Retrofit Atlas

Malls · Pennsylvania

East Hills Shopping Center

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedOperatingPittsburgh, PA

East Hills Shopping Center opened 1960, lost anchors, rezoned industrial, demolished 2001, now hosts U-Pull-And-Pay auto salvage under Eastgate Associates. · summary, model-written

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Site profile12 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Ownership
University, hospital or churchThis site: Petra Ministries county-parcels · all sites with this
Place
100k+ jobs within 45 min by transitThis site: 152,198 epa-walkability · all sites with this
15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)This site: 6/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this
200+ tax-credit housing units within 1 kmThis site: 406 units in 5 properties hud-lihtc · all sites with this
3+ other atlas sites within 10 kmThis site: 3 within 10 km computed · all sites with this
County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012This site: -11% census-cbp · all sites with this
Grocery within 800 mThis site: 2 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this
Opportunity ZoneThis site: 42003523100 hud-oz · all sites with this
Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)This site: …index 12.7 epa-walkability · all sites with this
Strategy
RedevelopedThis site: U-Pull-And-Pay auto salvage opened on the site in 2017. extraction · all sites with this
New use
Logistics and industrialThis 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

StatusOperatingextracted, unreviewed
StrategyRedevelopedextracted, unreviewed
New usesindustrial, retailextracted, unreviewed
What is there nowU-Pull-And-Pay auto salvage opened on the site in 2017.extracted, unreviewed

Planning

Zoning changeto allow for light industrial useextracted, unreviewed
Entitlement year1987extracted, unreviewed

Deals and debt

DateEventPricePartiesSource
1999Sold—Petra MinistriesWikipedia
1991Sold—Eastgate AssociatesWikipedia

Site context

FEMA flood zoneX · AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARDFEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m9: AIRPORT BUSINESS 376; ATLANTIC CLEANERS; EAST HILLS COIN LAUNDRY; FAMILY DOLLAR STORE NO 6598; FIRESTONE STOREEPA FRS
Census tract 420035231003,696 people, 1,407 per sq mi; median household income $60,279; median gross rent $1,347; 22% renters; 13.2% vacant units; 8.6% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)index 12.7 of 20; 70 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 440 m; land-use mix 0.36; 93,686 jobs within 45 min by car, 152,198 by transit; 3% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)6 of 6 daily needs: 2 grocers, 4 schools, 3 parks or playgrounds, 1 health, 8 civic, 1 food and drink; 0 cycleway segments, 0 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity Zoneyes, tract 42003523100 (rural)HUD
Housing permits, Allegheny County (PA), 20241,603 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 0.60; socioeconomic 0.65; housing and transport 0.22; 25% below 150% of poverty; 11% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby3 within 10 km, 9 within 25 km: Churchill Valley Golf Club (3.2 km); Monroeville Mall (7.0 km); Eastland Mall (9.6 km)computed
Overture Mapsno place match; building footprint 5,471 m², 8.179325103759766 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Attention: Wikipedia page views842 since 2015; 842 in the last 12 months; peak 2026-07 with 154Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023population -11% (4,171 → 3,696); median income +55% ($38,785 → $60,279); renters 22% → 22%; median home value +44% ($70,900 → $102,300)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)very low overall (score 19.8); expected annual loss $670,830; community resilience very highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 km5 LIHTC properties, 406 units: Second East Hills Phase I (117 units); East Hills Park Apts (91 units); Second East Hills Phase Ii (82 units)HUD LIHTC
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)low-income, low-access tract (1 mile urban / 10 miles rural); 14% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 20.3%; median family income $56,000; 352 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
SchoolsPenn Hills School District (PK-12); 1 public school within 1 mile: Turner Intermediate SchNCES EDGE
Elevation1,181 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20233,971 establishments (-11%); 68,050 jobs (-8%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $236,739 (-0% 1 yr, +13% 5 yr); typical rent $1,504/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)12,038 vehicles a day on FRANKSTOWN RD (principal arterial, 4 lanes); 213 trucks; 40 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Opened in 1960 as East Hills Shopping Center, an outdoor mall developed by Mellon-Stuart. By the late 1970s most major anchors had closed, leading to failed renovation attempts and a 1987 rezoning to light industrial use. The property changed hands to Eastgate Associates (1991) and Petra Ministries (1999), the mall was demolished in 2001, the site was listed for sale in 2013, and U-Pull-And-Pay auto salvage opened in 2017, where it remains operating.

Why. Anchor losses and unsuccessful renovation attempts drove the decline, prompting rezoning and eventual demolition; no explicit debt or competition is cited in the record.

Where it stands. The site is currently operating under the ownership of Eastgate Associates, which has held the property since 1991.

For a planner

  • Precedent: 1987 rezoning to light industrial enabled conversion to auto salvage and church uses.
  • Policy tools used: zoning change and entitlement granted in 1987 facilitated industrial redevelopment.
  • Open questions: long-term compatibility of industrial use with surrounding area, potential environmental remediation needs, and future market demand for retail versus industrial.

For a developer

  • Site size: not specified in the record.
  • Control: held by Eastgate Associates since 1991 (year_to null).
  • Entitlement stage: zoning changed to light industrial in 1987; entitlement year 1987.
  • Constraints: no flood, transit, or environmental constraints noted in the record.
  • Market signals: tract-level data not provided, so unknown.

What we do not know yet

  • Exact current acreage or parcel configuration is missing.
  • Post-2013 ownership chain after Petra Ministries’ 2013 sale is unclear.
  • Environmental conditions (soil contamination, flood risk) are not documented.
  • Access to transit and nearby infrastructure is unspecified.
  • Market demand for industrial versus retail use in the local tract is unknown.
  • The record’s verified status is draft, indicating some facts may be unreviewed.

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

  • Eastland Mall, North Versailles, PA · Malls · opened 1963; same strategy: redevelop; also in PA
  • Northern Lights Shopping Center, Baden, PA · Malls · opened 1962; same strategy: redevelop; also in PA
  • Greengate Mall, Greensburg, PA · Malls · opened 1965; same strategy: redevelop; also in PA
  • Greengate Mall, Hempfield Township, PA · Malls · same strategy: redevelop; also in PA; 30 km away

Elsewhere on the web

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Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built

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

Opened1960Wikidata
Original developerMellon-Stuartextracted, unreviewed
AnchorsG. C. Murphy, Joseph Horne Company (Horne's), Kresge, Thorofare supermarket
CountyAllegheny County
Census division2 · Mid-Atlantic
NotesWikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States

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

Background

East Hills Shopping Center was an outdoor shopping mall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1960, the center lost most of its major stores in the late 1970s and underwent several failed attempts at renovation.

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

Timeline

  1. 1960 Opened (Wikidata)
  2. 1960 Opened
  3. 1979 Major anchors closed
  4. 1981 Purchase for factory outlet mall plans
  5. 1987 Renamed and rezoned for light industrial use
  6. 1991 Eastgate Associates bought property
  7. 1999 Petra Ministries bought former Zayre store and converted to church
  8. 2001 Mall demolished
  9. 2013 Property put up for sale
  10. 2017 U-Pull-And-Pay auto salvage opened

Sources

  • Wikipedia: East Hills Shopping Center (Pennsylvania) · supports: after notes, original developer, status, strategy, zoning change
    14 quoted sentences
    East Hills opened in 1960 under the development of Mellon-Stuart, a local engineering firm.
    U-Pull-And-Pay auto salvage opened on the site in 2017.
    U-Pull-And-Pay auto salvage opened on the site in 2017.
    In 1981, a local developer purchased the property with plans to convert it to a factory outlet mall.

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