Cypress Equities previews Monroeville Mall redevelopment; Walmart to retain store
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Summary
Cypress Equities told Monroeville council on Oct. 14 that it plans a multi-phase redevelopment of the Monroeville Mall site, with Walmart keeping its store and parking lot; the developer committed to a public town hall before submitting formal applications.
Cypress Equities representatives on Oct. 14 introduced preliminary plans for redeveloping the Monroeville Mall site and said Walmart, which owns the anchor store and its parking area, will retain its property while Cypress will develop the remainder.
Scott Harrington, who runs Cypress Equities’ East Coast operations, told the council the company acquired the mall in January after being awarded the project in mid-November and is working through multiple concept iterations. “When we bought them all in January, there were 142 merchants operating in the mall,” Harrington said, adding that about 90 merchants were on month-to-month arrangements and roughly 20 had leases extending past 2028.
Harrington said the site offers about 100 acres of developable land and that Walmart’s footprint represents roughly 25 percent of the property. He said Cypress is negotiating with several existing anchors and strong-performing interior merchants — naming Dick’s, JCPenney, Best Buy, Cinemark, Barnes & Noble, Guitar Center and Harbor Freight — and is developing a new concept that emphasizes open-air public spaces, local art, small curated retail, and food-hall-style options.
Harrington said the team has iterated through many concept plans and expects to have a plan ready to share publicly within a few months. He emphasized Cypress’s commitment to host a town-hall-style community meeting before submitting formal planning or zoning applications and said Walmart representatives would attend to present their updated prototype store design.
Mayor Grisock welcomed the presentation and said the proposed work could recreate a town-center function for the mall property. “This really tells a wonderful story as far as the mall … and what can happen to it,” the mayor said.
Harrington repeatedly characterized the presentation as an introduction rather than a formal application, noting the project will require preparing infrastructure plans and going through the town’s entitlement and planning processes. No formal plans or permit applications were shown to the council at the Oct. 14 meeting.
Council members and staff did not take any formal votes related to the mall presentation during the meeting. Cypress and Walmart representatives committed to schedule a community town hall and to return to the borough with more-detailed materials before filing any applications.
