Iconic Monroeville Mall Featured In George Romero’s ‘Dawn Of The Dead’ Now Owned By Walmart
In an ironic twist of fate, Walmart has bought the land on which the Monroeville Mall rests in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, this past Monday. The 56-year-old shopping center is famous for being the site where George Romero filmed his legendary 1978 undead classic, Dawn of the Dead, and it became an essential stop for any horror fan who’s making a road trip through the Keystone State.
RELATED: Walmart Buys Monroeville Mall From George Romero’s ‘Dawn Of The Dead’
CBL Properties (who owns the land and the 186 acres surrounding it) announced last week that they sold the patch of soil for a slight steal at $34 million to an unnamed buyer.And it turns out that the massive retail corporation is the one behind the purchase. Walmart’s Corporate Communications Director, Mike Rickel, talked to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the recent acquisition:
“Walmart has been very interested in serving the community,” Ricker revealed to the Gazette. “It’s very early in the process. We’re very interested in being part of the redevelopment.”
It still isn’t clear if the mall will be preserved, or if it will be bulldozed to the ground, but Ricker insists that “it’s too early in the process” to make that prediction. However, he did happen to point out that there isn’t a Walmart location in that area. The news comes shortly after Cypress Equities stated that they have been hired to bring “a new retail and commercial destination” and get the “highest and best use” out of the the place.
CEO of the Texas-based real estate company, Chris Maguire, also talked to the PPG about the future of the local landmark, and an apparent “a new vision” for the mall property.
“We’re not going to limit ourselves to any outcome,” Maguire said in the interview. “We’re going to study all potential redevelopment opportunities.”
“For the short term, shoppers will not notice a whole lot of change,” he added. “We’d like to go as quickly as possible. I think it’s in all of our best interest to bring the redevelopment to today’s standards and to what that community deserves.” The CEO stated that Cypress is focused on keeping the mall “safe, secure, and clean” and to “make sure it’s a good environment for people to shop.”
“Whether the mall remains in some form or fashion,” Maguire concluded, “it’s too early to speculate.”
Unfortunately, the only thing anyone can do right now is speculate. Cypress Equities just broke ground on a new, state-of-the-art Class A office tower along the banks of the Mississippi River in New Orleans that will be the headquarters for Shell’s Gulf of Mexico operations. They have built 25 stores for Walmart around America, but they are also known for restoring old establishments, and revitalizing the property.
Herky Pollock is the president and CEO of Legacy Realty Partners and one of the top retail brokers of that region. (And yes, Herky really is his first name!) His prediction is that the chances of the mall being replaced by a Walmart is as certain in this life as taxes, death, and undeath.
“Walmart has been looking to open a store in Monroeville for over ten years,” Herky told the PPG in a text. “The end result will have both positive and negative ramifications on this trade area for many years to come. Needless to say, this marks an end of an era as we all grew up frequenting the mall!”
In an age where people are trying to erase the past while simultaneously trying to cling to it, what will happen to the “Mall of the Dead” is presently anybody’s guess. All zombie fans can do is hope for the best-case scenario, and prepare for the most apocalyptic. Because when there’s no more room in hell, even more Walmarts will walk the Earth.
Dawn of the Dead is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
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