CRANBERRY TWP — The Cranberry Mall, which is managed by LG Realty Advisors, is keeping up with the times.

“We are doing what we can to update the center to a current tenant roster that's more upscale, to meet the improving demographic of Cranberry Township,” Brian Gumberg of LG said.

The mall, which was built in 1981 with Kroger and Kmart as anchors, generates an estimated $125 million in annual sales.

Over the past year, Giant Eagle, one of the larger tenants, spent a “good bit of money” to improve its 86,000-square-foot store, Gumberg said. Most of the work was done to the interior, but minor exterior improvements were made as well.

Marshalls, which has 33,000 square feet of space, is also undergoing interior renovations.

Supervalu holds the lease for the former Kuhn's market. The Minnesota-based food giant took possession in January and is looking for a business to occupy the space, Gumberg said.

Ulta Beauty and Cosmetics recently took over two sites. One was occupied by Rite Aid and the other by LensCrafters.

Ulta is under construction and is expected to be open in April or May.

American Eagle remodeled the interior and exterior of its store to make it more like its mall prototype, Gumberg said.

Kay Jewelers opened in the old Parkvale Bank suite in October and required a full remodel.

Perfect Nails and Spa replaced Puccini Hair Design, and is under construction. It will open in a few months.

Emiliano's Mexican Restaurant & Bar, which took over the site of the former CiCi's Pizza, opened in May and renovations took about six months.

Henry Abila, who is a manger at Emiliano's, said the owners, Juan Manuel and Benny Ulloa, thought the Cranberry Mall was a great place to be.

“We are doing good so far,” Abila said. “This is a good mall that gets a lot of traffic.”

Abila said the Cranberry Cinemas attracts people to the mall and many of those guests stop by the restaurant either before or after a movie. Emiliano's is grateful for their patronage.

“We would like to thank the people of Cranberry for their business,” Abila said.

Cranberry Cinemas, which takes up 27,000 square feet, has submitted plans to grow from eight to 10 theaters.

Ron Henshaw, Cranberry's director of community development, said the township thinks the expansion is a plus for the mall.

“We are happy to see them stand strong and provide more options for our residents,” Henshaw said.

He added that the theater needed to wrap up some loose ends before receiving final approval for a permit.

Donnie Baxa, a manager at the cinema, said the addition would allow the theater to show more smaller, independent films that customers frequently request.

Baxa, who has been with the cinema since it took over the lease from Carmike Cinemas in 2009, said the expansion would also mean more restrooms and a new row of handicap parking spaces.

Baxa, who commutes to the cinema from New Brighton, said on a busy Friday or Saturday the theater accommodates 600 to 800 people.

The Cranberry Mall is a nice area to work in, he said.

“You can tell they are putting a lot of time and effort into the mall,” Baxa said. “It is a really nice area and there is not a lot of crime.”

<b>Address</b>: 20111 Route 19, Cranberry Township<b>Owner</b>: Gumberg Associates; managed by LG Realty Advisors<b>Website</b>: www.lgrealtyadvisors.com<b>What it does</b>: Leases retail space