Malls · Pennsylvania

Highlands Mall

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedDemolishedHarrison Township, PA

Opened 1977. Closed 2006. Redeveloped in 2008.

Status nowDemolishedextracted, unreviewed

documented

demolished

en.wikipedia.org

What it becameretail, mixedextracted, unreviewed reported

Retrofit year2008extracted, unreviewed reported

Walkability11.8 of 20 · 15-minute 2 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap

Rail within 800 mNoOpenStreetMap, HUD

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Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.

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Site profile7 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Place

County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012

This site: -11% census-cbp · all sites with this

Grocery within 800 m

This site: 1 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this

High inland flooding risk

This site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with this

Low social vulnerability tract (SVI ≤ 0.25)

This site: 0.14 cdc-svi · all sites with this

Strategy

Redeveloped

This site: Walmart, Roomful Express, Freedom Square Diner, Dunham's Sports, GameStop, etc. extraction · all sites with this

New use

Mixed use

This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this

Retail (continued)

This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Demolishedextracted, unreviewed documented demolished en.wikipedia.org
Strategy	Redevelopedextracted, unreviewed documented redevelop en.wikipedia.org
New uses	retail, mixedextracted, unreviewed reported
What is there now	Walmart, Roomful Express, Freedom Square Diner, Dunham's Sports, GameStop, etc.extracted, unreviewed documented Walmart, Roomful Express, Freedom Square Diner, Dunham's Sports, GameStop, etc. en.wikipedia.org
Retrofit year	2008extracted, unreviewed reported
Redeveloper	Michael Joseph Developmentextracted, unreviewed reported

Planning

Zoning change	retailextracted, unreviewed documented Michael Joseph Development purchased the mall property in early 2005. en.wikipedia.org
Entitlement year	2005extracted, unreviewed reported

Deals and debt

Date	Event	Price	Parties	Source
2005	Sold	—	Michael Joseph Development ← Gee Bee	Wikipedia
1992	Sold	—	Value City ← Gee Bee	Wikipedia

Site context

FEMA flood zone	X · AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARDFEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m	3: LIEBERTH & SON CHRYSLER PLY; TRACTOR SUPPLY #1881; WAL MART SUPERCENTER NO 3738EPA FRS
Census tract 42003401100	4,486 people, 882 per sq mi; median household income $71,226; median gross rent $754; 19% renters; 6.5% vacant units; 0.1% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)	index 11.8 of 20; 20 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 673 m; land-use mix 0.76; 33,491 jobs within 45 min by car, 8,148 by transit; 6% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)	2 of 6 daily needs: 1 grocers, 0 schools, 3 parks or playgrounds, 0 health, 0 civic, 0 food and drink; 0 cycleway segments, 0 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity Zone	noHUD
Housing permits, Allegheny County (PA), 2024	1,603 units in 5+ unit buildings, 40 in 2–4, 1,356 single-family; 2023: 2,605 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)	overall percentile 0.14; socioeconomic 0.13; housing and transport 0.21; 14% below 150% of poverty; 4% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby	0 within 10 km, 1 within 25 kmcomputed
Overture Maps	no place match; building footprint 18,289 m², 7.169220924377441 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Attention: Wikipedia page views	13,565 since 2015; 1,062 in the last 12 months (-15% vs the prior 12); peak 2018-12 with 235Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023	population -0% (4,506 → 4,486); median income +34% ($53,125 → $71,226); renters 34% → 19%; median home value +88% ($94,100 → $176,800)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)	relatively moderate overall (score 56.6); expected annual loss $1.4M; high: inland flooding; community resilience very highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 km	1 LIHTC properties, 40 units: Pine Ridge Heights (40 units)HUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)	61,288 jobs in 3,717 establishments; average annual pay $41,820; employment location quotient 0.93; employment -2.0% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022	1,591 jobs; 717 in retail trade, 156 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 42003401100)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 48th income percentile as adults; 1.0% incarcerated at the 2010 count (254 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)	not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 7% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 4.9%; median family income $67,609; 234 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	Highlands School District (PK-12); 0 public schools within 1 mileNCES EDGE
Elevation	1,135 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025	1,100 county-logged events: 588 thunderstorm wind, 282 flash flood, 143 hail, 45 flood; $28,713,350 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 15065, 2026-09	median list price $189,900 (+0.0% on the year); 20 active listings; median 56 days on market; 14% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	3,971 establishments (-11%); 68,050 jobs (-8%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $236,739 (-0% 1 yr, +13% 5 yr); typical rent $1,504/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025	389 (2000 = 100); -1.9% 1 yr, +27% 5 yr, +64% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	10,687 vehicles a day on FREEPORT RD (minor arterial, 4 lanes); 321 trucks; 31 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Highlands Mall opened in 1977 and operated as a traditional enclosed mall until it closed in 2006, after which demolition began. The site was redeveloped by Michael Joseph Development and reopened in 2008 as an open‑air shopping center hosting retailers such as Walmart, Dunham's Sports and GameStop.

Why. The record does not specify the reasons for the mall’s closure or demolition.

Where it stands. Today the site functions as an open‑air retail center; the last documented owner in the record is Michael Joseph Development (2005‑2008), with no later ownership data provided.

For a planner

Redevelopment strategy labeled "redevelop" in the record.
Zoning was changed to retail and entitlement was secured in 2005.
Open question: long‑term market viability of the open‑air format at this location.

For a developer

Site size is not provided in the record.
Control last noted with Michael Joseph Development (2005‑2008); current owner unknown.
Entitlement was completed in 2005, permitting retail/mixed use.
Constraints such as flood risk, transit access, or environmental conditions are not mentioned in the record.

What we do not know yet

Site acreage or building footprint is missing.
Reasons for closure (anchor loss, competition, debt) are not stated.
Current ownership and any post‑2008 operational details are unknown.
Context‑layer constraints (flood, transit, environmental) are absent from the record.
Market‑signal data from surrounding tracts are not included.

Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

Century III Mall, West Mifflin, PA · Malls · opened 1979; same strategy: redevelop; also in PA
Eastland Mall, North Versailles, PA · Malls · closed 2007; same strategy: redevelop; also in PA
Bashford Manor Mall, Louisville, KY · Malls · opened 1973; closed 2003; same strategy: redevelop
Carolina Circle Mall, Greensboro, NC · Malls · opened 1976; closed 2002; same strategy: redevelop

Elsewhere on the web

Retail history: Highlands Mall on DeadMalls.com photos, field notes and visitor memories since 2000; matched by name and state only, check the city; nothing copied here

Pages with photos

508226vndharrisonbank1a120618 archive.triblive.com
Walmart Supercenter - 100 Highlands Mall Dr, Natrona Heights, PA 15065 ... businessyab.com
Highlands Mall highlandsmall.co.ke
What Highlands Mall really looks like||Mall series||Eldoret city - YouTube youtube.com
Highlands Mall in Township, Eldoret - Sapama sapama.com

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

retrofit already built
closed or demolished site (sourced)
housing in the record

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Opened	1977Wikidata
Closed	2006extracted, unreviewed documented closed in 2006 en.wikipedia.org
Original developer	Crown Americanextracted, unreviewed documented Crown American en.wikipedia.org
Anchors	Gee Bee Department Stores
County	Allegheny County
Census division	2 · Mid-Atlantic
Notes	Wikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA. Know it? Tell us.

Background

Highlands Mall is a former shopping mall in Harrison Township, Pennsylvania that operates today as an open-air shopping center. It opened in 1977 and closed in 2006, reopening after its redevelopment in 2008.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

1972 Crown American began planning expansion
1977 Opened (Wikidata)
1977 Mall opened
2006 Mall closed and demolition began
2008 Redeveloped mall opened

Sources

Wikipedia: Highlands Mall · supports: after notes, original developer, status, strategy, year closed, zoning change
10 quoted sentences
closed in 2006
Crown American
Walmart, Roomful Express, Freedom Square Diner, Dunham's Sports, GameStop, etc.
demolished

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Highlands Mall, Harrison Township, PA." Record m-59dce8e568, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/pa/harrison-township-highlands-mall/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_harrisontownshiphighlandsmall,
  title = {Highlands Mall, Harrison Township, PA},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/pa/harrison-township-highlands-mall/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record m-59dce8e568, release 2026.10.20, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-20}
}

How to cite, versioning