Century III Mall: Video Surfaces Of Abandoned, Decaying Complex

WEST MIFFLIN, PA — The extent of dilapidation at the abandoned Century III Mall was showcased over the weekend in a video posted by apparent trespassers on YouTube.

The video shows graffiti, puddling water, broken ceiling tiles and garbage strewn on the floor of the mall, whose interior closed in 2019. J.C. Penney, the mall's last remaining store that had exterior entrances and exits, closed last year.

The video was posted by Ghostly Guy Explorations, a group that says it is "traveling the country traveling the country to find the creepiest abandoned buildings and their histories."

Century III opened in 1979 and arguably was western Pennsylvania's busiest mall during its 1980s
heyday. Its decline was gradual, but the gradual loss of anchors such as Macy's and Sears had a snowball effect and prompted many other businesses to exit.

Las Vegas-based Moonbeam Capital Investments, the mall's owner, announced plans in 2019 to demolish the empty building and construct a new mixed-use development that could include offices, residential units, a hotel, entertainment sites and other uses.

But Moonbeam also is in bankruptcy and those plans appear to not have advanced.

Moonbeam's website on Monday listed the Century III property as "sold," but the last mall sale listed on Allegheny County's real estate website occurred in 2013 when Moonbeam purchased the property for $10.5 million.

Moonbeam also says the site is "the perfect property for adaptive re-use and redevelopment." Penney and Dick's Sporting Goods are still listed as anchors of the 1.3-million square-foot property.

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