East Hills Shopping Center

East Hills Shopping Center was an outdoor shopping mall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1960, the center lost most of its major stores in the late 1970s and underwent several failed attempts at renovation.

For the shopping mall in St. Joseph, Missouri, see East Hills Mall.
East Hills Shopping Center
LocationPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates40.46000°N 79.86770°W / 40.46000; -79.86770
AddressRobinson Blvd. at Frankstown Road
Opening date1960
Closing date2001
(demolished 2001)
DeveloperMellon-Stuart
No. of stores and services60
No. of anchor tenants3
Total retail floor area600,000 square feet (56,000 m2)
No. of floors1

History

East Hills opened in 1960 under the development of Mellon-Stuart, a local engineering firm. It was built as an outdoor mall with Joseph Horne Company (Horne's) as the main department store. Other major tenants included G. C. Murphy, Kresge, and a Thorofare supermarket.[1] A year after the mall's opening, Horne's added a second store at the mall which specialized in discounted clothing.[2]

The mall was largely vacated in the late 1970s, having lost most of its business to Monroeville Mall, a larger mall that also featured a Horne's. In 1979, Horne's closed its East Hills store, as did G. C. Murphy, Kresge, and Thorofare. The president of East Hills' merchants' association said in 1980 that East Hills' design was "outmoded" and not suitable for colder weather, since unlike Monroeville, East Hills' concourses were not enclosed.[3] In 1981, a local developer purchased the property with plans to convert it to a factory outlet mall.[4] Golden Dawn Supermarket opened in the former Thorofare in 1980,[5] which closed five years later and became Giant Eagle.[6]

In 1987, the complex was renamed Eastgate Commerce Center, and was rezoned to allow for light industrial use.[7] Besides a Zayre discount store on an outparcel, the center remained largely vacant. Both Zayre and Giant Eagle closed in 1989.[8] Eastgate Associates bought the property in 1991. The company planned to renovate the mall, which had only seven tenants at that point, for light industrial use.[9] This redevelopment was unsuccessful.[10] By 1998, only 15 percent of the space had been reused.[11]

In 1999, Petra Ministries bought the former Zayre store behind the mall and converted it to a church. They continued to own the mall property through January 2013, at which point it was put up for sale.[12] Between 1999 and 2007, Petra had attempted to get Walmart to build a store on the site.[13] The mall was demolished in 2001.[14] Lowe's and Kmart were also proposed as replacements for the mall, but as of 2013, the site remained vacant.[15] U-Pull-And-Pay auto salvage opened on the site in 2017.[16]

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References
  1. "East Hills new concept in suburban shopping centers". Pittsburgh Press. March 2, 1960. p. 58. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  2. "Horne's marks second anniversary at East Hills with budget store for customer convenience". Pittsburgh Press. February 28, 1961. p. 29. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  3. Gubanic, Barbara (February 19, 1980). "Steps eyed to pump life into ailing East Hills Shopping Center". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 2. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  4. Spatter, Sam (July 12, 1981). "East Hills center may become factory outlet". H1. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  5. "Mellon Bank funding East Hills grocery store". The Pittsburgh Press. October 18, 1980. p. B13. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  6. Miles, Yancy (June 27, 1985). "Possible grocery opening would boost East Hills". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  7. Smith, Matthew P. (July 22, 1987). "New owners sold on renewing life of East Hills plaza". The Pittsburgh Press. p. E1. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  8. Scarton, Dana (November 16, 1989). "Tax break pushed in effort to save mall". The Pittsburgh Press. p. E1. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  9. Teece, David (August 8, 1991). "East Hills mall to get 2nd life as commercial-industrial complex". The Pittsburgh Press. pp. EZ 1, 2. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  10. Teece, David (April 2, 1992). "'Eastgate' shops for tenant-led revival". The Pittsburgh Press. pp. EZ 1. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  11. "Shopping around for redevelopment". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 19, 1998. pp. East–2. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  12. Clay, Donald (January 23, 2013). "Petra property goes up for sheriff's sale". New Pittsburgh Courier. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  13. Daparma, Ron (February 17, 2007). "Wal-Mart plans store at East Hills mall". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  14. Fitzpatrick, Dan (September 5, 2001). "A new beginning". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. C1, C3. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  15. Blazina, Ed (January 22, 2013). "East Hills Shopping Center site on auction block". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  16. "U-Pull-&-Pay Groundbreaking for First Self-Serve Used Auto Parts Store Occurs in Penn Hills PA". Pittsburgh Newswire. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
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