Cabela's, a major outdoor-merchandise retailer with a large complex near Wheeling, W.Va., has abandoned thoughts of opening new stores at the Pittsburgh Mills retail complex in Frazer or at a new lifestyle center proposed by Simon Property Group in Cranberry.
"There are no ongoing discussions for either property," said John Castillo, a Cabela's spokesman.
Cabela's continues to consider hundreds of sites throughout the country, Castillo said
"I understand they (Cabela's) were looking at the Simon Property site and they turned that down, and they turned down our site as well," said Stephen Zamias, CEO of Zamias Services of Johnstown, owner of Pittsburgh Mills.
"I've think they re-evaluated the Pittsburgh market and are out of the marketplace at this point in time," Zamias said.
The Pittsburgh Mills site that Cabela's considered is an 11-acre parcel owned by the Rohrich auto dealerships, whose franchises along West Liberty Avenue include Toyota, Lexus and Cadillac.
Rohrich considered opening a car dealership at that location, but at this point plans are uncertain, said Thomas Rohrich of Rohrich Cadillac.
"We can say Cabela's is not coming there," he said.
Keith Morris, a spokesman for Indianapolis-based Simon Property, declined comment on the Cabela's situation.
Simon has yet to officially announce plans for its new development, an 800,000 complex known as the Summit at Cranberry. A site plan seen by a number of real estate professionals mentioned Cabela's and sparked speculation about its interest there.
Cabela's might have ultimately decided that opening new stores in the Pittsburgh area would sap customers already shopping at its major outlets in Wheeling, W.Va., and Hamburg near Allentown, said David Glickman, vice president of the retail group of Grubb & Ellis Co., a commercial real estate firm in Pittsburgh.
Cabela's 175,000-square-foot West Virginia complex, which is off Interstate 70, opened in 2004 and has become a major tourist attraction for that area, and its Hamburg store is the biggest in the entire chain.
"It's speculation on my part, but they might have determined that there isn't enough density to support new stores this close to their other stores," he said.
Despite the loss of a potential Cabela's at Pittsburgh Mills, Zamias said his company continues to make progress in its efforts to attract other new tenants, including a new anchor department store.
Zamias has declined to identify the store involved, but real estate experts believe it is Boscov's, the Reading-based retailer that opened new stores at both South Hills Village and Monroeville Mall in 2005.
"We hope to have an announcement sometime in the first quarter of 2008," Zamias said.
Boscov officials have indicated they would like to expand in Western Pennsylvania, but declined to speak specifically about Pittsburgh Mills.
"As far as I know, there is nothing new at this point," said Marylin Lakin, a spokeswoman for Boscov's.
