Macy’s at Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer is on the market.
In what might be another nail in the coffin of the beleaguered mall, one of its last remaining original tenants, and largest, is poised to leave as the department store chain leans into its smaller, more luxury-oriented holdings.
A prospectus from real estate company Colliers describes the two-story, nearly 173,000-square-foot store as having “the prime location” within the Pittsburgh Mills.
It also notes Macy’s remains open for business there, and any sale of the property may require a one- to two-year leaseback to the company.
Unlike most other stores in the mall, Macy’s owns its space.
Mark Anderson, Colliers senior vice president in the Pittsburgh office, declined to comment.
“I would miss it,” said Kerra Young, 32, of Oakmont as she picked out baby clothes in Macy’s and hung them on her stroller. “It looks like this whole mall is going down the drain.”
Another shopper, Carol Malak, 84, of Lower Burrell, remarked, “there’s nowhere else to shop” upon hearing the news, adding she might have to make the 40-minute drive to Ross Park Mall to get her Macy’s fix.
Macy’s was fairly busy Friday morning, but for malls of all kinds, anchors are no longer the primary driver of traffic, according to Robb Paltz, associate managing director at Moody’s. Rather, it’s interior stores with a devoted clientele that bring customers in.
In more successful malls, these anchors sometimes are sold and split into several smaller stores, perhaps a restaurant, a clothing retailer and a grocery store.
“If the mall is struggling and the anchor is struggling, that’s not going to happen,” Paltz said.
Pittsburgh Mills, which opened in 2005, has few stores left. The mall had a 75% vacancy rate at last count.
It’s not alone in its struggles to keep businesses. The U.S. has lost about a quarter of its malls since Pittsburgh Mills opened, and Paltz projected “the concept of a (lower-performing) mall in most areas is fading very quickly and could be extinct in a much shorter period of time than people would think.”
A Macy’s departure would leave Dick’s Sporting Goods as the mall’s only remaining anchor tenant.
The mall boasts two other national retailers: Bath and Body Works, and Jo-Ann, which is going out of business.
Around a dozen other big-box stores have managed to hang on — and appear to do quite well — in the strip mall sections of the Pittsburgh Mills shopping compound.
An email from Macy’s corporate leaders did not confirm the company has put its Pittsburgh Mills store up for sale.
Instead, it referenced the “Bold New Chapter” strategy it introduced in February 2024 in a bid to return to profitability and enhance the customer experience.
“There is a current evaluation underway at multiple Macy’s locations comparing the potential real estate value and the future sales growth profitability potential,” Macy’s leadership said.
Macy’s previously announced plans to shutter 150 stores by Jan. 31, 2027, leaving it with 350 locations.
Four of the 66 closures announced in January are in Pennsylvania, the closest being at Logan Valley Mall in Altoona.
There is no indication, so far, the company’s stores in the Mall at Robinson, Monroeville Mall, Ross Park Mall, South Hills Village and Westmoreland Mall are at immediate risk of closure.
As part of the shift toward higher-end products, the company plans to open about 15 Bloomingdale’s and at least 30 Bluemercury stores within three years.
Pittsburgh Mills has been the subject of public ire after roads and parking lots were left to deteriorate, with potholes that local emergency responders say are a public safety threat.
Mall owner Namdar Realty Group of New York was accused in April of creating a public nuisance, according to criminal charges filed by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.
Namdar did not return a call for comment.