Category Archive: City Living
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Building to be converted into office condominiums
By The Tribune-Review
Sunday, June 18, 2006The owner of the six-story building at 610 Wood St., Downtown, plans to convert the building into office condominiums, said Loretta Taylor, an agent with Beynon & Co., who will market the building. At this time, no price has been set and potential buyers are being offered an opportunity to lease space in the building prior to purchase. Rittenhouse Commons of Philadelphia, the owner, will make improvements to the structure, such as the exterior facade and the elevator, and have a model unit available within four to six weeks. CVS Pharmacy, which occupies the ground level, will remain.
• The former Pitt-DesMoines site on Neville Island has been purchased by Frank Bryan Inc. for $1.2 million in what the company said is an expansion of the firm’s concrete operation currently on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Thomas J. Bryan III, identified as a Bryan shareholder on a deed filed in the office of Allegheny County recorder of deeds, would not disclose what type of expansion is planned nor what affect the new site would have on the Pittsburgh operation. The 16.2-acre site, located off Neville Road and along the Ohio River, was sold by CB&J Co., a Texas-based firm. Bryan has been at the South Side location since it purchased the former Dravo Corp. plant there in 1980.
• Matrix Solutions has relocated its headquarters from Ross to 901 Pennsylvania Ave., North Shore. The firm, which provides sales strategy management software for the media industry, currently has 30 business and technology professionals and has the ability to add 25 additional staff at the new office, a 15,000-square foot warehouse-style building, formerly a valve manufacturing facility.
• Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services Inc. acquired a 3.85-acre site in Starpointe Industrial Park for Miller Plastic Products Inc., and will build the 40,000 to 50,000-square-foot manufacturing and office space in the Hanover Township, Washington County complex. Construction will begin this summer.
• The 30-year transformation of East Carson Street, South Side, was the topic at the recent 2006 National Main Streets Conference in New Orleans and featured three local residents as speakers. The discussion, “Transforming a Local Neighborhood into a Regional Destination,” was by John A. Martine of Strada architectural firm, Cathy McCullom of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, and Tom Hardy, formerly with the South Side Local Development Corp.
• Old School Partners, LP, headed by Alfred E. Thomson IV, has purchased a warehouse at 10 Allegheny River Blvd., Penn Hills, for $900,000 from Fagen’s Inc., according to a deed filed in the office of Allegheny County recorder of deeds. A small portion of the property is located in Verona. Plans are to demolish the structure and build a state-of-the-art 65,000-square-foot Atlas Self-Storage facility. Two other Atlas self-storage facilities are located on Saltsburg Road, Penn Hills, and in the North Hills.
• Construction is under way on Pinehurst Village, a new carriage home community located within the Seven Oaks Country Club complex in Beaver County. There will be 39 units on 15 acres, developed by TDS Group, a carriage home specialist, said Darlene Hunter, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services New Homes South/West manager, who is marketing the units. Four models are available, starting at $198,900.
• Centria, based in Moon Township, recently received the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for saving $800,000 in energy costs at its Ambridge plant. Centria installed an oven system that features state-of-the-art heat exchangers to rapidly dry painted steel coils. The system made it possible to capture emissions of volatile organic compounds produced by drying paint and pump them into an incinerator to produce fuel.
Contributor: Sam Spatter
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review © Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Building owner casts wary eye on Millcraft
By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, May 27, 2006Gerald Schiller is on yet another developer’s radar.
Over the years, whenever new developers arrived in Pittsburgh with plans for the Downtown retail corridor, they targeted at least some of the several buildings Schiller and his family own at the intersection of Forbes Avenue and Wood Street.
Now, Washington County-based Millcraft Industries wants to put a new building with loft apartments at the northeast corner of the intersection — in place of the former Bolan’s Candies building that Schiller owns. A proposal the company made to Mayor Bob O’Connor shows a rendering of a new building on that corner.
The problem is, Schiller said Friday, no one has talked with him about buying the building or working with him to redevelop it. His tenants, and at least one potential renter, want to know how long they can stay.
“It looks like they’ve got plans that are unknown to us,” Schiller said. “I wasn’t approached. I think I have every reason to be paranoid, based on the history.”
Millcraft’s long-range proposal includes nine sites on five Downtown blocks, including condos above the former G.C. Murphy’s building, an entertainment complex in Warner Centre and a three-story bookstore at the southwest corner of Forbes and Wood.
Millcraft doesn’t own all of the buildings it would need for the entire development, but it is talking with property owners about joint ventures, said Brian Walker, the Cecil company’s chief financial officer.
O’Connor wants the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority to give Millcraft the exclusive right to purchase 19 city-owned properties. The company has a temporary agreement with the URA, allowing it to market the properties to potential tenants.
The Bolan’s Candies building appears on a map the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation is recirculating to remind developers which buildings it wants to save Downtown. The group sent its map to Millcraft, said Kathy McCollom, the foundation’s spokeswoman.
The preservation group compromised by accepting PNC Financial Services Group’s plan to tear down all buildings on the north side of Fifth Avenue for its Three PNC Plaza development, she said.
“We’re reminding people again,” McCollom said. “This was a consensus agreement on preservation issues.”
Walker said Millcraft has talked with representatives from the landmarks foundation.
Schiller said the Bolan’s Candies building appears on the preservation list because of its distinctive facade. Two-story arched windows with detailed masonry work cover the upper floors.
“Landmarks would go nuts about that, because they love the Bolan’s building,” Schiller said. “It’s a unique building Downtown.”
Millcraft plans to work with the landmarks foundation to determine which buildings have historic value, said Lucas Piatt, vice president of real estate. He termed the company’s plan “very conceptual” beyond the URA-owned properties.
“We’re going to work with (foundation president) Art Ziegler, and of course talk to him about what’s historic and what’s not historic,” Piatt said.
Andrew Conte can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.
Images and text copyright © 2006 by The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
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Big ideas
By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, May 23, 2006The developer selected to revive Downtown has bigger ideas than previously disclosed.
Millcraft Industries’ sweeping $270 million vision includes reviving Warner Centre as a nightclub, putting a playground at Market Square and adding boutique offices, lofts and a three-story bookstore along Wood Street.The company eventually would like to extend a trolley line to Oakland, the North Shore and South Side Works.
The Washington County developer is pitching its ideas this week at the country’s leading retail convention in Las Vegas. Its proposal includes nine locations within a five-block area of Downtown.
“Those are things we want for Pittsburgh,” said Lucas Piatt, Millcraft’s vice president of real estate.
The first phase, a $51.7 million renovation of the former Lazarus-Macy’s building into Piatt Place, includes a high-end grocer and national chain restaurant on the first floor, condominiums and offices above, and townhomes on the roof.The lobby and model apartments are scheduled to open Wednesday, in time for an evening Downtown walking tour.
“The feeling is about as positive as it’s ever felt,” said Don Carter, president of Urban Design Associates, a Downtown company hired to propose overall changes for the business district. “It’s no longer a plan. Now we’re getting projects built. … The momentum is building.”
Millcraft first unveiled its plan in a private meeting with Mayor Bob O’Connor last month, but officials did not make the details public. The proposal extends beyond projects Millcraft already has committed to — and includes properties it does not yet own.
The development would take place in three phases and, when completed, would include 852 condominiums and apartments, 1,203 parking spaces and nearly a half-million square feet of retail and office space — about the size of Parkway Center Mall or Two PNC Plaza, Downtown.
Under the plan, cars and trucks could no longer drive through Market Square, where Millcraft proposes installing dancing fountains and a children’s playground. The company suggested holding a naming contest for the area and giving a scholarship to the winner.
“What we’re doing is trying to create the 89th neighborhood in Pittsburgh, which is what Downtown really is,” said Ira Morgan, a local developer who has partnered with Millcraft in a group called Downtown Streets Pittsburgh LP.
After seeing the proposal, O’Connor recommended the partners get exclusive rights to purchase 19 Downtown properties owned by the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority. The company has a temporary agreement with the URA, allowing it to market the properties to potential tenants, said Brian Walker, Millcraft’s chief financial officer.
The group has offered two proposals for the URA properties: Either acquiring title to the properties and then sharing profits with the city, or entering into a long-term lease with the option of buying the properties later. A third option combines the two.
The URA will consider all of the options at its June 8 board meeting.
“We’re not asking for city or county subsidies,” Walker said. “We’re not asking for the properties for free. We want to pay back fair market value to the city for their investment. They’ve had to spend money to get those properties. Now it’s time for us as developers to come in and finish the job.”
Millcraft’s second phase includes three projects, mainly involving the URA properties: Market Place Square, a renovation of the former G.C. Murphy’s building; Forbes Village, a building with apartments and first-floor retail space; and Piatt Place Apartments, next to the former Lazarus-Macy’s building.
A third phase was undisclosed until now. It calls for turning Warner Centre into a film and entertainment complex, adding loft apartments next to the theater, building a $6.5 million three-level bookstore at the corner of Forbes Avenue and Wood Street, and putting boutique offices — smaller structures with high-tech amenities — across Wood Street.
Millcraft does not own all of the buildings it would need for phase three, but is talking with property owners about joint ventures, Walker said. It has not yet approached JJ Operating Co., the New York firm that owns Warner Centre, a theater turned into an office complex and food court in 1985.
“We don’t turn anybody away,” said Gary Roberson, a broker with Grant Street Associates-Cushman & Wakefield, which manages and leases office space at Warner Centre.
“If it were revived as a theater, it would help become a traffic generator,” said Arthur Ziegler Jr., president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
A final conceptual phase of Millcraft’s Downtown plan includes a $76 million college housing and retail complex on Forbes Avenue for Point Park University. The school already has started a separate student housing project and has not committed to Millcraft’s proposal, a spokeswoman said.
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Developer may pass up bid for Fifth-Forbes job
By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, May 9, 2006Yet another national retail developer appears to be losing interest in Pittsburgh’s main retail corridor after spending months studying ways to bring the area back to life, Mayor Bob O’Connor said Monday.
Madison-Marquette, based in Washington, D.C., would become the fourth suitor to pass on remaking the area since 1999. A company spokesman declined to comment.“I don’t think Madison-Marquette is interested any more in the project,” O’Connor said.
That would leave two local developers — Millcraft Industries in Washington County and a group headed by Pittsburgh businessman Ralph Falbo. O’Connor said he does not know of any other group seeking to redevelop the Fifth and Forbes corridor.
Shortly after taking office in January, O’Connor said he wanted to be “wowed” by Madison-Marquette’s proposal. But the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority has been unable to set up a meeting for the company to present its plans to the mayor.
Herb Burger, who headed a task force that helped bring Madison-Marquette to Pittsburgh, said he would be disappointed if the company decides not to work on the project. He served on the Pittsburgh Task Force, a group created by former Mayor Tom Murphy.
“The Downtown market needs all the intelligent development it can get,” Burger said.
The city’s retail center has faced a series of setbacks dating to 1999, when Murphy dropped a $522 million proposal by Urban Retail Properties, of Chicago. The plan fizzled under pressure from existing Downtown businesses and historic preservationists.
Kravco Co., of King of Prussia, Montgomery County, took a shot at redevelopment next, but bowed out in January 2004 when it was bought by mall developer Simon Properties. A Philadelphia group, Dranoff Properties, studied the Downtown core for months before passing on a bid to redevelop it last summer.
In the meantime, two department stores — Lord & Taylor and Lazarus-Macy’s — failed despite receiving large public subsidies to open Downtown locations.
Millcraft’s plan for Downtown includes a $269 million project with 852 housing units, 200,000 square feet of retail space and 45,000 square feet of office space. The proposal includes Piatt Place, a $49 million renovation of the former Lazarus-Macy’s department store already under way.
The developer wants an exclusive deal to develop 19 URA-owned properties in time to make a May 24 presentation at the International Shopping Center Convention in Las Vegas.
“We need time to prepare for that convention,” said Lucas Piatt, Millcraft’s vice president of real estate. “It’s really close. We might lose a year.”
Falbo has proposed a $75 million to $100 million development that would place a food market on the first floor of the former G.C. Murphy Co. building and up to 40 rental and/or condominium units above.
“The difficult part is how big, national firms look at it — as a one-shot deal to do the whole corridor,” Falbo said. “I happen to think it’s going to take a lot of work. This is not developing a mall in the suburbs.”
Andrew Conte can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7835.
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Developer pitches plan to return Market Square to its roots as a marketplace
By Mark Belko,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, May 04, 2006A local developer is reaching into Pittsburgh’s past as part of his bid to bolster the future of the Fifth and Forbes retail corridor Downtown.
In a meeting with Mayor Bob O’Connor yesterday, Ralph Falbo pitched the idea of returning Market Square to its roots as a marketplace as part of an elaborate plan to transform the downtrodden Fifth and Forbes corridor.
The “Market at Murphy’s,” an independent marketplace featuring “many of Pittsburgh’s finest purveyors of food,” would be one component of a broader plan that features construction of a 280-unit residential high-rise on the south side of Forbes Avenue, conversion of the upper floors of the G.C. Murphy’s store into 36 apartments and creation of a destination-type outlet for diamond wholesalers and retailers.
“We see a revitalized neighborhood in the city, young and energetic in character with careful consideration to the historic buildings in the area,” Mr. Falbo said in a statement after meeting with the mayor.
“The plan, in addition to vision and concept, is one of action — we need to draw the right uses and users into the area as quickly as possible to spark the greater revitalization of the area.”
The proposal uses nearly 20 city-owned buildings in the corridor, including Murphy’s and the old National Record Mart, one of the structures likely to be cleared to make way for the high-rise. The developer did not say whether he would seek exclusive rights to develop the parcels.
Mr. Falbo is one of at least three developers interested in the corridor. Two weeks ago, Millcraft Industries Inc. of Washington County presented a $217 million plan to revive the district. It also was heavy on the residential side, with 805 units proposed, plus 200,000 square feet of retail and 45,000 square feet of office space.
Washington, D.C.-based developer Madison Marquette has pitched a $50 million to $60 million plan to the city, featuring a mix of residential and retail on lower Fifth Avenue. It wanted to court trendy retailers like Crate & Barrel. However, Mr. O’Connor balked at the $24 million in proposed public subsidies involved. He said yesterday he’s waiting to see if Madison Marquette intends to make another bid for the work.
Like Mr. Falbo’s, the Millcraft and Madison Marquette plans use the Murphy’s building and other city Urban Redevelopment Authority parcels in the corridor as the building blocks for the development.
Mr. O’Connor said Mr. Falbo’s plan totaled about $90 million in all. He described it “very interesting” and said Mr. Falbo was not seeking public subsidies.
“There’s a lot of good points there,” he said.
Mr. Falbo, developer of the 151 First Side condominium tower under construction on Fort Pitt Boulevard, could not be reached for comment after the meeting.
The overall plan includes:
*The Market at Murphy’s, an independent marketplace operated by Mr. Falbo and his partners and featuring Pittsburgh’s “finest purveyors of food.” There was no additional detail. Mr. Falbo said in the release that he and his partners also envision bringing Strip District food merchants to the marketplace to operate kiosks. He said similar ventures have been successful in Seattle, Columbus, Ohio, and Portland, Ore.
The Market at Murphy’s is something of a throwback. Starting as early as 1815, Market Square featured a market house. For years, the massive Diamond Market, built in 1914, was a fixture in the square. It was demolished in 1961. Another venture, Market on the Square, a meat and food market attached to Murphy’s, closed in 1994.
*The Market House, a 36-unit apartment complex using the upper floors of the Murphy’s building. The development would feature balconies along Forbes Avenue, underground parking, and a central courtyard.
*Diamond Tower, a new 280-unit high-rise on Forbes Avenue. It would offer 200 rental units and 80 condos, along with first- and second-floor retail.
*Diamond Market, designed “to restore the grandeur of Pittsburgh’s Diamond District” by creating a destination spot for retailers and wholesalers to sell their gems.
If he gets the go-ahead from the mayor, Mr. Falbo said he could start construction of the market, apartment complex and high-rise by the end of the year. He is teaming with EQA Landmark Communities and architectural and engineering firm Burt Hill.
Mr. O’Connor said he will work with the URA and others in coming weeks to determine which of the proposals is “most doable.”
“You still have to look at the financial situation, who has the capability of delivering, and how soon,” he said.
He said he hopes to have a developer selected in two to three weeks. He added he also is open to giving each developer pieces of the corridor to work on rather than having one do the entire project.
(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. )
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. © Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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Three Market Square buildings may get an upgrade
By Mark Belko,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Tuesday, February 14, 2006The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership may team with the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation to redevelop three publicly owned buildings in Market Square.
Both groups see the plan as a way to not only save three vacant, deteriorating buildings but to pump life into the Fifth and Forbes retail corridor and Market Square itself.
Under a preliminary proposal, the foundation would serve as developer of the three buildings from 439 Market St. to the corner of Market and Fifth Avenue. The Downtown Partnership would serve as an anchor tenant, moving from its offices on Liberty Avenue.
One of the partnership’s goals over the next five years is to focus more attention on Market Square, where it now sponsors Thursdays with a Twist and a farmers market.
The square also is a primary spot for many of the partnership’s annual Light Up Night festivities.
“We think that conceptually it makes a lot of sense,” Downtown Partnership President Michael Edwards said.
“Certainly Market Square, from the public’s perspective, is sort of a harbinger of the condition of Downtown. We need to make sure it is managed well and working for the merchants.”
The potential venture with the History & Landmarks Foundation comes as the Downtown Partnership prepares for its annual meeting today, one of its most anticipated in recent years. Mayor Bob O’Connor will be speaking, and the focus is expected to be on the growing investment Downtown, from residential housing to PNC’s new office tower on Fifth Avenue.
The History & Landmarks Foundation originally approached former Mayor Tom Murphy last year with a proposal to take over the three buildings, one owned by the city and two by the city Urban Redevelopment Authority. It did so in part to save the facade of 439 Market, a city-owned building in such disrepair that adjacent property owners wanted it demolished.
Mr. Murphy wouldn’t sell the buildings to the foundation, but he did accept a loan from the group to make repairs to 439 Market.
Foundation President Arthur P. Ziegler Jr. recently talked to Mr. O’Connor about the plan to work with the Downtown Partnership on the three buildings.
Mr. O’Connor said he’s willing to consider the idea and perhaps sell or lease the properties to the foundation, depending on what’s best for the city.
“Bringing good tenants to Market Square, Fifth and Market certainly is a goal, and I think it shows the vitality and desirability of the Fifth-Forbes corridor,” he said.
Mr. Ziegler envisions retail on the ground level of the buildings with the Downtown Partnership and possibly other tenants on upper floors. Preservation Pittsburgh also has proposed a transit cafe in the old Regal Shoe Co. building at Fifth and Market.
The entire endeavor, Mr. Edwards added, is contingent on several issues, including cost and the ability of the partnership to negotiate a settlement of its current lease, which runs until 2009.
The proposed reuse of the three buildings is just one idea to revitalize Market Square, which Mr. O’Connor has described as having an “old, tired” look. The mayor would like to turn the square into a small park, replacing sidewalks and streets with grass.
That plan could involve the elimination of Forbes Avenue, McMasters Way and Graeme Street where they run through the square.
(Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.)
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. © Pittsburgh Post Gazette
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Forest City Enterprises & Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. Unveil Plans for Harrah’s Station Square Casino More than $1 Billion Mixed Use Plan Put Forward
PITTSBURGH,
Jan 23, 2006
PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News NetworkForest City Enterprises (NYSE: FCEA; FCEB) today unveiled plans for over $1 billion of investment at Station Square in Pittsburgh, including dramatic new investment in the vitality of downtown Pittsburgh, a $512 million casino managed by Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: HET), a community partnership with the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and the creation of a new charitable foundation headed by Franco Harris. Their plan is contingent on securing a license from the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission.
“Forest City Enterprises and Harrah’s Entertainment bring a world-class team with unparalleled experience to Pittsburgh. When we sold Station Square twelve years ago, we chose Harrah’s and Forest City from a large field because we knew they would create high quality development, jobs and revenue for revitalizing our neighborhoods,” said Art Ziegler, president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. “Forest City is a $7.8 billion economic development company with a long standing commitment to Pittsburgh and existing investment of $1 billion in today’s dollars in Pennsylvania. Station Square is the most successful tourist attraction in Western Pennsylvania, attracting 2.5 million visitors each year. Harrah’s is the most successful gaming company in the world, with 36 properties and projects in development worldwide.”
The plan expands Station Square into a bustling new urban mixed-use residential and entertainment community. This will include ground-floor retail, sidewalk dining and cafe eateries, a 400,000-square-foot, $512 million Harrah’s Station Square Casino with 3,000 slots, an additional 200 rooms at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel and 1,250 residential condominium units. All of these new elements will be connected by pedestrian scaled streets, creating a neighborhood look and feel. The residential units will have porches and stoops, accompanied by new parks and a riverside esplanade offering improved river access. With more than 50 acres at Station Square, the plan also allows for future expansion of the casino to 5,000 slots and the creation of a new hotel tower with 300-500 rooms.
Forest City and Harrah’s also unveiled a significant philanthropic commitment to Pittsburgh, both now and in the long-term, that will be realized should they secure the license to develop a casino, as follows:
– First, the Forest City/Harrah’s development proposal will enable the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation to establish an endowment of $25 million. Proceeds to the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation will be invested with its existing funds and used to support and expand programs to revitalize inner city neighborhoods.
– In addition, the Forest City/Harrah’s development proposal will give a total of more than $1 million a year through a foundation to support the community. Half of the funds must be used in neighborhoods with a 60 percent or higher minority population. Franco Harris will lead the effort to give these funds back to the community. This money will be made available as soon as the license is secured.
“I am excited to be part of the Forest City/Harrah’s team,” said Franco Harris, a partner in the development. “I’ve lived and played in this community for years and I believe these two companies bring the expertise and strengths that Pittsburgh needs to make gaming successful. This partnership will help Pittsburgh and our communities continue to grow and improve. If the gaming commission selects Forest City and Harrah’s, I am honored to be the President of the foundation and serve our City.”
“With more than $1 billion of proposed investment, Forest City and Harrah’s have the strongest and most comprehensive development plan and the potential for the most tax revenues,” said Brian Ratner, a Director of Forest City Enterprises.
“Harrah’s is excited about the opportunity to join the Pittsburgh community,” said Jan Jones, senior vice president of communications and government relations for Harrah’s. “As the largest and most established company in gaming, Harrah’s has a long track record of attracting tourists and business to communities across the nation. Station Square already attracts 2.5 million visitors annually; we’re confident we can take business to an even greater level by marketing Pittsburgh to millions of loyal Harrah’s customers across the nation. The experience of this team and the quality of this location are second to none, and create the greatest potential to maximize tax revenues and economic benefits for this community and this state.”
Harrah’s Total Rewards(R) customer loyalty program is unsurpassed in the industry. With more than 40 million members, the program is the centerpiece of Harrah’s national, cross-property marketing strategy. Total Rewards allows members to earn and redeem credits for their play at any one of Harrah’s 36 casinos worldwide. The program is augmented by Harrah’s customer relationship management efforts that helps provide a customized entertainment experience to every Harrah’s customer.
Forest City and Harrah’s will create thousands of good paying jobs. A study conducted by Christiansen Capital Advisors projects the creation of 10,377 jobs with total wages of $321.5 million in the first year of operations. The study also projects gaming tax revenues of $180.7 million to Pennsylvania and $10.6 million each for Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh in the first year of operations. About $155 million of the property’s revenues are projected to come from customers coming from outside Allegheny County.
“The plan outlined today is a positive for Pittsburgh and will create thousands of good paying jobs from both the completion and operation of the development,” said Rich Stanizzo, business manager, head of the Building Allied Trade Council.
Harrah’s will also work closely with Bill Strickland and his team at the Bidwell Training Center on the North Side in a partnership to train its projected 2,000 employees.
At the press event, Forest City and Harrah’s unveiled renderings of the proposed development, as well as information about Harrah’s Responsible Gaming policy and training program and its Code of Commitment. These policies have set the gaming industry’s standard for social responsibility and focus on responsible gaming, business integrity, volunteerism and commitment to communities across the nation.
DKS Associates, a national recognized transportation engineer, in conjunction with Pittsburgh’s GAI Consultants developed a transportation impact study that showed the strengths of this location. Station Square is the only site that benefits from all types of available transportation: water taxis, the Light Rail “T”, the Incline, buses, cars, and even bicycles and pedestrian access. The location also offers direct access from the Interstate off the Fort Pitt Bridge, creating a smooth flow of vehicles and access to parking.
About Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.
Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. is the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment through operating subsidiaries. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada 68 years ago, Harrah’s has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions. Harrah’s Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. More information about Harrah’s is available at its Web site – www.harrahs.com.
About Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises, Inc. is a $7.8 billion NYSE-listed national real estate company. The Company is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate throughout the United States.
Safe Harbor Language
Statements made in this news release that state the Company or management’s intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that the Company’s actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward- looking statements include, but are not limited to, real estate development and investment risks, economic conditions in the Company’s target markets, reliance on major tenants, the impact of terrorist acts, the Company’s substantial leverage and the ability to service debt, guarantees under the Company’s credit facility, changes in interest rates, continued availability of tax-exempt government financing, the sustainability of substantial operations at the subsidiary level, significant geographic concentration, illiquidity of real estate investments, dependence on rental income from real property, conflicts of interest, competition, potential liability from syndicated properties, effects of uninsured loss, environmental liabilities, partnership risks, litigation risks, risks associated with an investment in a professional sports franchise, and other risk factors as disclosed from time to time in the Company’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2005.
SOURCE Forest City Enterprises
Kelley Denny
Lynn Seay
prwerks
412-352-9240, or 412-918-0094
for Forest City Enterprises -
Developer applauds O’Connor
By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW REAL ESTATE WRITER
Friday, January 13, 2006Local developer Ralph Falbo was pleased to learn Thursday that Mayor Bob O’Connor is willing to listen to multiple proposals for revitalizing the Fifth-Forbes corridor Downtown.
Falbo, who would like to put a residential/grocery/retail store project in the vacant G.C. Murphy building at the entry point to Market Square, is one of several local and national developers who say they’d be interested in taking a stab at projects in that key area of Downtown.
“I think it’s high time that this is opened up to a lot of different people,” said Falbo yesterday, the day after O’Connor disclosed his intentions during a meeting with Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporters and editors.
O’Connor said he still is willing to consider a master development plan being prepared for a group of city-owned properties along Fifth Avenue by Madison Marquette, a major Washington, D.C. based developer.
But while Madison Marquette continues to prepare its plan, he will welcome proposals from other developers and then determine what’s the best deal for the city.
“We have spent a great deal of time putting together a proposal,” said Falbo, whose company is building 151 FirstSide, an 18-story, 82-unit upscale condominium project Downtown.
He hopes to meet with officials of O’Connor’s administration next month to discuss the new project, which he first introduced early last year.
The mayor would be well-served to listen to Falbo, and other developers with viable ideas for projects Downtown, said Aaron Stauber, managing director of Rugby Realty Co., of Tieterboro, N.J.
“You should look at what’s been happening in the Cultural District over the last several years, just by doing development piece by piece,” said Stauber, whose company has been involved in several of those projects.
Rugby, which owns more than 10 city properties, including the Gulf Tower, Manor and Frick buildings, also would be interested in projects along Fifth and Forbes avenues, Stauber said.
“We would be eager to have conversations with Mayor O’Connor and his team regarding this subject,” said R. Damian Soffer, owner and president of Soffer Organization.
Soffer, whose 34-acre SouthSide Works project has revitalized a former steel mill site on the South Side, said the success of the project demonstrates urban renewal can work.
O’Connor’s decision also was welcomed by Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
The preservationist organization, which developed the successful Station Square complex on the South Side, recently offered to assist the city in preserving and providing development expertise for three deteriorated but historically significant buildings on Market Street and Fifth.
“Various developers have called me and expressed great interest in reuse of historic buildings in the corridor,” said Ziegler, who did not identify the companies involved.
Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.
Images and text copyright © 2004 by The Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review © Pittsburgh Tribune Review