Greengate Centre

Greengate Centre is an open-air power center in Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania, serving the retail market around Greensburg and the wider Westmoreland County area. The center occupies the former site of Greengate Mall, an enclosed shopping mall that opened in 1965 and was demolished in 2003 after years of declining occupancy and intensified competition from newer retail developments. Greengate Centre opened in 2005 as a fundamentally different retail format: rather than reproducing the enclosed mall, it uses a collection of freestanding and attached retail buildings arranged around surface parking, with a tenant mix focused on value-oriented merchandise, general retail, pets, apparel, food, and everyday services. The center is positioned on U.S. Route 30, a significant commercial corridor, and encompasses more than 430,000 square feet of retail space. It contains more than 45 stores and restaurants. Major tenants identified with the center include Petco, Ross Dress for Less, and Walmart, while other tenants have included Five Below, GameStop, Lane Bryant, General Nutrition Centers, OshKosh B'gosh, and Verizon Wireless. This combination gives the property the characteristics of a power center: large national retailers and destination stores attract vehicle-based shopping traffic, while smaller specialty and service businesses benefit from the same location and customer flow. Greengate Centre is owned and managed by The Kroenke Group of Columbia, Missouri. Its identity is closely connected to the history of the earlier Greengate Mall, although the current property is a redevelopment rather than a continuation of the enclosed mall structure. The mall's original anchors included Horne's, J.C. Penney, and Montgomery Ward. It was one of the early fully enclosed malls in the Greater Pittsburgh region, but its competitive position weakened after Westmoreland Mall opened in 1977 with department-store anchors including Sears and Kaufmann's. J.C. Penney eventually moved from Greengate to Westmoreland Mall in 1994, creating a major vacancy. Horne's was converted to Lazarus following an acquisition, but Lazarus closed in 1996. Montgomery Ward later closed during that chain's bankruptcy, and the remaining mall tenants were removed in 2001. A proposed conversion of the largely vacant mall into a telecommunications center did not succeed. After the property remained vacant, THF Realty acquired it in 2003 and replaced the obsolete mall with Greengate Centre. The redevelopment reflected the broader shift in American retail real estate away from aging enclosed malls toward open-air centers anchored by discount, warehouse, specialty, and service retailers. The result retained the site's importance as a retail destination while changing its physical form and business model. The Greengate property also includes related commercial components. Greengate Centre East is an adjacent 71,576-square-foot strip center built in the early 1980s. It was originally anchored by Giant Eagle, which relocated to the nearby Hempfield Square development in 1997. Later occupants included Big Lots, a Wines & Spirits liquor store, M&M Leather, Play It Again Sports, Once Upon A Child, and Sonic Drive-In, which opened in 2009 on the former site of a Rax restaurant. Greengate North Plaza, an office and retail building constructed in 1977 as part of the former mall complex, once housed a General Cinema triple-screen theater and later a Carmike cinema operation. Its subsequent tenants have included First Commonwealth Bank, medical and therapy practices, Heartland Hospice, a bridal boutique, and a travel agency. The former Greengate Mall remains a subject of local retail history and nostalgia. Its memory has been preserved through online communities, a dedicated retrospective website, and discussion in writing about American shopping malls. Greengate Centre therefore represents both an active retail property and the latest stage in a commercial site that has evolved from an early enclosed mall into a modern open-air shopping destination.

The Greengate property began as Greengate Mall, an enclosed shopping mall developed by The Rouse Company in 1965. It was the third fully enclosed mall built in the Greater Pittsburgh region, following Northway Mall and South Hills Village. Its original department-store anchors were Horne's, J.C. Penney, and Montgomery Ward. The center also included a broad range of specialty retailers, restaurants, entertainment uses, and community-oriented facilities, including a local radio station and an early mall-based off-track betting operation. Greengate Mall's competitive environment changed significantly in 1977 when Westmoreland Mall opened elsewhere in the region. That center attracted Sears and Kaufmann's as original anchors, along with other department-store tenants. Greengate's owner had declined to construct additional anchor space for Sears and Kaufmann's, limiting the mall's ability to match the newer development. J.C. Penney eventually relocated to Westmoreland Mall in 1994, leaving a substantial vacancy at Greengate. The mall was also affected by the growth of nearby Walmart retailing and broader changes in department-store shopping. The anchor situation deteriorated further during the 1990s. The Joseph Horne Company was acquired by Lazarus in 1994, and the Horne's store at Greengate was converted to the Lazarus name. Lazarus closed the location two years later. In August 1998, the mall was sold to new owners for a reported $1.6 million. Montgomery Ward closed in 2001 as the chain entered bankruptcy. A proposal to transform the largely empty mall into a telecommunications center failed, and the last remaining tenants were removed during the summer of that year. The property remained vacant until THF Realty acquired it in 2003. The former mall was demolished, and the site was rebuilt as Greengate Centre, an open-air power center that opened in 2005. The new format replaced enclosed pedestrian circulation and traditional department-store dependence with large surface parking areas, freestanding and strip-style buildings, and a tenant mix centered on discount retail, specialty goods, services, restaurants, and destination stores. The center now contains more than 430,000 square feet of retail space and more than 45 stores and restaurants. The Kroenke Group, based in Columbia, Missouri, owns and manages the property. The broader Greengate commercial complex includes Greengate Centre East and Greengate North Plaza. Greengate Centre East is a 71,576-square-foot strip center built in the early 1980s. Its original anchor, Giant Eagle, moved to Hempfield Square in 1997. Later occupants included Big Lots and a selection of specialty, sporting-goods, children's, liquor, and food-service tenants. Sonic Drive-In opened there in March 2009. Greengate North Plaza was built in 1977 as part of the former mall complex. It originally housed a General Cinema triple-screen theater, later associated with Carmike Cinemas, which closed in 1999 after a larger multiplex opened at Westmoreland Mall. The building subsequently shifted toward banking, health care, professional offices, and smaller retail uses. Although the enclosed mall no longer exists, it remains part of local cultural memory. Former visitors and retail-history enthusiasts have maintained online communities and retrospective material about Greengate Mall, and the property has been discussed in broader writing about the rise and decline of American shopping malls. Greengate Centre consequently illustrates a common retail-real-estate transition: an early enclosed mall losing anchor tenants and occupancy, followed by demolition and replacement with an open-air power center designed around contemporary automobile-oriented retail patterns.

• 2009

  Sonic Drive-In opens at Greengate Centre East

  [1]Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Sonic opens at the adjacent strip center on the former Rax restaurant site.

• 2005

  Greengate Centre opens

  [1]Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The replacement open-air power center begins operations on the former mall site.

• 2003

  Former mall is demolished

  [1]Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org

  THF Realty acquires the property and demolishes the vacant Greengate Mall to make way for a new open-air retail development.

• 2001

  Greengate Mall is vacated

  [1]Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Montgomery Ward closes during the chain's bankruptcy, and the remaining tenants are removed after an unsuccessful telecommunications-center proposal.

• 1998

  The mall changes ownership

  [1]Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Greengate Mall is sold to new owners in August for a reported $1.6 million.

• 1996

  Lazarus closes its Greengate location

  [1]Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The former Horne's department store, converted to Lazarus after the Horne's acquisition, closes at Greengate Mall.

• 1994

  J.C. Penney relocates

  [1]Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org

  J.C. Penney leaves Greengate Mall for Westmoreland Mall, creating a major vacant anchor space.

• 1977

  Greengate North Plaza is built

  [1]Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org

  An ancillary building later known as Greengate North Plaza is constructed and initially includes a General Cinema triple-screen theater.

• 1977

  Westmoreland Mall opens

  [1]Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The opening of Westmoreland Mall introduces a major nearby competitor with Sears and Kaufmann's among its original anchors.

• 1965

  Greengate Mall opens

  [1]Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The Rouse Company opens Greengate Mall as one of the Greater Pittsburgh region's early fully enclosed shopping malls, with Horne's, J.C. Penney, and Montgomery Ward as principal anchors.

A vehicle-oriented open-air power center combining large national value retailers, specialty stores, restaurants, and everyday services along a major Pennsylvania commercial corridor.

• General merchandise retail

  Walmart

  Walmart functions as a major destination anchor within the Greengate Centre complex, offering broad general merchandise and everyday consumer goods. Its presence supports the center's automobile-oriented power-center model by drawing frequent and destination-based shopping trips.

• Off-price apparel retail

  Ross Dress for Less

  Ross Dress for Less is one of the center's principal national retail anchors. Its off-price apparel and home-goods model complements Greengate Centre's value-oriented positioning and provides a destination tenant alongside general merchandise, pet, and specialty retailers.

• Pet retail

  Petco

  Petco anchors the specialty-retail component of Greengate Centre, serving customers seeking pet food, supplies, accessories, and related products. The store adds a recurring-needs category to a tenant mix otherwise dominated by general merchandise and apparel.

• Adjacent strip shopping center

  Greengate Centre East

  Greengate Centre East is a 71,576-square-foot neighboring strip center built in the early 1980s. Its tenant history includes Giant Eagle, Big Lots, a liquor store, specialty retailers, and Sonic Drive-In, making it a complementary component of the wider Greengate retail complex.

• Office and retail property · 1977

  Greengate North Plaza

  Greengate North Plaza is an ancillary office and retail building constructed in 1977 as part of the original mall complex. After its former cinema use ended, it evolved into a mixed-use building with banking, health-care, professional-office, and boutique tenants.

• 2003

  Replace the failed enclosed mall with an open-air power centerStrategy

  Background

  Greengate Mall had lost major department-store anchors, suffered from nearby competition, and remained largely vacant after a proposed telecommunications conversion failed.

  Action taken

  After acquiring the property, THF Realty demolished the enclosed mall and redeveloped the site as Greengate Centre, a surface-parked open-air retail complex.

  Aftermath

  The redevelopment opened in 2005 and repositioned the site around national value retailers, specialty stores, restaurants, and services.

  Source

• 2001

  Abandon the telecommunications-center conversion proposalStrategy

  Background

  The largely vacant Greengate Mall was considered for conversion into a telecommunications center after the loss of key tenants and the closure of Montgomery Ward.

  Action taken

  The conversion plan did not proceed, and the remaining mall tenants were evicted during the summer.

  Aftermath

  The property remained vacant until its acquisition and demolition by THF Realty in 2003.

  Source

1. 1Greengate Centreen.wikipedia.org