New Owner Expected For The Old Northway Mall
ROSS TOWNSHIP (KDKA) –The Shoppes at Northway -- better known as Northway Mall -- along McKnight Road in Ross Township may be about to change owners.
"There were site surveyors out here for the past few weeks, and I asked one of the surveyors what they were surveying for, and they did not give comment for what property or what company they were doing the survey," Sheldon Stish, who works at the Mall, told KDKA money editor Jon Delano.
For those who remember better days at the Mall, improvements can't come soon enough.
"We used to hang here as teenagers, so it was a lot of fun. There was an arcade downstairs and Isaly's and Barkus Bakery and National Record Mart," said Sandy Lee of Prospect who grew up nearby.
Pictures of those days adorn one of the walls.
Built 50 years ago in 1962, Northway Mall was one of the first indoor malls of its kind. Now with so many vacancies, the mall faces a very uncertain future.
But that future may get brighter if Akron, Ohio-based Levey and Company's LRC Realty buys the property out of bankruptcy, as reported by the Pittsburgh Business Times.
Nearby residents hope the mall can be rejuvenated.
"It's got a beautiful location, great access, great parking, great facilities -- and more people keep vacating and vacating, and I don't know why," said neighbor John Cochran of Ross.
Levey has purchased other nearby property, including an adjacent grade school now leased by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox church holding a food fair on the site.
Township commissioner Dan DeMarco says he hopes new ownership happens quickly.
"Jobs and taxes. Jobs for the people, and improved tax base for Ross Township," noted DeMarco.
There are lots of rumors of what could happen on this site.
Many people think a Walmart might be coming -- and that a hotel or office building will be built where the elementary school is located.
But Levey and Company was not available to comment today -- and township officials say they are also in the dark, at least for the moment.
What is certain is that something seems to be in the works for this landmark site on McKnight Road.
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