FRAZER TOWNSHIP, Pa. \u2014 The future of Pittsburgh Mills may not involve shopping at all.<\/p>\n
Channel 11 reported earlier this week that a developer wants to buy the once-bustling mall.<\/p>\n
There are still a handful of businesses inside the mall, and those business owners would love to know what the future holds.<\/p>\n
The deal hasn\u2019t closed yet, but they are hopeful it will be something great for this community. <\/p>\n
Inside the once-bustling Pittsburgh Mills Mall, a small Christmas tree just went up, but it\u2019s been years since it was full of holiday shoppers. The mall is mostly rows of closed storefronts.<\/p>\n
Soon there could be a new owner and a new vision for this property.<\/p>\n
Virginia-based Comstock Holding Companies has signed an agreement to buy Pittsburgh Mills Mall.<\/p>\n
The mall opened in 2005 and, in its heyday, was home to DICK\u2019s Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Bath & Body Works and Macy\u2019s. Now, they\u2019re all gone.<\/p>\n
The decline wasn\u2019t just inside. The property\u2019s severe potholes became such a problem that the district attorney filed charges against the property owner.<\/p>\n
Comstock Company executives say they plan to work with Frazer Township, engineers and architects to create something with long-term economic value. But what that will look like and what it means for the businesses still here remains unclear.<\/p>\n
While Comstock\u2019s portfolio does include mall management, it also includes data center development.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether they make a data center or get new businesses, at least they are doing something; progress is good!\u201d Mike Gundel of Gundel\u2019s Fun Zone at Pittsburgh Mills said.<\/p>\n
Gundel has been trying to bring some life back into the mall. He\u2019s owned Gundel\u2019s Fun Zone here for the last year and a half.<\/p>\n
He hopes it remains a mall, but more than anything, he wants to see something happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope they keep it as a mall, but the people buying are known to have data centers. If they make it a data center, if it brings business to the area, that\u2019s what the community needs: is change, instead of a stagnant mall, zombie mall, as people call it. We are bringing some life back into it!<\/p>\n
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