A retailer specializing in upscale, alternative furniture at Pittsburgh Mills is moving to Ross Park Mall because the traffic hasn't been strong enough to sustain the company in Frazer.
LoveSac Life, which sells beanbag-style furniture popular with celebrities and athletes, is closing today and will reopen at Ross Park on Friday, according to David Gerczak, franchise owner.
"The traffic at Pittsburgh Mills has been very poor, and it seems to be worsening," said store manager Brian Witherow in a statement released Monday. "An opportunity presented itself at Ross Park, and we had to make the move. Ross Park is a shopping center that has the demographic, tenant mix, as well as the shoppers needed for us to be successful. We would not have survived at Pittsburgh Mills for much longer."
"LoveSac is an upscale product; it's specialty furniture," Gerczak added. "The tenant mix at Ross Park fits more of what our company is all about."
There are 45 LoveSac locations across the country, but the Mills location was the first in the region, Gerczak said.
Representatives at the Arlington, Va.-based Mills Corp. did not return a message on Monday.
At the corporate level, the publicly-traded real estate investment trust announced earlier this year it was undergoing severe financial troubles and was examining strategic alternatives, including a sale of all or part of the company.
Gerczak and Witherow are the first company to publicly criticize the mall that opened last July off Route 28, but it's that short time frame that the mall's general manager, David Macdonald, said should be kept in mind.
"It's only been in operation less than a year," Macdonald said. "It's similar to other successful Mills properties, such as Arundel Mills in Baltimore and Ontario Mills in California. It will take some time for Pittsburgh Mills to achieve stabilization. We expect it to be the dominant destination for the Pittsburgh market."
Macdonald said the company doesn't disclose the number of shoppers or tenant occupancy rates, but said traffic has been improving this year, particularly during weekdays now that school is out for the summer.
The 1.1 million square foot enclosed mall is part of a larger campus that includes big box tenants, restaurants, smaller strip centers and a hotel, some of which are still under construction.
The outlying development -- the Village at Pittsburgh Mills -- also has helped bring traffic into the enclosed mall, Macdonald said.
"We've noticed Sam's Club and Wal-Mart opened in January and the restaurants opening, we've seen a good increase in traffic," Macdonald said. "The success of the Village is carrying over into the mall."
The mall suffered a setback when it was announced that a much anticipated NASCAR Speedpark would not be coming to Pittsburgh Mills. Macdonald said the mall's leasing department has had some "solid conversations" with possible tenants to fill that space.
The enclosed mall has about 135 stores now. A walk around the mall Monday shows about 25 spots are vacant.
However, Macdonald said some new tenants such as Brooks Brothers 364, Foot Action and Guess have recently opened their doors and the mall is expecting more to open throughout the year.
For instance, Tropic Sun Fruit and Nuts and Chef Steff should open by September, Macdonald said.
