West Mifflin Borough Council to vote on future of Century III Mall next week

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — It stood for decades as a landmark in the South Hills, but for the last four years, the Century III Mall has sat abandoned.

The deterioration isn’t limited to just the mall. Moonbeam, the company that owns the mall, also owns the roadway connecting Clairton Boulevard and Clairton Road, which is riddled with deep potholes.

Drive down the cut-through road to Route 51 and you’ll find that some of the potholes are hard to miss.

“It’s really hard to dodge them,” said Lynn Rinella of Pleasant Hills. “They just keep getting worse and worse. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that there are some potholes that will swallow you whole.”

The road runs along the now-abandoned Century III Mall.

West Mifflin Borough Councilman Dan Davis and Mayor Chris Kelly told Channel 11 the company has been promising to fill the potholes, but so far, has done nothing.

“Moonbeam has made promises to us over these 15 years of getting a tenant in there, doing something with the property, and we’ve got nothing out of them,” Davis said.

Channel 11 tried calling and emailing Moonbeam’s COO for comment but we haven’t heard back.

Most of the mall has sat empty for more than a decade. The condition is only getting worse, and the incidents keep piling up. Those incidents include a possible arson case in April and vandalism in May where three teens were charged with trespassing.

Last Friday, fire officials said a West Mifflin teen fell 20 feet through the roof of the old Macy’s. He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The boy could now be facing a charge for trespassing.

“This building is out of compliance and needs major investment,” Davis said. “It’s not inhabitable. No people should be in there.”

But people are illegally making their way inside, including YouTubers. Local leaders have had enough.

“It’s been too long,” said Davis. “Too vacant, too long. We need to take action now.”

That action is expected to come down during a public hearing next week where Davis said a majority of council members plan to vote to condemn the mall.

He has a warning for folks who try to go into the shuttered mall.

“Please stay away from the mall,” Davis said. “It’s only a hazard. It’s trespassing. If you’re caught on the property, you will be prosecuted for trespassing.”

People will have a chance to weigh in at the public hearing on June 14 at 4:30 p.m. at the West Mifflin Borough Building that’s located at 1020 Lebanon Road.

If the mall is condemned, Moonbeam will have a certain amount of time to fix it up. If that doesn’t happen, Davis said he’s going to ask for state and federal funding to tear it down.

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