Century III: Thousands Could Flood Mall For 'Final' Visit

PITTSBURGH, PA - With Century III Mall facing a bleak future, the virtually deserted facility could be crowded again Friday evening. More than 2,500 people have expressed interest on Facebook in attending a ‘final meeting and walk-through’ before the mall’s scheduled June 4 sheriff’s sale.

The event is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and does not include access to any of the mall’s closed-off areas. “We hope you will come down, meet your fellow residents and reminisce of days long gone,” a message on the Facebook walk-through page states.

Notices from Allegheny County Sheriff William Mullen have been posted at mall entrances indicating the facility will be sold Monday at the Allegheny County Courthouse. That doesn’t necessarily mean the mall will be shuttered, though.

In January 2017, Wells Fargo bought the struggling Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer for $100. The mall is still open.

The massive Century III, which has three levels and 1.2 million square feet of retail space, opened in 1979 and was packed during its heyday in the 1980s.

But the mall fell on hard times and was purchased in 2013 by Moonbeam Capital Investments of Las Vegas for just $10.5 million. Moonbeam pledged to fill the mall with more national chain stores and restaurants, add a state-of-the-art movie theater with stadium seating and have more out-parcels.

Two years later, a plan to dramatically reconfigure the mall surfaced on Moonbeam's website. The proposal called for converting the mall into more of an outdoor complex and adding a theater, hotel and medical offices.
But the plan abruptly was pulled from the site and Moonbeam officials haven't discussed their intentions since.

The mall has lost anchors Sears and Macy's in recent years and many of its smaller storefronts are empty. This recent Facebook video shows just how desolate Century III has become:

Photo by Eric Heyl/Patch staff.

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