Target and Dick's Sporting Goods to Move into South Hills Village

The Upper St. Clair commissioners voted in favor of a tentative approval for the renovation and expansion of the former Boscov's building at the South Hills Village Mall.

Target will occupy the building's first floor. Meanwhile, Dick's Sporting Goods will relocate from behind the mall into the second and third floors, and is expected to have a similar appearance to the Dick's connected to The Mall at Robinson.

The Simon Property Group, owner of the mall, will submit its final construction plan to the planning commission and the board of commissioners in the next few months.

Scott Richardson, regional vice president of development for Simon Property Group, said construction could begin as soon as early fall and take approximately 12 to 18 months to complete. 

"It's a good night for us and for the residents of Upper St. Clair," Richardson said. 

He said Target and Dick's Sporting Goods representatives have shown great interest in redeveloping the building—which has been vacant for years—and thinks the stores will benefit the community.

Simon Property Group made revisions to its plan . Landscaping was extended along Washington Road to provide a better buffer for the neighborhood across the street from the mall. A sidewalk was also added from Washington Road into the mall development so residents could walk from Fieldgate Drive.

"This makes the interior much more walkable," said Kevin McKeegan, an attorney representing the Simon Property Group.

The commissioners approved the plan with modifications. The approval allows for fewer parking spots at the mall, due to the results of a parking study. 

Township staff and the commissioners were more concerned on Monday night about the screening of the trash compactors, loading docks and cart corrals.

Additional landscaping and screening is in the revised plan for the loading dock area, which is located on the first level on the mall. Representatives for the Simon Property Group said details will be made clear in their final plan, but they said screening is limited due to the routes the trucks must take to back into the garages.

The other concern the township staff and commissioners had was the appearance of the cart corrals. Target representatives revised their application to appease the township officials by adding permanent cart corrals instead of the aluminum, movable corrals normally found in front of Target stores. The corrals in Upper St. Clair will have curbs and bushes surrounding the structures.

Two future outparcels in the parking lot near Jared the Gallery of Jewelry are also in the approved application. Because the permanent cart corrals eliminated 16 parking spots, the future outparcels were made smaller.

"It poses a little bit of a challenge, but we will still have a lot of options," Richardson said.

When Dick's Sporting Goods moves from its current location behind South Hills Village Mall and into the former Boscov's building, Richardson said the Simon Property Group will lease the space to another tenant. He said he expects Macy's Furniture to remain in the building.

The three commissioners at Monday night's meeting—Robert Orchowski, Mark Christie and Glenn Dandoy—voted in favor of the application. Commissioner Daniel Paoly listened and participated in the meeting via phone and also voted in favor of the plan. Commissioners Russell Del Re, Preston Shimer and Mark Hamilton were excused from the meeting due to other commitments and did not vote.