It starts coming down today.
The first phase of demolition for the Century III Mall in West Mifflin, Allegheny County, is scheduled to begin today, March 26, according to a story from KDKA.
It’s not known what time demolition will begin, but it is expected to start at the parking garage, as an asbestos survey has been done on that structure.
A full asbestos survey of the mall is not believed to have been completed yet. That survey is required by the Allegheny County Health Department before the main structure can be demolished.
It was reported last week that Moonbeam Capital, which owns the mall, has filed demolition permits and hired a contractor, Neiswonger, to start tearing the empty property down.
KDKA had previously reported that shelves were being removed from the old JCPenney store, and construction equipment from Neiswonger had been set up in the mall’s parking lot.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. filed charges against the mall back in January, charging the owners with causing or risking a catastrophe, a felony, and making a public nuisance, a misdemeanor.
During a March 8 hearing, an Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge gave Moonbeam Capital 30 days to show they were making progress towards razing the building.
Moonbeam, which is based in Las Vegas, purchased the 1.3-million-square-foot mall during a sheriff’s sale in 2013 for 10.5 million. The mall closed in 2019.
Since then the structure has posed a danger to trespassers. In April 2023, there was a fire at the mall that is now being investigated as arson. A teenage boy fell through the roof in June and was hospitalized. Later that same month, four people were charged after filming a YouTube video in the abandoned mall. In November, another YouTuber was charged with trespassing in the mall.
