There's a JCPenney's, King's Jewelry, Payless, Bath & Body Works, Auntie Anne's, Claire's, Hallmark, Regis Hair, Maurice's, a Pittsburgh sports fan store, an antique store that's actually worth checking out, and a place called 'Unique Eyebrow & Spa'.
Here's what was there in 2011:
All of the above plus...
Macy's
Sears
American Eagle
GameStop
Aeropostale
Rue21
GNC
FootLocker
Kay Jewelers
Something's Brewin' (amazing coffee shop)
Jammin' Jac's Pizza
Not long before that there was also a PacSun
What's interesting about the whole thing is that there's this other wing of the mall that's been vacant since the 80's, and now the rest of the mall is following suit. You can't walk past more than 3 stores until you hit one that's still sitting vacant. You probably have a better chance of walking past 4 vacant stores in a row than 4 open ones. No joke.
If you talk to the mall staff or chatty people 'in the know' you'll likely hear rumors that the owner charges entirely too much money for rent, which has seen most stores pack up and relocate to another part of Hermitage, and others just leave town altogether.
You'll also likely hear things like 'I feel like they could turn things around if they just..' or 'If they'd lower the rent, maybe..'
If you ask me though, this mall is about as dead as it gets, which is terrible for the community in a lot of ways. It's a landmark of failed business, and if it closes entirely without a strategy for redeveloping the space it becomes an even bigger eyesore and, like most closed malls in this region of America, it's likely to become a hub for local crime.
It makes more sense to try to bring in a few bigger businesses and turn the space into a large plaza with options unique to the area. For example, a Best Buy, a Dave & Buster's, an Olive Garden, a Marshall's, and a few small well-known shops like Shoe Carnival and T-Mobile would fill the space well and would be a welcome addition to the community. Throw in a few new fast food options like Chic-Fil-A, Rally's, and Sonic and you've got an exciting new space for everyone.
Now this obviously involves the city demoing a great amount of real-estate and rebuilding, then attracting more business (which doesn't seem to be an issue for Hermitage) but it's a more tangible long-term solution to the current problem which is, simply put, this mall is dead. read more