Big changes are in store for the West Hills Shopping Center at Brodhead Road and University Boulevard in Moon.

Built in the 1960s, the township's first major shopping attraction has fallen upon hard times.

Once bustling with shoppers and fully occupied by many national retailers such as S.S. Kresge and A&P, the strip center today is a desolate combination of empty storefronts, concrete sidewalks and a huge parking lot with a few straggling businesses.

About half of the storefronts are vacant and most of them have homemade signs posted on their doors announcing their new locations.

Dollar General, a Budget rental business, Pizza Joe's and a bingo hall are among the survivors. Several of the tenants declined to comment on the proposed changes for the shopping center, saying that they had not been informed about any of the details.

Eric Mallory, principal of Eureka! Ventures of Indiana, Pa., said the shopping center would be called Village West in remembrance of its original name and the recognition of its new village format.

"Times have changed and the layout of this center no longer suits today's retailers or shoppers," he said.

Plans call for all of the existing buildings except for the Ladbroke off-track betting facility to be demolished.

Several of the existing tenants, including World Class Fitness, will be relocated into the new center, which will have approximately 235,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

And with the addition of Target as an anchor, hopes are that the shopping center can regain its popularity as a retail destination.

Mr. Mallory said most of the stores would face inward toward the central parking area. All of the buildings will have cohesive architecture with common building elements, colors and materials.

The landscaping of the project will be incorporated into the parking areas and used to complement the buildings and pedestrian areas, Mr. Mallory said.

He said the township had required his firm to make significant improvements to the existing road network.

"The costs of these improvements are in excess of what is feasible for a project of this magnitude," Mr. Mallory said.

Eureka has been working with the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County to explore the possibility of tax increment financing to pay for infrastructure improvements.

Mr. Mallory estimated that construction could start early next year for a mid-2008 grand opening.