Clearview Mall’s new owners aiming to attract retailers, fill space
More than half the storefronts at the Clearview Mall sit vacant, but the Florida company that has operated the mall since the start of 2024, hopes to change that.
Over the past month, followers of the Clearview Mall’s Facebook page have likely noticed an new marketing campaign from the owners — 4th Dimension Properties.
The posts have openly called for retailers and other businesses to reach out to management about the possibility of leasing space, as well as reminiscing about storefronts that used to grace the mall. Other posts have asked the public directly what kind of businesses they would like to see at the mall.
“We are trying everything that we can to bring the mall back to the standard that Butler would like,” said Larry Brooks, vice president of real estate for 4th Dimension Properties.
The posts consistently gain traction, garnering hundreds and sometimes thousands of reactions and comments. Many of commenters offer their recollections of shopping at the mall during years past.
“What we saw is that the local community really wants (the mall) to succeed,” Brooks said. “We are trying to put out to the local community that we’re willing to work … to provide a place for retailers or Butler businesses to do business.”
The Clearview Mall originally opened in 1981, under the stewardship of the J.J. Gumberg company. During its heyday, the mall was populated with major tenants such as Deb, Sears, Roy Rogers, The Bon Ton, GameStop and JCPenney.
However, as internet shopping took off at the start of the new millennium, indoor shopping malls across the country were left in the dust. Clearview Mall was hit especially hard. After the start of the 2020s, the mall went through a string of ownership changes before 4th Dimension Properties took operational control at the start of 2024. The company previously held a minority stake in the mall before it purchased the remaining stake from previous owner Kohan Retail Investment Group.
“When we took over the mall, it was in pretty sad shape,” Brooks said.
At the start of 2026, only a handful of retail businesses remained at the mall, including Boscov’s, Rural King, Spencer’s Gifts, Dollar Tree, Pearle Vision, Dunham’s Sports, Lock Solid Storage, Dragon Chinese restaurant, Compadres Mexican Restaurant and Texas Roadhouse. Other spaces at the mall are occupied by non-traditional businesses such as a U.S. armed forces recruiting center, an arcade and Optimum Dance Complex.
Another space on the mall’s property was vacated earlier this year, when Allison Park Church — which housed its Butler branch at the mall — purchased the former Tanglewood senior center and relocated there.
Earlier this year, however, Clearview Mall scored a win when Genesis Medical Associates officially opened a new primary care location at the mall. It moved into the space that had been vacated by JCPenney when the department store chain pulled out in 2020.
The arrival of Genesis was especially important because it gave the Clearview Mall a new “anchor tenant,” something Clearview has needed since JCPenney left. According to Brooks, securing a new tenant to fill the space of the former JCPenney was 4th Dimension’s first priority as soon as they purchased the mall.
“It’s a highlight of the mall. It’s the first thing people see,” Brooks said. “An anchor (store) ‘anchors’ the opportunities for the rest of the mall. It brings a lot of traffic to the mall. And as a landlord, our foremost obligation is to get people there. It’s the tenant’s job to sell them something once they’re there.”
Shortly after the new Genesis location opened in March, the mall embarked on its marketing campaign to attract further businesses. Brooks says the company is in talks with “a number of” large tenants to potentially lease space at Clearview.
“I think these Facebook posts did an awful lot of good because it brought Clearview back into the public eye,” Brooks said. “Now, we’ve got people talking about Clearview, and hopefully that generates more and more interest.”
Brooks hopes that the arrival of Genesis Medical Associates will entice other medical practices, or other tenants from the medical or healthcare field that might be looking to capitalize on the proximity to Genesis.
“Other doctors may want to operate within the mall, whether it’s an eye doctor or a dentist,” Brooks said. “People are going to be looking for medical services, and they may want to come to Clearview for many of those same services.”
The Clearview Mall is far from the only mall in Western Pennsylvania facing challenges. Unlike some others, Clearview is at least still in business.
By contrast, Century III Mall in Pittsburgh — once operated by the family of former Pittsburgh Penguins and San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. — closed in 2019 after decades of decline. It was demolished earlier this year. The Monroeville Mall is also set to close in the near future after the property was sold to Walmart, which intends to demolish the mall in its entirety and redevelop the property.
Other malls in the Pittsburgh area are still open, but struggling. The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills in Tarentum opened in 2005 — surprisingly late for an indoor shopping mall — and was never financially successful. A count earlier this year saw less than two dozen stores remaining there.
According to Brooks, indoor shopping malls have become increasingly unattractive locations for businesses because of the added costs associated with setting up there, as opposed to standalone locations or outdoor shopping centers.
“Over the years, the mall product has been an impediment for most local retailers to operate in,” Brooks said. “Inside a mall, the landlord has to pay for parking lot lighting outside, air conditioning inside, employees, managers and security. Strip centers don’t have those things. It’s just a very expensive product to operate.”
The fact that Clearview Mall is in Butler County, as opposed to suburbs closer to Pittsburgh, also makes it a less attractive proposition for larger retailers, according to Brooks.
“When you have a small market, you have a small reach of customers,” Brooks said. “With a small reach of customers, you have to have reasonable expectations.”
Although many retailers have left Clearview Mall over the years, a select few have stuck around through thick and thin, through economic recessions and the pandemic. One of them is Altmeyer’s Western Wear, located across the way from Texas Roadhouse.
Unlike other stores, Altmeyer’s has not only stayed at the mall, but expanded its presence. Shortly after the start of the pandemic, the store doubled its footprint when it purchased the space of a neighboring ABC Photo store that had recently left.
As the name implies, Altmeyer’s specialty is selling Western-themed apparel such as hats, boots and jeans. Store manager Todd Altmeyer believes one of the reasons his store has held out at the Clearview Mall for so long while other, larger chains have left is because customers are willing to go to the mall in person to try out the clothing.
“Most of the stores that were in here are corporate-owned, and I’m not. The business has kind of changed. They’re interested in online, and I’m not,” Altmeyer said. “I keep my store full, and we handpick everything. I do not sell online. I want you to come in here and try on your products.
“We do mostly boots, and you can’t order boots online. They’re not going to fit the same, I guarantee you.”
Altmeyer characterizes his relationship with the mall’s current management as a positive one, at least compared with previous owners, who he said peppered him with “… so many rules and regulations.”
He said he saw previous owners as “probably 50% of the problem.”
“But this new owner … I believe he’ll work with people. … They’re just nicer people. I’m comfortable talking to them,” he said.
Altmeyer’s is not going anywhere soon. According to Altmeyer, the store recently extended its lease for an additional two years.
Although there are signs of life at the Clearview Mall, Brooks says that a complete turnaround will take time.
“Getting Clearview back to what it was is going to take a long time. It’s going to take years. There’s no question about it,” Brooks said. “This industry moves very slow. It moves at a snail’s pace.”
