Heights Plaza in Harrison on the market for $16M

The Heights Plaza shopping center in Harrison is for sale.

The 30-acre property, owned by New York-based Benbrooke Realty Investment Co., is on the market for $16 million, according to a listing on LoopNet.com.

Rich Lubkin of Benbrooke did not return TribLive calls or email requests for comment.

The sale comes on the heels of a decision by Community Supermarket owners to leave the plaza after 23 years. That store is expected to close as early as Wednesday.

The closure leaves nearby residents without a walkable grocery store and adds another empty storefront at the plaza, which is about 70% vacant.

Benbrooke also owns parcels that are home to the Wendy’s drive-thru restaurant, Dollar Bank and the 39,545-square-foot strip shopping center that includes the U.S. Post Office and Harvest Moon Coffee and Chocolates.

Each of the parcels is included in the $16 million listing price, but offers for individual parcels within the property will be considered. No prices were listed for the individual parcels.

Lubkin previously said there was too much commercial space to serve the area. While the plaza boasted more than 50 stores in the 1980s, the onset of indoor malls drew shoppers away and made the strip mall format obsolete, he said.

None of the Harrison commissioners was immediately available for comment about the shopping center, which essentially serves as the town center.

Built in 1955 off Freeport Road, the plaza once boasted a Macy’s, Dunham Sports, Big Lots, multiple grocery stores and food spots. Tenants have slowly left the property, leaving dark storefronts along the strip mall. Remaining are Planet Fitness, a nail salon, state Rep. Lindsey Williams’ office and a few other small businesses.

Elements of the overall plaza property still perform well, however.

UPMC and AHN have busy medical offices, the laundromat draws many users, and the Social Security Administration office relocated from New Kensington last year to make its base in a former CVS at the plaza.

It was only eight months ago that Benbrooke announced plans to address what Lubkin called the needs of the community by demolishing the northern wing of the plaza to build housing.

An apartment-style building or senior living facility was proposed for the end of the mall that abuts the Harrison Hi-Rise, which is run by the Allegheny County Housing Authority. It is unclear whether that project will move forward.