Lower Burrell councilmen seek new uses for empty JCPenney store, a longtime eyesore

Two Lower Burrell councilmen are working to change the city’s symbol of lost retail luster — the empty JCPenney building fronted by pothole-riddled asphalt once lined with more than 300 parking spaces.

Councilmen David Stoltz and Chris Fabry are trying to bring in a new buyer to Penney’s, as well as other commercial sites in the city.

About 17 years ago, Penney’s left Burrell Plaza for greener pastures at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. The store, one of Lower Burrell’s largest retail spaces at nearly 185,000 square feet, has sat empty since.

One of the few saving graces in Burrell Plaza occurred in 2017, when U-Haul moved into the site of the former Montgomery Ward, a large department store that closed in 2001.

“We get a bad rap because of the large visible empty spaces at the former Penney’s and the Hillcrest Shopping Center,” Stoltz said.

“But Lower Burrell is not a ghost town,” he continued, noting that local restaurants continue to prosper and the smaller strip malls are mostly filled up.

Stoltz and Fabry believe the JCPenney building could be a multistory, mixed-use development hosting small retail outlets on the first floor and middle-income condos and housing on the upper floors.

“There is nothing that isn’t on the table,” Fabry said. “We want it filled.”

The Penney’s site is listed for $2.4 million by Newmark Real Estate. The owner of the Penney’s store and Burrell Plaza, Widewaters of Syracuse, N.Y., did not return calls for this report.

There has been interest before in Penney’s that didn’t culminate in a new retail development. A big-box store was considering the property several years ago, but the deal fell apart, according to present and past city officials.

The biggest hindrance for attracting a big-box store to the site is the condition of the building and the lack of a four-lane road, Fabry said.

Stoltz added, “People like Target and Walmart. We just don’t have the demographics for it. We’re a town of 12,000 people.”

Fabry said the city needs to market and promote available real estate for smaller stores and think beyond retail.

But there are possibilities for Penney’s: There has been activity lately with multiple inquiries and at least one potentially interested buyer, Fabry and Stoltz said. Fabry has been working to strengthen the city’s relationship with Widewaters because he wants to help them sell it, he said.

Stoltz, a new councilman, sent out letters to about 15 prospective businesses, including some well-known franchises, to consider locating in the city.

Fabry would like to land a high-end grocer. Stoltz wants a microbrewery.

They say they’ve only begun to market the city’s business potential.