Steelers, Pirates in $200M JV Between Stadiums

PHILADELPHIA-A 25-acre, 1.2-million-sf, mixed-use development is planned for the 25 acres between Heinz Field Stadium, where the Pittsburgh Pirates go to bat, and PNC Park where the legendary Steelers score. A Pirates-Steelers joint venture is buying the land from the Pittsburgh Stadium Authority this month for an undisclosed price.

Columbus, OH-based Continental Real Estate Companies is hired to develop the $200-million, north shore project.

“We will build 750,000 sf of office space, 200,000 sf of retail, entertainment and restaurants, and more than 350 apartment units,” Frank Kass, president of Continental, tells GlobeSt.com. Kass says the buildings will be “six and seven stories high and made of brick and stone. When the project is complete and mature, (it) will look like it has been in downtown for 80 years.”

Construction will begin next summer and Continental expects to complete the development by 2008. The property is seen as an additional source of revenue for the two Pittsburgh teams, which compete in relatively small markets.

Continental already has several high profile Pittsburgh-area developments in its portfolio. Among them is the $300-million Waterfront development in Homestead, PA, a mixed-use manufacturing, office and retail center.

Last November, Continental acquired the troubled Galleria retail center in Mount Lebanon, PA for $17 million. A $15-million Galleria renovation is expected to reach completion this July.