Bethel Park native doing good works at South Park Shops
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Bethel Park native Kim McKinney is the property manager at the South Park Shops.
Eleanor Bailey/THE Almanac
Kim McKinney works side by side with Molly Finnell at their South Park Shops office. Finnell owns the property with her family consortium while McKinney manages the shopping mall.
As a little girl, Kim McKinney visited the South Park Shops frequently. Baskin Robbins was her favorite store.
“I just love ice cream,” she said.
Today, McKinney loves working at the South Park Shops. She is the property manager for the shopping center. She replaced Mary Anne Fassinger of McMurray, who had worked in that position for 27 years before retiring.
“No,” McKinney said, “I never dreamed about doing this but I am really glad I did. It is nice to work in Bethel Park and be part of the community.”
McKinney has always been a part of Bethel Park. The 36-year-old daughter of Bill and Dottie Kennedy attended the public schools in the community and graduated in 2000. After earning a degree in marketing from Penn State University, she returned to Bethel Park to raise her family. She and her husband, Mark, have two children, Tyler, 4, and Katie, 14 months.
“I just love it here. The fact that I can work so close to home is ideal,” said McKinney, who lives, ironically, in the development behind the Dairy Queen on Library Road, not more than a mile from the South Park Shops.
McKinney fit the bill when she saw the job posting on Facebook nearly three years ago.
“It had a little bit of everything and I could use all of my skills,” she said, then added, “I was very familiar with the center.”
Noting Fassinger, whose husband, Brian, still works in maintenance at the shops, taught her how to do everything and was “absolutely helpful” McKinney has brought fresh ideas to the center that opened in September of 1960. She introduced new events such as touch-a-truck where fire fighters, emergency personnel and police officers bring their equipment to the center for children to see and feel.
Additionally, McKinney handles marketing. She updated the company’s Facebook page and his increased its “friend” base to more than 3,000, up from 800. In the next few months, the shops will unveil a new website while the center continues to undergo a facelift with new signage, colors, store fronts and roofing.
“Absolutely,” McKinney said enthusiastically, “it’s exciting times for the shops.”
Molly Finnell, who owns the property with her family consortium, acknowledges McKinney’s impact.
“We needed a young person in here to get connected with social media,” Finnell said. “Kim’s doing a great job.”
In addition to marketing and planning community events, McKinney’s job also entails dealing with tenants, both current and potential, as well as maintenance.
“I love all our tenants. They are all so different,” she noted. “I love how they interact with their customers. Being part of the community is important to them.
“The thing about the South Park Shops is that it has a nice family feel amongst the tenants. It’s a nice mix. They all support each other and are connected to the community.”
The shops are tailored toward convenience, McKinney added. She noted how the center has multiple entrances, allowing for easy egress and ingress.
But the property could use a sweet shop. In addition to Baskins Robbins, past tenants ranged from Isaly’s to a Village Dairy, from Parkside Sweets to Dutch Donut and an array of frozen yogurt franchises.
“I would love to see an ice cream shop,” McKinney admitted with a laugh.