TJ Maxx opened Thursday, October 29, in the former Dick's Sporting Goods space at McCandless Crossing, 830 Providence Blvd., and Sierra opened beside it that same morning. The two joined the HomeGoods already in that building, which gives the McKnight Road center three stores from one parent company under a single roof. CBS Pittsburgh reported that this is the first Sierra anchored in the North Hills. The TJ Maxx is a relocation from Gibsonia.
The big box in the middle of McCandless Crossing has now opened twice, and both times the store moved in from somewhere else in the North Hills. When the center needed an anchor, it pulled one from a neighboring shopping district. When that anchor left, its replacement was pulled from another one.
The Same Box Has Done This Before
When Dick's opened at McCandless Crossing in 2014, it wasn't new to the area either. It was a relocation. A Dick's Sporting Goods press release from April 2014 said the old store at 1092 Northway Mall in Ross would close on Tuesday, April 8 that year, with the McCandless store replacing it.
The center was still under construction then. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in April 2014 that McCandless Crossing was designed as a town center and that its fourth phase was nearly finished. The plans for that phase included Dick's, HomeGoods, Cinemark, restaurants, retail, offices, a hotel and townhomes. Developer AdVenture Development describes the finished project as about 135 acres and 1.2 million square feet of retail, medical, hospitality, office, entertainment, residential and senior-living space, with work starting in 2005.
Laid out in order, the moves look like this:
| Store | Moved from | Moved to | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dick's Sporting Goods | Northway Mall, Ross | McCandless Crossing | April 2014 |
| Dick's Sporting Goods | McCandless Crossing | Planned House of Sport, former Sears at Ross Park Mall | Landlord expected departure, December 2023 |
| TJ Maxx | Gibsonia | McCandless Crossing | October 29, 2026 |
| Sierra | New to the North Hills as an anchor | McCandless Crossing | Opened alongside TJ Maxx |
So the building has always been part of a wider shuffle along McKnight Road and Route 8. Stores leave older locations, stop at McCandless Crossing for a while, and sometimes move on again.
Where Dick's Went, and What Came Back
In December 2023, the Pittsburgh Business Times reported that the landlord expected Dick's to leave McCandless Crossing while the chain worked on the region's first Dick's House of Sport, its bigger format, at Ross Park Mall. That store was planned for the former Sears, and CBS Pittsburgh reported that construction had started and that the store was expected to open the following year. Check Ross Park Mall's current hours before you plan a trip around it.
Filling the empty box took longer than the first forecasts said. WTAE reported in December 2025 that TJ Maxx and Sierra had signed leases for the former Dick's space and expected to open in June or July. By March 2026, a North Hills High School news post put the TJ Maxx move from Gibsonia at mid-August. The doors finally opened at the end of October, in time for the holiday shopping season.
WTAE also pointed out that TJ Maxx, Sierra and HomeGoods are all owned by TJX, which runs a Marshalls at The Block Northway in Ross Township. That means the same company now has three stores in one McCandless building and a fourth a few minutes south on McKnight Road. In Gibsonia, the TJ Maxx that left does not appear to have a replacement yet.
According to the same CBS Pittsburgh report, the openings come after other discount chains such as Burlington and Ross closed stores in recent years. McCandless Town Council President Trish Cloonan told the station the stores would be "a great benefit to our community, not only the availability of shopping, but everybody loves a great deal," and added, "It also encourages people to go and visit our small businesses." She also tied the timing to the season: "Right now, a lot of people are thinking through their budgets through this season, and it's great to have these kinds of options."
Making a Trip of It
The town-center layout the Post-Gazette described in 2014 makes it easy to park once and do several errands, and the new stores sit among tenants many McCandless households already visit. AdVenture's directory for the center lists these, among others:
- Big stores: Lowe's, Old Navy, Trader Joe's and Cinemark, plus the HomeGoods that now shares a building with TJ Maxx and Sierra.
- Coffee and breakfast: Convive Coffee Roastery and First Watch.
- Lunch and dinner: Burgatory, Condado Tacos, BJ's Brewhouse, Bonefish Grill, Longhorn Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse, Hello Bistro, Panera Bread, Chipotle and DiBella's Subs.
- Something sweet: Handel's Ice Cream and Milkshake Factory.
- Specialty stops: Deer Creek Winery, Ethan Allen, Pet People by Hollywood Feed and CVS.
Here's one way to fit it into a November Saturday. Start with coffee at Convive, shop the three TJX stores while they're still fully stocked from opening week, stop at Trader Joe's last so the cold items go straight home, and finish with a Cinemark showing or a stop at Handel's. Sierra mostly sells outdoor and active gear, which lines up neatly with the hiking boots and base layers people start shopping for once North Park's trails turn cold.
The Owner Has Listed the Center for Sale
The newest move involves the whole property, not just one store. On October 21, the Pittsburgh Business Times reported that AdVenture Development, which the paper described as a North Carolina developer with Pittsburgh roots, had put McCandless Crossing up for sale. The paper called it a busy retail complex and a rare example of a town center when it opened more than ten years ago.
The property's finances looked steady in the months before the listing. In June 2026, Hoodline reported a $73.5 million refinancing for McCandless Crossing. That was a loan, not a sale price. Around the same time, the Business Times described the retail portion as close to fully leased. No asking price or buyer has been made public.
A sale won't change anything for this weekend's shopping. TJ Maxx and Sierra signed leases for the old Dick's space, and HomeGoods has been next door since the fourth phase opened in 2014. The building has been filled by stores moving in from Ross and Gibsonia, and it will keep operating under whoever owns it next.
If you're curious how new stores and restaurants along McKnight Road affect what nearby homes are worth, Shelley Wood follows those changes street by street across the North Hills. Request your complimentary market consultation and she'll walk you through what's changing near your home.
