Aug 19, 2021 2 min read

Phillip Falconi, one of a group of developers who transformed a South Strabane Township field into Washington Mall, died Monday at his Southpointe home. He was 88.

The first cousin of Angelo Falconi, the Washington County businessman whose name once graced Wild Things Park, Falconi owned several car dealerships and was involved in other real estate ventures. But getting Washington Mall built stands as one of his most noteworthy projects.

Located at the intersection of Oak Spring and Washington roads, about 100 yards from the border separating Washington from South Strabane and close to Interstates 79 and 70, Washington Mall was one of the first enclosed shopping centers in the Pittsburgh region when it opened in 1968, following South Hills Village by three years. Malls were transforming the retail landscape in the 1960s, and Falconi and his fellow developers seized the opportunity to put a mall in the Washington area.

“The concept of an enclosed shopping center was very successful outside of places like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles,” said Stephen Richman, a retired Washington attorney who was part of the group of original owners.

“It was a new thing,” he added, pointing out the creation of a kind of indoor town square, where people could shop, socialize and be entertained “was novel and extraordinarily successful.”

In its heyday, Washington Mall counted stores like G.C. Murphy and JCPenney among its anchors. Not long after it opened, Washington Mall faced competition from Franklin Mall in North Franklin Township – now Washington Crown Center – and by the 1990s, Washington Mall was facing additional competition from big-box retailers. Now, all physical retailers face stiff competition from online retailers. Washington Mall still stands, though it is now mostly empty, with only a handful of stores still within it.

“Retailing has changed quite a bit,” Richman said.

Falconi is survived by his wife, Ruthann, two daughters, a son, his sister and two grandsons. Friends will be received starting at 2 p.m. Friday at the Mario L. DeAngelo Funeral Home in Canonsburg. Funeral services at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in McMurray will be private.