Archive for February 23rd, 2009

From shuttered storefronts to near-empty corridors, hard times have hit some of the region’s largest shopping malls.

Once the pillars of local consumerism, malls from Frazer to Monroeville to West Mifflin are struggling with vacancies as the nation’s deepening recession takes its toll on retailers and shopper confidence.

At Century III Mall, one wing of the sprawling West Mifflin complex is nearly empty because of an exodus of stores. By a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette count, more than 30 storefronts are empty.

In Frazer, the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills is coping with some 37 vacancies, as the huge ranch-style mall continues to struggle to find a niche since its opening in 2005.

And in the east suburbs, Monroeville Mall, where the 1978 cult classic “Dawn of the Dead” was filmed, finds itself amidst a real-life retail horror story, with roughly 20 empty storefronts by the newspaper’s count.

Some local malls are bucking the climate, most notably Ross Park Mall, which has become an upscale mecca with stores like Nordstrom, Tiffany’s, Michael Kors and L.L. Bean. But even it isn’t immune. About a dozen stores were vacant during a recent visit, although new tenants have been named for six of them.

Experts say it’s no surprise that area malls are taking it on the chin, with retail sales slumping nationwide and big-name chains such as Circuit City, Boscov’s, KB Toys and Steve & Barry’s going bankrupt.

[ Full story available at: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09053/950837-28.stm ]