Frank Oreto prefers The Waterfront's outdoor town center to a mall, even on a chilly, rainy afternoon. The brick buildings, sidewalks and on-street parking create an atmosphere similar to Carson Street on the South Side, his favorite shopping area. And driving to the major stores or restaurants on the other side of the Homestead complex is no problem. "I know retail is artificial in general, but I just like this better," said Oreto, of Dormont. "The (Loew's) theater opens early enough for me to go to the movies, and then spend the rest of the day here." Shoppers' tastes are changing, and as a result, retail centers with an open-air format are being built more often these days than indoor malls. While climate-controlled centers surrounded by parking once were thought to be the ultimate in convenience, many consumers today also are heading to newer outdoor complexes with a wide mix of department, discount and specialty stores. They don't mind going back and forth to their cars, for the short runs between parking lots. And they brave winter weather and holiday traffic to get around an area seen as offering every kind of retailer and the chance to finish all their errands in one trip. Centers like The Waterfront -- with 1.5 million square feet of retail space -- also are big draws because they offer stores and restaurants that may be unique to a market. "If it's the first store around like it, and I've always wanted to shop there, I'm going to bundle up and do what I need to do to get there," Patrice Duker, of the New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers, said. Malls still reign in the retail business. There are 1,130 of them nationwide, compared to 120 of the new, open-air shopping districts known as "lifestyle" centers, the council said, but more outdoor centers are in the planning stages. Locally, Continental Real Estate Companies is selling the final outparcels at The Waterfront and building a small second phase of the town center near Kaufmann's. "It's a gathering place," Chairman Frank Kass said of the complex built on the former U.S. Steel Homestead Works site. "And during the holidays, it's busy and beautiful, with all the lights." Erika Sterling still prefers malls. "This is too spread out," the McKeesport resident said, although she shops at The Waterfront occasionally because she works in nearby Braddock. "On a spring or summer day, it's nice, though. You get your exercise." New shopping concepts seem to evolve each decade or two -- strip centers in the '50s and '60s, malls in the '70s and '80s, power centers with "big box" retailers in the '90s and now the lifestyle centers that feature Main Street-style areas and, increasingly, elements of the power centers, too. The shopping center council has found that visitors to the open-air centers tend to be more purpose-driven, spending less time there per visit than at a regional mall -- 57 minutes versus 82. "We still believe that the viability of the enclosed mall format is there," Duker said. Still, Steve Baumgarten, retail analyst at Parker/Hunter Inc. in Pittsburgh, said he expects a continued shift away from enclosed malls to other formats such as lifestyle and power centers. "The mall is becoming more and more of a teen hangout," he said. Bob McGurk, of Forest City Enterprises, which manages The Pointe at North Fayette, The Mall at Robinson and nearby Robinson Town Centre, said shopping habits are changing with lifestyles. "Everybody is on a tighter schedule, and they're getting what they want and leaving," he said, with the exceptions of back-to-school and holiday shopping trips. Generally, "People aren't spending as long in the malls, and malls are changing because of that. They're putting in the soft seating and the coffee bars in the center." While the sprawling Pointe complex is finished, about 90 acres are left to be developed near the Robinson mall, he said. New, open-air shopping complexes are being built or planned in almost every part of the Pittsburgh region -- SouthSide Works in the city, Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer, The Shops at Town Square in Greensburg, Deer Creek Crossing in Harmar, Collier Crossing in Collier and the Victory Center across from The Meadows racetrack in Washington County. Trinity Point near the junction of Interstates 70/79 and Route 19 in South Strabane, Washington County, is on a site where the DeBartolo Corp. once planned a mall. Mosites Development, instead, created a 100-acre power center with strips of shops and a restaurant complex around a Wal-Mart Super Center and Sam's Club. Shoppers travel across Route 19 between Trinity Point and another large center, Strabane Square. "It's more successful than we imagined," said Brian Rohleder, director of real estate for Mosites, adding that the Wal-Mart is among the highest grossing stores in the chain. Nearby, the Washington Mall is about to be torn down. J.J. Gumberg Co. plans to build a new J.C. Penney store there, and is working to redevelop the entire site. New tenants are expected to be announced early next year. "The mall is antiquated, and the new environment will be state of the industry," Gumberg spokeswoman Tilda Comstock said.

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