Phillip Falconi, a person of a team of builders who remodeled a South Strabane Township industry into Washington Shopping mall, died Monday at his Southpointe house. He was 88.
The 1st cousin of Angelo Falconi, the Washington County businessman whose title after graced Wild Issues Park, Falconi owned many auto dealerships and was involved in other authentic estate ventures. But obtaining Washington Mall built stands as just one of his most noteworthy tasks.
Positioned at the intersection of Oak Spring and Washington streets, about 100 yards from the border separating Washington from South Strabane and close to Interstates 79 and 70, Washington Mall was a person of the initially enclosed purchasing centers in the Pittsburgh region when it opened in 1968, following South Hills Village by three a long time. Malls were being transforming the retail landscape in the 1960s, and Falconi and his fellow builders seized the prospect to put a mall in the Washington location.
“The strategy of an enclosed browsing center was quite productive outdoors of areas like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles,” mentioned Stephen Richman, a retired Washington legal professional who was portion of the group of first house owners.
“It was a new issue,” he extra, pointing out the creation of a type of indoor city sq., wherever persons could store, socialize and be entertained “was novel and terribly profitable.”
In its heyday, Washington Mall counted retailers like G.C. Murphy and JCPenney amid its anchors. Not prolonged immediately after it opened, Washington Mall confronted level of competition from Franklin Shopping mall in North Franklin Township – now Washington Crown Centre – and by the 1990s, Washington Shopping mall was experiencing extra competitiveness from huge-box shops. Now, all bodily suppliers encounter stiff levels of competition from on the internet merchants. Washington Mall nevertheless stands, even though it is now largely vacant, with only a handful of shops even now inside it.
“Retailing has altered fairly a little bit,” Richman mentioned.
Falconi is survived by his spouse, Ruthann, two daughters, a son, his sister and two grandsons. Pals will be been given starting at 2 p.m. Friday at the Mario L. DeAngelo Funeral Home in Canonsburg. Funeral companies at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in McMurray will be personal.
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