Walmart is now the proud owner of a shopping mall near Pittsburgh, the company confirmed to Retail Dive Tuesday. It plans to redevelop the Monroeville Mall and Annex in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, in partnership with Cypress Equities, a Texas-based real estate and development firm.
“Walmart did purchase the Monroeville Mall and is very interested in being part of any future redevelopment of this site,” the retailer said in a Tuesday statement. “Walmart is working with Cypress on mall operations and potential redevelopment of the site.”
This is the first time the company acquired an operating mall of this size, Walmart told Retail Dive. The company said it was unable to share specific plans about the Monroeville Mall project.
The mall deal further builds on Walmart’s store expansion plans. In 2023, the company said it invested over $500 million to update 117 stores. Then last year, the company announced an expansive, five-year plan to build or expand 150 locations and remodel 650 stores. The new and remodeled stores will feature expanded product selections and improved layouts, as part of a larger goal to enhance store growth.
Cypress CEO Chris Maguire told Retail Dive in an email they’re in the initial planning stages and will spend the next several months evaluating redevelopment options. Because the work is still in the early stages, Maguire said there’s no project timeline yet.
CBL Properties said Friday that it sold the Monroeville Mall and Annex for $34 million. The 1.2 million-square-foot property occupies 186 acres and is near an existing commercial corridor. It sits at the junction of several major highways, including U.S. 22, Interstate 376 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Built in 1969, the mall’s last renovation was in 2003, the Monroeville Times Express reported in December. CBL bought the mall in 2004 for $231.2 million, according to news reports from that time. In a statement Monday, Cypress said “the property is well suited for a major redevelopment and repositioning into a mix of uses including retail and entertainment, restaurants, residential, hospitality, office, and public spaces.”
Located about 15 miles east of Pittsburgh, the two-story Monroeville Mall has more than 130 stores, including Macy’s, Best Buy, J.C. Penney, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble and a Cinemark theater. In 2023, CBL said the mall had nearly 3.5 million annual visits.
CBL also owned the adjacent Annex at Monroeville, an open air shopping center, with eight more stores, including a Dick’s-owned Going Going Gone and music retailer Guitar Center.
Some retailers have sought to move out of shopping malls in recent years as traffic has declined, though some centers continue to thrive.
The mall and annex’s trade area is over 420,000 people, who have an average household income of about $83,000, according to Placer.ai data. The Monroeville Veterans Affairs Clinic opened on the mall property in 2023 and two other hospitals operate nearby, as do about a dozen colleges and universities.
Citing its experience in redeveloping underutilized malls and commercial centers, Dallas-based Cypress said the Monroeville Mall is a good candidate for a major mixed use redevelopment that could see its current slate of retail and restaurant offerings augmented with residential, hospitality and office spaces.
“We believe this redevelopment will create a vibrant and dynamic destination that serves the community and drives economic growth in the region,” Maguire said.