Richland Township Zoning Hearing Board denies request of storage company with sights set on Galleria site
May 8—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The Richland Township Zoning Hearing Board decided Tuesday that a self-service storage facility is not acceptable in a commercial district, specifically in what is perhaps the township's most iconic commercial location, The Johnstown Galleria.
The decision was unanimous among the board's five members — Chairman William Patrick, P.J. McGowan, Patrick Wess, Rodney Kniss and Mark Rychak — to deny zoning adjustments requested by the Michigan-based Storage of America, which would have allowed the company to establish storage units in a former anchor store of the mall.
Board members declined to comment Tuesday about their decision because the process is not over. A report of the board's findings of facts and conclusions leading to its decision is set to be filed Wednesday, and Storage of America has 30 days to file an appeal with the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas.
The meeting Tuesday at the Richland Township Municipal Building, 322 Schoolhouse Road, was a continuation of an April hearing during which the board heard testimony from Storage of America about its plan as well as mall tenants' arguments against it.
A decision to allow it, mall supporters have said, would have undercut progress made by Galleria owner Leo Karruli, who purchased the mall for $3 million nearly two years ago, after creditors foreclosed on previous owners ADAR Johnstown, LLC, and mall management company Zamias Services Inc.
Karruli is working to reshape the long-struggling mall as a retail and entertainment destination. He's paved the mall's roads, filled the food court and curated a mix of tenants including local mom-and-pop businesses while pursuing potential big-box attractions.
"I want to make something good for Richland, for the township and for all the people who live around," Karruli said. "All this work I did for a year and a half could have been wasted. The mall is not dead. First, I want to rebuild with mom-and-pops, and after, I want to bring the big companies because the big companies want to see the foot traffic before they come there."
Applause erupted from the crowd of mall tenants after the decision Tuesday, and Karruli gave an impromptu speech to them outside of the municipal building.
"This is not for me; this is for you guys," he said. "Let's work together, and we can reach the sky together. I'm feeling excited, not for myself but for all of you and for the customers who support me and wrote letters to the township. I've very happy and pleased, and I want to move on to the next chapter to make the mall the people's mall."
Although the former Sears anchor store where Storage of America aimed to build indoor storage units is attached to the mall, it and two other anchor stores — Boscov's and the former Bon Ton — have always been owned separately from the so-called "core mall" campus.
Consequently, the vacant Sears location was not part of Karruli's August 2022 mall purchase.
Storage of America purchased the vacated Sears location for $1.5 million in a competitive online auction last September against Karruli, and because storage is not listed as an acceptable use in a commercial zone in Richland Township, the company requested a variance from the zoning hearing board.
The Galleria sits on land designated for commercial use; Richland Township's ordinance lists more than 60 uses allowed in a "C2" commercial zone, and "storage facility" is not one of them.
However, Storage of America sought approval under a provision of the zoning ordinance allowing for "similar type retail or local service use not specifically listed herein when authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board according to procedure."
Storage of America Vice President of Development Thomas Fitzpatrick, who traveled from his home in Michigan for the brief meeting Tuesday in Richland, said he has a couple options to discuss with his board of directors.
Those options include appealing the zoning hearing board's decision in hopes hat a higher court will overturn it, or selling the property.
"We'll have a board meeting and decide which direction we are going to go," he said. "Usually, we pursue legal options first."
In previous interviews with The Tribune-Democrat, when the mall was slated for sale in 2021 after foreclosure, Perry Russ, who was former director of leasing for the Galleria in the 1990s under the Galleria's founder, George Zamias, foresaw the mall's new development becoming complicated by the multiple layers of ownership among the anchor stores.
"If one entity owned everything, the Galleria would be a lot easier to redevelop," he said then.
Recognizing that Storage of America still owns the former Sears building, Karruli said he would invite a new dialogue with Fitzpatrick about working together to lease the building to a retailer.
"Sometimes business is business, but I don't take anything personal," Karruli said.
"I would like to work together to rebuild the mall. Let's build up the mall to bring a big store. I'm not trying to take something away from him, I want to work together."
