Westmoreland Mall

Location	Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Opening date	1977
Developer	Adam Eidemiller, Inc./The Goodman Company
Management	CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
Owner	CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.
No. of stores and services	200+
No. of anchor tenants	6
Total retail floor area	1,280,566 square feet (118,968.5 m2)
No. of floors	2
Parking	6,436 spaces (covered and uncovered)
Website	Westmoreland Mall

Westmoreland Mall, owned and operated by CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., is a two-level, enclosed shopping mall in the municipality of Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. It was completed in 1977, extensively renovated and expanded in 1993-1994, and includes The Bon-Ton, J. C. Penney, Macy's, Macy's Home, Old Navy and Sears as anchor tenants and over 200 retailers such as Hollister Co., American Eagle Outfitters, Charlotte Russe, Express/Express Men, New York & Company, Ann Taylor LOFT, Talbots/Talbots Petites and Wet Seal. It contains 1,280,566 square feet (118,968.5 m²) of retail space on 103 acres (0.4 km²), making it the third largest shopping complex in Western Pennsylvania.

Surrounding the mall are over 25 retailers and dining establishments, including the Westmoreland Crossing strip shopping center, which opened in 1978 and features Carmike Cinemas, Dick's Sporting Goods, Michaels Arts and Crafts and T.J. Maxx. A variety of restaurants and outparcels such as Ground Round, Dollar Bank and Pepperwood Grille completes the mall complex.

It is located on the eastern side of the Pittsburgh metroplex on the heavily traveled U.S. Route 30 corridor. Adjacent to Westmoreland Mall, many big box retailers and restaurants can be found along the U.S. Route 30 and Donohoe Road retail area, which is the biggest concentration of retailers and other commercial businesses between Monroeville and Altoona.

History

Prior to the development of Westmoreland Mall, the immediate area surrounding the site, known as Miller's Woods, was nothing more than acres of wooded land. A handful of small businesses such as the former Winky's Restaurant (now Casual Male XL and Obee's Soups, Salads & Subs) were located on U.S. Route 30. At the time, residents shopped in Greensburg's business district, or at Greengate Mall, west of the city. As the demand for more retail grew in the area, Kaufmann's and Sears approached the Rouse Company, owner of Greengate Mall, about the possibility of opening a new location at the facility. For some reason, Rouse didn't want to invest in the development to bring the stores in. Therefore, that opened the door to a new mall in the area.

Proposal

In the mid-1970s, Adam Eidemiller, Inc., the development company that owned the land at the time, initially proposed building a motel on the former farmland, but eventually decided that it was not the best use of the property. The proliferation of shopping malls during the 1970s led Eidemiller to consider developing a regional mall on the site. It contacted St. Louis-based May Department Stores Company, parent of Pittsburgh-based retailer Kaufmann's about building a mall with the department store as an anchor but was rebuffed. Later, a joint venture between it and the Goodman Company was formed, which already had experience with developing extensive projects, including Granite Run Mall near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Construction would begin in 1975, and Kaufmann's became the first store to open at the complex in late 1976.

Opening

In early 1977, the 850,000-square-foot (79,000 m²) Westmoreland Mall officially opened its doors with Kaufmann's and Sears as the anchor stores and 89 other retailers. Special events at the new mall included a visit by Mr. McFeely of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. The mall's South Annex (now Westmoreland Crossing), anchored by Shop 'n Save, opened in 1978. As the years passed, the mall continued to grow, with the addition of Troutman's Department Store (later replaced by Pomeroy's and The Bon-Ton) and 80,000 square feet (7,000 m²) of additional retail space in 1979. By the mid-1980s, the convenience center at the South Annex was constructed, with 40,000 square feet (4,000 m²) of space for 12 to 15 new stores and restaurants. The rapid growth of Westmoreland Mall helped lead to the 2001 closure of nearby Greengate Mall, which had never undergone a major renovation or expansion since it opened in 1965 and was anchored by J. C. Penney (which left Greengate for Westmoreland in 1994), Horne's (later Lazarus) and Montgomery Ward.

Renovation and expansion

In order to keep up with retail trends, Westmoreland Mall went through a $33 million renovation and expansion project, which began in 1993 and ended with the grand opening of JCPenney, which relocated from Greengate Mall, in 1994. The expansion also brought another 66,000 square feet (6,100 m²) for 20 new retailers and a spacious food court, as well as a three-level parking garage and a new entrance. The last major mall addition took place in 1999, when Carmike Cinemas opened a new 15-screen stadium-style seating movie theater abutting the annex. The former 4-screen movie theater and a couple of adjacent shops at the mall were converted into Kaufmann's Home, which has since been renamed Macy's Home.

File:Westmorelandmallcorridor.jpg

U.S. Route 30 (Westmoreland Mall) commercial corridor to the east of Greensburg

Historical facts

• 60 years before the site became a mall, its natural beauty and attraction led it to become a camp site for the likes of Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison and naturalist John Burroughs.

• Building the $35 million mall (in 1977) took 5.5 million pounds of steel, 9.2 acres (37,000 m²) of roof and enough electrical wiring to reach from Greensburg to Harrisburg.

• Original tenants still at the mall since its 1977 opening include Borders Express (formerly Waldenbooks), Claire's, f.y.e. (for your entertainment, formerly Sam Goody, Camelot Music and Record Town, which had three different locations at the mall), GNC, Kamps Shoes, Kay Jewelers (formerly DeRoy), The Limited, Macy's (formerly Kaufmann's), Men's Wearhouse (formerly Coach House), Plumb Gold (formerly Earring Tree), RadioShack, Sears, Spencer Gifts, Sterling Optical, Things Remembered, Tobacco Village, Trombino Music Center (formerly Lowrey Music) and Zales Jewelers.

• In January 2003, Westmoreland Mall was sold for $112.8 million to the Tennessee-based CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.

Anchor stores

Currently, Westmoreland Mall features four major department stores including The Bon-Ton, J. C. Penney, Macy's and Sears, who essentially own their own buildings and operate at the mall under a long-term lease. Two junior anchor stores also occupy the mall under long-term leases, including Macy's Home, located on the lower level near Macy's, and Old Navy, which is located near Sears on the lower level.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. was located a mile west at the site of what is currently known as Davis Center. It was built in the 1960s after having relocated from its original building in Downtown Greensburg. AAMCO Transmissions was once the location of Sears Auto Center. At the time of the mall's development, the new Sears store would be twice as large as its predecessor, and offer a larger selection of merchandise on two levels. Pittsburgh-based retailer Kaufmann's never had a presence in Westmoreland County until the mall's opening in 1977.

J. C. Penney has been in Greensburg since the early Twentieth Century, originally located on South Pennsylvania Avenue. It would relocate to the former Greengate Mall a few years following the mall's opening in 1965. Unable to resolve differences between it and the Rouse Company, it moved to Westmoreland Mall in 1994.

Anchor store square footage

Westmoreland Mall

• The Bon-Ton (99,800 sq ft (9,270 m²))
• J. C. Penney (126,994 sq ft (11,798 m²))
• Macy's (168,341 sq ft (15,639 m²))
• Macy's Home (24,370 sq ft (2,264 m²))
• Old Navy (20,257 sq ft (1,882 m²))
• Sears (200,071 sq ft (18,587 m²))
• Vacant anchor, formerly Steve & Barry's (33,118 sq ft (3,077 m²))

Westmoreland Crossing

• Carmike Cinemas (56,255 sq ft (5,226 m²))
• Dick's Sporting Goods (51,000 sq ft (4,700 m²))
• Michaels Arts and Crafts (25,000 sq ft (2,300 m²))
• T.J. Maxx (25,202 sq ft (2,341 m²))

Dining

Westmoreland Mall is home to approximately 20 dining establishments, ranging from fast food to fine dining. Many of the restaurants can be found in the food court, in addition to establishments located throughout the mall. Several sit-down restaurants also surround the mall.

The food court, located on the upper level near J. C. Penney, opened in 1994 as part of the mall's renovation and expansion project. In the center of the food court, an elevated dining area is open to diners.

External links

• Westmoreland Mall Internet Site