Washington Mall

History

Washington Mall was constructed on the northeastern fringes of Washington, Pennsylvania on the southwest quadrant of the Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 19 interchange.(1)(4) It was through the vision of Stephen Richman and his partners, including his father, Ben, and Angelo and Phillip Falconi that $4 million was signed on a promissory note to convert a cornfield into a shopping mall.(2)

Completed in 1968 (1)(4) at a cost of $4 million, the 663,000 square foot (2) mall boasted two anchors – a tri-level JCPenny and a Giant Eagle. In 1991, the last mortgage payment was made on the mall, and in a celebratory event held at Tambellini’s Restaurant, the mall owners, with the whisk of a lighter, made the mortgage documents go up in flames.(2)

The condition of the mall steadily deteriorated over the years due to a lack of reinvestment within the mall property. In 1999, the Giant Eagle closed and relocated to Strabane Square. By 2001, the mall was bleeding tenants and concourse traffic was next to nil.(2) One struggling tenant went as far as to state that one could roll a bowling ball through the center of the mall and not hit a single obstacle. The only major news for that year was the partial renovation of the JCPenny and the addition of Rex TV and Appliances.

In 2004, the mall announced plans to “de mall” Washington Mall, and to convert the indoor mall into an outward facing strip shopping center. “Big box” retailers, such as JCPenny and Staples would remain, but would open outward towards the parking lot, along with all of the other tenants.(2) But by December, the plans for the “de mall” concept had been delayed due to an “unspecified” reason, and retailers were notified that their leases would be extended for another six months.(3)

In February 2007, JCPenny relocated to The Foundry at South Strabane, only one mile from Washington Mall.(4) The Foundry, built upon an old mine dump and atop a steeply perched hillside, began developing structural issues due to the ground settling.(5) In addition, the property owner, Premier Properties of Indianapolis, began having financial difficulties. On June 6, 2008, JCPenny closed the store at The Foundry and reopened in mid-September at Washington Mall.

Tenants

• Altmeyer, vacated in 1999
• Amos Home Products, relocated in October 2000 to Washington Crown Center
• Audiologics, a tenant for 30 years, vacated in early 2005
• Carmike Cinemas, vacated on March 15, 2001
• Claire’s, vacated in December 1999
• Eckerd Drug, now a restaurant; 11,600 s.f.
• Giant Eagle, vacated in 1999
• JCPenny, 132,000 square foot anchor
• Jo-Ann Fabrics; 14,343 s.f.
• K-Mart, replaced with The Home Depot
• Pottery Factory Outlet
• Shorty’s Lunch
• Staples; 24,500 s.f.
• Sun TV, later Rex TV and Appliances, now a furniture outlet; 20,000 s.f.
• Thompson Hardware
• Toys R Us; 45,000 s.f.