Ross Park Mall
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 The entrance to the mall, 2013 | |
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| Location | Ross Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania |
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| Opening date | August 1986 |
| Developer | Simon Property Group |
| Management | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | Simon Property Group |
| No. of stores and services | 150 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,236,523 square feet (114,877 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (3 in Macy's) |
| Parking | Lighted lot |
| Public transit access |  Port Authority bus: 2, 12 |
| Website | ross-park-mall |
Ross Park Mall is a shopping mall located in Ross Township, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. The mall features JCPenney, Macy's, Nordstrom and Dick's House of Sport.
With 170 stores, Ross Park Mall is currently the sixth-largest shopping mall in Pennsylvania. An outdoor lifestyle component complements the enclosed center.
History
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The mall opened in 1986. The mall's present anchor tenants include JCPenney to the east, Macy's to the south, Nordstrom to the northwest and Dick's House of Sport to the north. Crate & Barrel and L.L.Bean anchor the lifestyle addition on the southwestern part of the mall property. When the mall was originally built, a Horne's store occupied the present Nordstrom location, Kaufmann's was in the present Macy's spot and Sears was in the current Dick's House of Sport location.
From 1987 to 1991, a McDonald's restaurant was on the first floor near the lawn mower department in the former Sears store.[1] While restaurants in department stores was not a new concept, a fast food restaurant was. Other Sears stores attempted similar undertakings with moderate success.
The Nordstrom location had a complicated beginning. It was intended to be a Gimbels but was never occupied because the Gimbels chain was sold and liquidated a year after the mall opened, resulting in a vacant anchor at the time. The spot was first opened by Horne's. It operated as Horne's from 1987 to 1994, when Federated Department Stores purchased the Horne's chain and rebranded its stores with its own regional Lazarus name. The store operated as Lazarus until Federated renamed it as Macy's in March 2005. Four months later, Federated purchased the May Department Stores Company, which operated the Kaufmann's anchor store at the south end of the mall. In March 2006, Nordstrom announced plans to build a new store on the Horne's/Lazarus/Macy's site. Following the announcement, the existing Kaufmann's soon became the current Macy's store. Demolition began on the former Macy's site and Nordstrom later opened on October 24, 2008.
During the summer of 2019, JCPenney downsized its operations to only the first floor of the building, with a few offices held on a very small portion of the second floor. The rest of the second floor remains sealed off & vacant.
On January 4, 2018, it was announced Sears would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate its brick-and-mortar format.[2] The previous Sears outpost is set to become a Dick's House of Sport in March 2024.[3]
On January 20, 2023 a GUCCI store opened in the mall, which was its first location in Western Pennsylvania.[4]
A replacement for the long-vacant Sears store arrived, that being Dick's House of Sport, in April 2024. This would be the fourth location opened by Dick's Sporting Goods that offers an immersive sports venue.[5]
Early-mid 2000's renovations and expansions
[edit]In 2000, Ross Park underwent $14 million in renovations including the construction of a play area for children near JCPenney as well as new lighting, ceilings, entranceways and flooring. Additional renovations were done in 2008 with the mall expansion, incorporating a Nordstrom department store. Some luxury retailers were also added to the mall, including Tiffany & Co, Burberry, Kate Spade New York, COACH, and Louis Vuttoin. In addition, a 65,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) lifestyle expansion completed the 2008 remodel. The expansion contained about five tenants, including two eateries.
Anchors and major stores
[edit]- JCPenney
- Macy's
- Nordstrom
- Dick's House Of Sport
- Crate & Barrel
- LL Bean
- The Cheesecake Factory
- Tiffany & Co.
- American Eagle
- Pottery Barn
- LEGO
- Apple Store
- H&M
- Gucci
- Kate Spade NY outlets
References
[edit]- ^ "North Hills Flashback: Remembering the Ross Park Mall Sears". North Hills, PA Patch. 2018-08-18.
- ^ "Ross Park Mall Sears Closing Soon". North Hills, PA Patch. 2018-01-04.
- ^ "Ross Park Mall Finds Tenant for Former Sears Location". 10 March 2023.
- ^ "Gucci store opens at Ross Park Mall". WTAE. 2023-01-23. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
- ^ Shumway, John (2023-03-10). "Dick's Sporting Goods' House of Sport to open at Ross Park Mall in 2024 - CBS Pittsburgh". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
External links
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