Ross Park Mall, which may bring a Nordstrom department store to the Pittsburgh market, has plans for a four-phase revitalization of the 20-year-old facility that will include a "lifestyle" addition with new stores, restaurants and bookstore.
Simon Property Group Inc., owner of the mall, will not comment on whether Nordstrom will open in the vacated Macy's store or reveal plans for the expansion. The Macy's now at the mall is scheduled to move to the Kaufmann's site.
Seattle-based Nordstrom also will not comment, but Simon Property last year displayed plans for a Nordstrom as an anchor for Ross Park Mall at a major shopping center trade show in Las Vegas.
Dan Hankins, Ross building inspector, said a site plan for the revitalization "has been filed by the mall, which includes an addition to the facility." He said details will be reviewed at a March 23 meeting of the Ross Planning Commission.
Kevin McKeegan, a mall representative, recently held an informal meeting with township officials on the plans for a 65,000-square-foot "lifestyle" addition between Kaufmann's and Macy's, according to the McKnight Journal, a weekly publication in the North Hills.
McKeegan, who declined further comment, said the first phase, of about 65,000 square feet, would be a lifestyle addition that could include a national restaurant chain, bookstore or other businesses. "Conceptually, it will be four stores at most, individual retail stores with exterior entrance," he said.
Both South Hills Village in Upper St. Clair, also owned by Simon, and Monroeville Mall have added similar expansions in the last two years.
McKeegan said construction could begin as soon as May, but no foundation work would be completed until tenants are signed, because each parcel will be designed specifically for that store or restaurant. The remaining three phases would be introduced to the township within the next six to 12 months.
Opened in 1986 and renovated in 2000, Ross Park Mall is the fifth largest regional mall in the area with 1.23 million square feet. It has about 150 retailers/restaurants plus four major tenants that include, besides Macy's and Kaufmann's, J.C. Penney and Sears.
The Waterfront in Homestead with 1.5 million square feet is the region's largest, followed by Monroeville Mall, 1.3 million; Century III Mall, 1.29 million; and Westmoreland Mall, 1.28 million.
