Walnut Capital Partners executives say their success in converting and leasing a former Nabisco cracker factory into the $100 million Bakery Square complex in East Liberty is their motivation to spend an equal amount to develop a site across Penn Avenue into an equally ambitious project.
Read More Here: http://triblive.com/home/1817828-74/reidbord-zoning-square-bakery-property-100-capital-plan-residential-residents
Falling natural gas prices and campaigns from Pennsylvania lawmakers have revved up the next step of the Marcellus Shale drilling boom: the petrochemical chapter, a development phase that could promise the kind of construction and job creation not seen in the region since steel’s heyday.
Numerous energy firms and chemical companies are eyeing the tri-state region for locations to build plants that can take gas and other compounds extracted from the ground and process them for use in everyday products such as clothing or carpeting.
Read more: http://postgazette.com/pg/12067/1214961-28.stm#ixzz1oR11RHTx
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Sam Spatter is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review staff writer and can be reached at 412-320-7843 or via e-mail.
The troubled Regional Enterprise Tower, Downtown, may be closer to a sale to a buyer who would convert part of the building to residential uses.
The 31-story former Alcoa Inc. headquarters building that has served as a regional center for public and private agencies for the past 10 years is under a sales agreement, and a Philadelphia-based developer that has successfully converted one major Downtown building to residential and commercial uses appears to be interested.
Read more: Regional Enterprise Tower could host residents – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_785021.html#ixzz1oLQFBKuy
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• Bakery Square 2.0, a $119 million mixed-use development on the site of Reizenstein School along Penn Avenue in East Liberty, could provide office space for tenants who had occupied most of Bakery Square, opposite from the new site. The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority will seek $2 million in federal or state grants for Bakery Square 2.0. It is being developed by Walnut Capital of Shadyside, developer of Bakery Square, the former Nabisco plant. The new facility can provide office space for Google, UPMC, Veterans Administration, University of Pittsburgh and others, said Todd Reidbord, Walnut Capital’s chief financial officer. To date, 441 jobs have been created at Bakery Square. About 400,000 square feet of office space, offering up to 1,277 new jobs, is scheduled for Bakery Square 2.0.
Read more: Real Estate Notes – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_782967.html#ixzz1nUscBSVT
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A lot has been made about the impact of the Marcellus Shale natural gas play and its effect on Appalachia. Controversy abounds as to the impact of the drilling and the effect that it has on the environment and water sources. Additionally, debate rages on both sides of the fence as to the economic impact of the oil and gas industry on our region. As it relates to the commercial real estate market, I can say without hesitation that the drilling industry is having a significant impact on our market.
The impact of the Marcellus Shale on the commercial real estate market cannot be overstated. Simply put, drillers, vendors and ancillary uses are having a profound impact on both industrial and office properties throughout the region. The industry is having the most impact on the Washington/Canonsburg area and Cranberry. Oil & gas related companies are leasing space and land at an amazing pace.
I have been involved in a number of transactions over the past year that have had an aggregate value of over $15 million dollars. These are companies that are in exploration, extraction, supply and support of natural gas. In addition to the transactions described above, I have had numerous conversations with other oil & gas related companies that have either looked at the area or are intending to find a location in the future.
The short term effect of this market expansion is that lease rates for industrial, office and land along I-79 have gone up, with little relief in sight. In many cases, new construction may be the only method by which a company may meet its location needs. As the market fills, some companies may find it necessary to expand their search criteria into Beaver and Westmoreland Counties (there is already plenty of activity in these areas).
Over the next few years we may see an even more aggressive surge in oil & gas related activity especially if natural gas prices increase above their current low levels. The possible development of Shell’s natural gas cracker plant within the region could have an enormous impact on the region as well. While it is hard to determine the long term impact of the fracking industry (what happens to these properties when the gas is gone) it has had a significant positive impact on our commercial real estate market.
Allegheny County`s online clearinghouse of property reassessment data is a work in progress, officials said today.
Visitors who want to view the new reassessment values in Pittsburgh and Mt. Oliver must visit www.alleghenycounty.us and click on the link in the center of page labeled “2013 Court-Ordered Reassessment Values.” To view the values currently in use that are based on Allegheny County`s 2002 reassessment, users must click on the “Real Estate Website” link under the “Quicklinks” section on the right side of the page, and click on the “Real Estate” link.
Read more: Allegheny County tinkering with property reassessment website – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_778162.html?_s_icmp=NetworkHeadlines#ixzz1kQbFDSJl
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Pittsburgh’s office market continues to do well, especially in relation to the national picture. Vacancy rates are low and lease rates are increasing steadily. Because financing is still difficult, very little new speculative multi-tenant projects are on the drawing board. The Downtown, Oakland, Cranberry and Canonsburg submarkets are experiencing near record low vacany rates.
The following link will take you to our Fourth Quarter Office Market Report:
Pittsburgh Office Market – 4th quarter 2011
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Mark Anderson is a Vice President at Pennsylvania Commercial Real Estate, Inc. and has 14 years experience leasing and selling commercial property in Western Pennsylvania. 
