The pandemic pummeled urban centers worldwide. Empty offices equaled empty sidewalks equaled empty storefronts, restaurants and other related services ... and a general emptiness that'll take some cities years to overcome.
But what if that scenario somehow emerges as a plus in Pittsburgh?
Hear me out: The pre-pandemic version of Downtown in 2019, though as healthy and vibrant as it'd ever been, still saw us carrying a 63% reliance on office space. Or 9-to-5 workers. That figure was the second-highest in the U.S., which meant that we were way, way behind the national trend of people committing to live in those same urban centers and, as a result, there was always this whole Downtown-shuts-down-at-dusk feel.
Well, a strange thing's happened: More people than ever are living in our little Golden Triangle. And, in fact, the demand's high enough that the current occupancy rate for apartments -- which comprise the overwhelming majority of such properties -- is at 94%. With most apartments putting people on waiting lists and six other buildings currently being renovated from office to residential.
That includes the one in the pic above.
If that looks familiar, it should: That's the old GNC world headquarters at the corner of Sixth and Wood. GNC decided amid the pandemic that it'd move into a brand new spot just a few blocks away in the Strip. And not long after, a New York company called Victrix LLC snapped it up and put into motion a spectacular plan to convert the entire thing to 254 apartments, as well as new street-level retail, at a total cost of $71 million.
When will it be done?
Construction began in earnest two months ago, and it should take about another year.
Why'd GNC move?
They wanted Class A office space, which this structure wasn't and really can't be.
Why'd the New York guys invest all that money?
Because they know it'll sell.
And in the end, we'll have 400-plus new people living here, added to the 8,000-plus we've already got. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership's stated a goal of 15,000 in that category, so this is a nice chip in that process. Same goes for the other five buildings being converted, including the classic (and much smaller) Triangle Building barely a block away that's almost done.
By skewing heavily more toward residential, we're not really reinventing Downtown as much as righting a longstanding wrong. We should've begun doing this as early as two decades ago and, because we didn't, this is all a big catch-up.
Everyone wins this way, even if it'll all take longer than anyone might want: Beautiful buildings like this one get restored. Existing Class A office space, of which we've got plenty, has less competition. The commuter workers are still essential, but our percentage of them, to repeat, was always out of whack.
Ever read/see/hear any of this elsewhere? Meaning other than in a straight-news journal like the Pittsburgh Business Times? Or on those occasions where the local newspapers will pry themselves from their respective political spectrums?
Still haven't quite figured out why that is. Seems like this'd be a pretty big deal in city that purports to take so much pride in itself. Heart and soul of our entire region 'n' at.