Teenager in critical condition after falling through roof at Century III Mall
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (KDKA) — Another incident at the old Century III Mall on Friday night when a teen fell through the roof may be the last straw.
The incidents keep adding up, and the conditions keep getting worse, to the point where the structure may not be standing in a year or two.
The teen fell through the roof and is in critical condition with two broken vertebrae and a punctured lung, officials said. He remains at the hospital on a ventilator as a precaution. The teen is a student at West Mifflin High School.
Lauren Rowe has great memories working as a teenager at Century III, and it's hard for her to see what's happened to the once-thriving attraction.
"I don't see any type of coming back," Rowe said. "It's very sad to see something that you loved and one of the top malls in the country in your backyard go completely into total disarray and despair."
It's not just the conditions, but the incidents, like that on Friday night, when the teenage boy fell 20 feet through the roof of the old Macy's.
A teenage girl told KDKA-TV she and her friends were hanging out with her brother near the old Five Below, a store that used to be in the mall, when they got into an argument and eventually heard the sound of thuds.
Borough Council Member Dan Davis expects police will charge the teenage boy with trespassing, but first officers are working to answer some questions. Barriers had been placed at all entrances and fences were put up around the property.
"Trying to investigate how he got on the roof and why he was on the roof," Davis said.
Recently, police also arrested three vandals in May and responded to an arson fire in April and Davis said some vehicles pulled the hinges off the building doors, prompting police to put up barriers.
Davis is primarily concerned for fire, police, and EMS workers responding to these events, who don't know what they're walking into.
"We've had the fire. We've had water infiltration. We know we got mold, we got asbestos, we got structural deficiencies in there, there's no power and no water," Davis said.
In 2019, the borough determined the building to be out of compliance. Now, they'll likely declare it condemned during a vote on June 14, following a public hearing. They're already in talks with local and state lawmakers, including the lieutenant governor, to help find options to fund a demolition.
"How do we take care of this? Where do we get the resources to bring this down? West Mifflin doesn't have $10-15 million to bring this down," Davis said.
Mayor Chris Kelly told KDKA-TV he will be reviewing the situation with the district attorney to see what liability the borough has to hold Moonbeam, the owner of the building, accountable.
Davis said that's getting ahead of things. He's just focused on the upcoming vote.
"The nostalgias of bringing this mall back, we're past that stage. We need to repurpose this mall and move on from this," Davis said.
"It's now time to see it go and us rebuild. I think we deserve that," Rowe said.
Davis said they had a few potential buyers; the latest was Menard's, which fell through in February.
He also said Moonbeam said they would fill the huge potholes surrounding the mall, but they have yet to do so.
KDKA-TV reached out to Moonbeam for comment but has not heard back at this time.
Local officials urge everyone to stay off the property. KDKA already noticed a larger police presence on Saturday.