At one end of South Hills Village mall, the clatter of construction could be heard over the mall's background music as contractors prepared the former Boscov's space for a Target store and a two-story Dick's Sporting Goods.
To Larry Altman, owner of L.S. Altman, on the mall's second floor, facing the future entrance to Dick's, the clatter isn't noise: It's the sweet sound of the future.
“It will certainly be an improvement in terms of bringing in foot traffic,” Altman said. “The weight of that is so strong, you look past (the disruption).”
Contractors are in the midst of renovating the former Boscov's on the Washington Road side of the mall into a flagship store for Findlay-based Dick's Sporting Goods, and a ground-floor Target scheduled for a March 2013 opening.
A sign in the mall and a news release on Wednesday from Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, the mall's owner, said Dick's will open this fall. A more detailed schedule of grand opening events will be made available closer to the opening date.
Mall Marketing Director Jennifer Carroll said the new Target's “contemporary” design will give the mall exterior an updated look.
She also pointed to a number of other retailers that are moving, expanding or remodeling within the mall, including Victoria's Secret, Audrey's, New York & Company, Bath and Body Works, and a new, shared space for Gap, Gap Body and Gap Kids.
“We are elated about what these long-awaited store openings mean for the mall and the community,” Carroll said of the new anchor tenants.
Target has announced it will begin hiring in early 2013, and will employ about 200 people.
Most of what used to be the Boscov's parking lot is an active construction site, while the ground floor of the department store, closed since 2008, has been expanded outward to house the 145,000-square-foot Target.
A large retaining wall is being constructed above Village Drive to improve the entrance road to that side of the mall.
On the Macy's side, another parking lot is being torn up and reconfigured to provide safer pedestrian access to the Port Authority garage and the light-rail station behind it. Rather than crossing aisles of parking and cutting between cars, pedestrians will have a sidewalk and crosswalks to follow from the Macy's entrance to the garage.
On the other side of the mall from Target, Port Authority and the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County are interviewing developers for a “transit-oriented development” on a six-acre parking lot between Port Authority's parking garage and its light-rail maintenance yard.
Proposals were due earlier this month, and four companies responded, said county spokeswoman Amie Downs.
The county will work with the Port Authority to determine which proposals will work and recommend a proposal to Port Authority's board of directors, Downs said.
The agencies are seeking a residential or office development. An agreement with South Hills Village management prevents the site from being used for retail that could compete with mall stores.
Matthew Santoni is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5625 or msantoni@tribweb.com.
