West Mifflin borough council votes unanimously to condemn Century III Mall

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — With a unanimous vote Tuesday, the West Mifflin Borough Council officially condemned the vacant Century III Mall.

But what’s next for the crumbling property will not be decided as swiftly, according to Councilman Dan Davis.

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“It’s not as quick as everyone thinks, like after this vote we can go and demo it. It’s still going to take a couple months for us to figure out where we go, how we figure out the situation here,” Davis said.

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Channel 11 has covered repeated complaints over the mall’s structure, which has posed significant safety risks for first responders. In recent months, trespassers have set fire to the mall while creating other damage.

Century III’s owners, Moonbeam Capital, now have 30 days to appeal the condemnation.

Even then, Davis says it’s unclear what will happen.

The Borough would like to see the building demolished but would likely need state funding to help cover demolition costs.

Davis estimates those would total $8-12 million.

“We can’t, in West Mifflin, take this on as a full demolition project,” David said. “We’re not looking to do that. We want the building razed, but we don’t want to foot the bill for this.”

West Mifflin residents, like Jim Jasinski, remember the mall in its heyday and hate to see what it’s become.

“You see the deterioration of that building, it’s just so demoralizing,” Jasinski said. “Growing up there, that was the big spot to go. It was the shopping, the one stop shop, park your car, get out, do your shopping here at this store, that store, stop and get a bite to eat.”

But the now-condemned mall has been plagued by a number of issues recently.

There was a fire in April, people caught trespassing inside and a teen fell through the roof in June, and earlier this month, the mall’s owners were fined $240,000 for its dilapidated condition.

“It is a bad situation,” Davis said. “Enough is enough with Moonbeam, we need to do something.”

Davis would like to see the property demolished by the end of this year — but at this point -- he says it’s still too early to tell if that will be possible.

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