Century III Mall Now Desolate, Decaying

WEST MIFFLIN, PA — Century III Mall 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. The mall's interior closed in 2019 and its last anchor store, J.C.Penney, departed in 2020.

Today, it's a haven of graffiti-covered plywood that covers its former entrances. The vast parking lots are eerily empty. The roads that form a circle around the former retail complex are pothole-strewn.

It's a mess.

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

bankruptcy, the plans didn't advance and there is no current reference to Century III on the company's website.

In December, Century III Mall was one of the sites the Pittsburgh Young Preservationists Association named as a target for its 2022 preservation efforts.

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