U.S. Steel, which has operated in Pittsburgh for more than 100 years, plans to stay at least 18 more.
The giant steelmaker—which sold its 64-story U.S. Steel Tower headquarters in April 2011 and a year later announced it would move out of that building—has inked a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey franchise to build a five-story, 268,000-sf office building on the old Civic Arena site downtown, which the Penguins own.
A subsidiary of the Penguins and the team’s developer, St. Louis-based Clayco, will jointly own the new building, for which construction is scheduled to begin next summer and be completed by October 2017, around the time that U.S. Steel’s five-year lease on 450,000 sf in the U.S. Steel Tower expires. The projected cost of the new building was not disclosed.
U.S. Steel plans to move 800 employees from that tower and offices at Penn Liberty Plaza into 250,000 sf of the new building, which it will lease for at least 18 years, with an option to extend its lease beyond that. The rest of the space will be used for retail stores. The 2.25-acre site will include a museum highlighting Pittsburgh’s and U.S. Steel’s role in the worldwide steel industry.
The company’s decision to remain in Pittsburgh put an end to more than two years of speculation about where it might be headed. Indiana and Illinois reportedly were wooing U.S. Steel to relocate. U.S. Steel had also looked at several other buildings in different areas in and around Pittsburgh.
Site plan for U.S. Steel's new HQ, which will be located across from the Consol Energy Center, home of the Penguins NHL hockey team.
Several local news reports stated that it was Penguins’ CEO David Morehouse who convinced U.S. Steel’s CEO Mario Longhi to keep the company in Pittsburgh. The two chief executives met during a September 2013 barbecue at the home of the Penguins’ legendary player and co-owner Mario Lemieux. At that meeting, Morehouse impressed on Longhi that U.S. Steel was the “foundation upon which this city was built.”
Indeed, Pittsburgh’s Mayor Bill Perduto was on record saying “I didn’t want to be the Pittsburgh mayor to lose U.S. Steel.” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald lobbied federal environmental, transportation, and trade officials on U.S. Steel’s behalf. And Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett last month announced nearly $31 million in state grants to rehab three U.S. Steel plants in the state.
By agreeing to move into new digs, U.S. Steel would be the first corporate anchor tenant for a 28-acre Uptown site next to Consol Energy Center, where $440 million in development is planned, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and other news reports. That development would include retail, housing, and office space, and would be partially funded by more than $30 million in state grants and local tax-increment incentives, which would direct some of the development’s revenue to job training and other programs.
U.S. Steel has agreed to take only half of its potential abatements, with the rest of the incentives going to fund other parts of the Hill District, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Oct 22, 2021
2021 Industrial Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. industrial buildings sector
Ware Malcomb, Clayco, Jacobs, and Stantec top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest industrial buildings sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2021 Giants 400 Report.
| Oct 22, 2021
The Next Chapter For 147-Year-Old Shepley Bulfinch
Boston-based architecture, planning, and interior design firm Shepley Bulfinch recently named Angela Watson, FAIA, as its President and CEO. Watson sat down with BD+C's John Caulfield to discuss her strategic plan, which emphasizes perspective and collaboration.
Giants 400 | Oct 22, 2021
2021 Airport Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. airport facilities sector
AECOM, Hensel Phelps, PGAL, and Gensler top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest airport sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2021 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 22, 2021
2021 Sports Facilities Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. sports and recreation facility sector
AECOM, Populous, Kimley-Horn, and HOK top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest sports and recreation facility sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2021 Giants 400 Report.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 21, 2021
Chicago’s historic Lathrop public housing complex gets new life as mixed-income community
A revitalized New Deal–era public housing community in Chicago brings the Garden City movement of yesteryear into the 21st century.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Oct 15, 2021
7 game-changing trends in structural engineering
Here are seven key areas where innovation in structural engineering is driving evolution.
| Oct 14, 2021
The future of mass timber construction, with Swinerton's Timberlab
In this exclusive for HorizonTV, BD+C's John Caulfield sat down with three Timberlab leaders to discuss the launch of the firm and what factors will lead to greater mass timber demand.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 12, 2021
Affordable and sublime: 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
These projects prove that it’s possible to develop aesthetically pleasing, high-quality housing for low-income families, the homeless, and veterans.
Building Owners | Oct 12, 2021
6 ways building owners can own their construction projects
Building owners have an important role in executing their capital projects and can greatly increase their project’s chances of success by understanding and actively managing a few key factors.
AEC Tech Innovation | Oct 7, 2021
How tech informs design: A conversation with Mancini's Christian Giordano
Mancini's growth strategy includes developing tech tools that help clients appreciate its work.
