Monroeville mayor confirms developer applied for $7.5 million RACP demolition grant for Monroeville Mall; some residents urge rejection

Mayor Griesock told citizens at Tuesday’s agenda-setting meeting that Cypress Equities submitted a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant application on behalf of Walmart seeking $7,500,000 in demolition funding for the Monroeville Mall site.

The mayor said the RACP request is a matching grant: the applicant asked the state for $7.5 million toward an estimated $15 million total demolition cost. The mayor said Monroeville municipal staff had not received any site-plan or formal land-development applications from Cypress Equities or Walmart and that the company has told municipal officials it plans public open-house forums for the community when developer plans are ready. "They say that it's taking way longer than what they anticipated," the mayor said, and described the redevelopment timetable as "probably a 4 year" process.

Resident Lois Drumheller, addressing the RACP program’s public comment period, urged other residents to file comments opposing the grant. Drumheller said she reviewed the state RACP website and writes that the mall parcel — described in the meeting as roughly 184–186 acres — was purchased earlier this year for about $34 million and that Cypress Equities had publicly announced intent to invest substantially in redevelopment. Drumheller also said the entity listed on the RACP application handling the request for Walmart is named "South Saturn Ridge." She said the public comment window for the RACP program closes Oct. 30 and urged residents to submit objections if they believed state funds should be directed elsewhere.

Mayor Griesock emphasized that the municipality was not the decision maker for RACP grants and that the state appropriation and budget process affects award timing. "The county gets involved. The municipality is not involved as far as that goes," the mayor said, urging residents to use the RACP public-comment process.

At the meeting several residents also asked whether the municipality would create a committee or otherwise help existing mall tenants find temporary space during a multi-year redevelopment. The mayor said municipal staff would try to connect merchants to other property owners and would follow up with the Chamber of Commerce, but noted the municipality does not own the mall site.

The mayor and public provided differing acreages in remarks: the mayor repeatedly referenced "186 acres," while Drumheller said the RACP materials referenced a "184-acre" site. That discrepancy came up during comments; both speakers agreed residents could view RACP filings and provide comments directly to the state.

The RACP program requires public comment during application windows and officials said the deadline to submit comments on this round of applications is Oct. 30. Residents who wish to comment were directed to the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program website or to submit written comment to the state budget office in Harrisburg.