Beaver Valley Mall, Monaca, PA: From Anchor Glory to Empty Corridors

Beaver Valley Mall sits off Brodhead Road in Center Township, near Monaca, Pennsylvania, just 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

It opened in 1970 as a full-scale regional mall, anchored at first by department stores like Gimbels, The Joseph Horne Company, and Sears.

Wide main corridors looped past national clothing chains, jewelry counters, and a food court set near the center.

Through the years, new anchors moved in as others left: Boscov's, JCPenney, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Rural King.

The property once drew shoppers from across Beaver County. It gave local residents a gathering spot on weekends or after school.

In the early 2000s, plans for expansions and redevelopment were announced more than once. By the 2020s, sections of the mall sat quiet.

The planned closure of JCPenney in September 2025 will leave Beaver Valley Mall without another major anchor tenant.

Opening and Early Expansion (1970-1986)

Beaver Valley Mall opened in 1970 with a design built around three department store anchors: The Joseph Horne Company, Gimbels, and Sears.

The corridors led to wide storefronts and deep display windows. Overhead, fluorescent lights set the tone for each walkway.

The parking lots around the property filled easily on weekends, and foot traffic often funneled through the main entrance to the center court.

Within the first year, Gimbels' new ownership by BATUS brought some attention to the brand, but no changes to the mall's retail mix showed up right away.

Shoppers from Beaver County and nearby townships came for national chains, appliance stores, and jewelry counters.

For many, the mall became the new place to meet friends or compare sales.

By the mid-1980s, anchor tenants started to face declining sales, a pattern that matched shifts in other regional malls.

When BATUS made its decision to close the entire Gimbels Pittsburgh division, Beaver Valley Mall's anchor lineup changed.

The old Gimbels space would soon get a complete renovation before opening as Kaufmann's.

Anchor Changes and Department Store Turnover (1986-2007)

After BATUS closed Gimbels in 1986, May Department Stores renovated the anchor and opened Kaufmann's in 1987.

The new store replaced the old fixtures and changed the way shoppers entered from the corridor.

The Joseph Horne Company, originally part of the mall's opening mix, switched owners and became part of the Lazarus brand under Federated Department Stores by the mid-1990s.

The Lazarus nameplate only stayed for a few years before Federated closed the location, leaving an empty anchor.

When Boscov's took over the space in 1998, it reopened with new signage, updated shelving, and an advertising campaign targeting nearby neighborhoods.

Each anchor swap brought physical changes: new carpet, wall treatments, and logo displays.

JCPenney arrived in 1998, building a fresh store right in front of the food court, moving operations from the older Northern Lights Shopping Center.

Dick's Sporting Goods joined in 2007, built in between JCPenney and Boscov's, which filled out one of the mall's major stretches.

With these additions, mall traffic stayed steady, and tenants updated their front windows to draw in customers passing to and from the anchors.

Crisis and Public Health (2003)

In late 2003, Beaver Valley Mall became the focus of national news when a hepatitis A outbreak was traced to the Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurant attached to the mall.

More than six hundred people contracted the virus, and the health department investigation led back to scallions imported from Mexico.

Signs appeared at mall entrances and near the food court, alerting visitors about the outbreak and advising anyone who had eaten at Chi-Chi's to seek medical screening.

The food court's usual activity slowed, with several nearby tenants reporting reduced business during the period of investigation.

Health officials held briefings in the parking lot, and local television crews filmed outside the mall entrances.

The outbreak prompted the closure of all Chi-Chi's locations nationwide, not just the one at Beaver Valley Mall.

Restaurant spaces connected to the mall were inspected, but only Chi-Chi's and nearby food court businesses were affected.

Mall management installed hand sanitizer stations and coordinated with county officials as the investigation played out.

Over the following months, new signage was placed in public areas, and some visitors chose to avoid the food court entirely.

After the outbreak, new food vendors opened in the same area, though some vacancies remained longer than before.

The space itself stayed physically unchanged except for the loss of Chi-Chi's branding and fixtures.

Retail Shifts and Closures (2016-2020)

Sears announced the closure of its Beaver Valley Mall store in June 2016, marking the end of a long run for one of the original anchors.

The loss of Sears changed the layout, with a stretch of unused space at one end and questions about the next tenant.

Macy's followed the next year, closing its store after deciding to focus on higher-performing locations.

The closure left behind a large anchor with its signage still visible from the parking lot.

Rural King stepped in during 2017, taking over the former Sears property and opening in March 2018 with aisles of farm supplies, clothing, and hardware.
Plans for redeveloping the former Macy's space were announced in 2018, calling for a project called The Shops at Beaver Valley Mall.

The concept included retail, restaurants, and offices, but by 2020, progress stopped as plans were shelved during the pandemic.

Instead, the old Macy's was reworked into a U-Haul self-storage center, with a Firehouse Subs added.

Shoppers and tenants adjusted as the mall's lineup changed, and foot traffic patterns shifted again.

The food court, still open, now served fewer crowds bound by anchors but stayed active during lunch hours.

Decline, Transition, and Uncertain Future (2020-2025)

Beaver Valley Mall entered the 2020s with a reputation as a "dead mall" among many local shoppers.

Ross Park Mall and The Mall at Robinson, with their larger retail selections and newer facilities, drew away crowds who once spent weekends at Beaver Valley.

Several anchor spaces remained occupied, but foot traffic in common areas decreased.

Rumors about Amazon buying the mall began circulating in mid-2024.

Still, township officials stated there was no verified sale, and no announcements from Amazon or Namdar Realty Group, the mall's owner, followed.

In 2025, Aces Breakaway and Play closed its arcade after more than thirty years, leaving a section of the mall quieter than before.

JCPenney's closure was announced on June 5, 2025, with a closing sale and a final day set for September 17.

Boscov's remains the only major anchor from the 1990s still open.

At the same time, Ollie's Bargain Outlet (in outparcel), Rural King, and Dick's Sporting Goods continue operations.

Local residents visit for essential errands, but many stores operate with fewer staff or shorter hours.

Redevelopment plans or new tenant announcements did not appear in public filings by mid-2025.